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1.
Summary. In earlier investigations on host plant discrimination of leaf beetles glucosinolates were described as feeding stimulants
for the Brassicaceae specialist Phaedon cochleariae F. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). However, since these findings could not be confirmed in later studies offering 2-propenylglucosinolate
in concentrations corresponding to those detected in host plant leaf material, the identification of feeding stimulants of
this leaf beetle species remained unclear. In order to investigate which compounds of the host plant Sinapis alba (Brassicaceae) are involved in feeding stimulation, leaf extracts of different polarities were tested in bioassays with adults
of P. cochleariae. Number of feeding beetles and net consumption rates were highest on pea leaves painted with methanol extracts of S. alba, whereas weak feeding responses were also detectable for hexane extracts. In subsequent bioassay-guided fractionations of
methanol extracts with semi-preparative high performance liquid chromatography, two distinct fractions, one containing glucosinolates
and another containing flavonoids, were found to stimulate beetles to feed to variable degrees. Other collected fractions
had zero activity. The combination of both active fractions evoked significantly higher consumption rates and stimulated more
beetles to feed than fractions tested individually. At least one compound of each fraction, among these the main glucosinolate
of S. alba, 4-hydroxybenzylglucosinolate, act additively. Effects of two different naturally-occurring ratios of glucosinolates and
flavonoids on the strength of feeding responses were investigated by use of extracts of two sets of host plants differently
exposed to radiation. One set was outdoors-exposed, whereas the second set was kept in the greenhouse. However, the feeding
behaviour of P. cochleariae was not affected by the significantly different relative compositions of both compound classes in the host material. In conclusion,
mustard leaf beetles need a combination of distinct plant metabolites acting in concert for feeding stimulation, whereby the
mere presence of these stimulants, but probably not the ratio of involved compounds, determines their feeding response. 相似文献
2.
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of chemical nonylphenols (NPs) on the antioxidant system of Microcystis aeruginosa strains. The degradation and sorption of NPs by M. aeruginosa were also evaluated. High concentrations of NPs (1 and 2 mg/l) were found to cause increases in superoxidase dismutase (SOD)
and glutathione-S-transferase (GST) activities and in glutathione (GSH) levels. These results suggest that toxic stress manifested by elevated
SOD and GST levels and GSH contents may be responsible for the toxicity of NPs to M. aeruginosa and that the algal cells could improve their antioxidant and detoxification ability through the enhancement of enzymatic
and nonenzymatic prevention substances. The observed elevations in GSH levels and GST activities were relatively higher than
those in SOD activities, indicating that GSH and GST contributed more in eliminating toxic effects than SOD. Low concentrations
of NPs (0.05–0.2 mg/l) enhanced cell growth and decreased GST activity in algal cells of M. aeruginosa, suggesting that NPs may have acted as a protecting factor, such as an antioxidant. The larger portion of the NPs (>60%)
disappeared after 12 days of incubation, indicating the strong ability of M. aeruginosa to degrade the moderate persistent NP compounds. The sorption ratio of M. aeruginosa after a 12-day exposure to low nominal concentrations of NPs (0.02–0.5 mg/l) was relatively high (>30%). The fact that M. aeruginosa effectively resisted the toxic effects of NPs and strongly degraded these pollutants indicate that M. aeruginosa cells have a strong ability to adapt to variations in environmental conditions and that low and moderate concentrations of
organic compounds may favor its survival. Further studies are needed to provide detailed information on the fate of persistent
organic pollutants and the survival of algae and to determine the possible role of organic pollutants in the occurrence of
water blooms in eutrophic lakes. 相似文献
3.
Summary. Females of both species start their pheromone-releasing activity on the second day after emergence at the beginning of the
photophase. During the present work, a peak of calling activity with close to 100% of active Ph. nigrescentella females was registered 1.5 hour after the light had been put on. The high pheromone release behaviour with 50% active females
lasted for 3 hours. The calling activity of the group of females was about 6 h/day. The beginning of a photophase under laboratory
conditions or an early morning in nature is a common period for sex pheromone release in the genus Phyllonorycter. (8Z,10E)-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate (8Z,10E-14:Ac), (8Z,10E)-tetradecadien-1-ol (8Z,10E-14:OH) and (8E,10Z)-tetradecadien-1-yl acetate (8E,10Z-14:Ac) in the ratio 96:4:traces as well as 8Z,10E-14:Ac and 8Z,10E-14:OH in the ratio 88:12 collected by Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) were found to be specific for the calling periods
of virgin Phyllonorycter insignitella and Ph. nigrescentella females respectively. Field trapping experiments demonstrated that all three compounds are important for the attraction of
Ph. insignitella males while only 8Z,10E-14:Ac is the essential sex pheromone component for Ph. nigrescentella. The pheromone activity of all three compounds is reported for the first time. Addition of either 8Z,10E-14:OH or 8E,10Z-14:Ac to 8Z,10E-14:Ac did not have a significant effect on the attraction of Ph. nigrescentella males, while the efficiency of the three component blend was 5 times lower as compared to that of 8Z,10E-14:Ac. Our data demonstrate that 8Z,10E-14:OH and 8E,10Z-14:Ac play a dual function, they are minor sex pheromone components of Ph. insignitella essential for attraction of conspecific males and show an allelochemical, antagonistic effect on Ph. nigrescentella males and, thus, ensuring specificity of the mate location signal in two related Phyllonorycter species. 相似文献
4.
Summary. Myrmecophytic plants use obligate ant mutualists as a constitutive
indirect defence mechanism. These plants often produce cellular food bodies (FBs) to
nourish their resident ants. Lipids, proteins, and even highly specialised compounds
such as glycogen have been reported from FBs, but detailed chemical analyses of FB
composition have so far been presented only for Southeast Asian Macaranga
and Central American Piper myrmecophytes. Here we
report the chemical composition of FBs of five myrmecophytic Acacia
(Fabaceae) species from Mexico using HPLC (carbohydrates and proteins) and GC-MS
(lipids). Feeding experiments revealed no hints on any use of external food sources
by the inhabiting Pseudomyrmex ants. These ants
obviously rely completely on FBs and extrafloral nectar provided by their hosts.
The total content of nutrients in Acacia FBs was 15-25% of FB
dry mass, being much lower than in Macaranga or
Piper FBs. Proteins were dominating (8-14 % dm)
in Acacia FBs and thus were present in higher amounts than in
Macaranga FBs, yet in lower amounts than in
Piper. Lipids contributed 1-9 %
of dry mass, showing a lower proportion than in FBs of Macaranga
or Piper. Carbohydrates made up 3-11 % dm, reaching
in most Acacia species the same range as observed in
Macaranga and in Piper FBs.
Water content was 18-24 % of FB fresh mass, and structural tissue obviously made up
a much higher proportion in Acacia FBs than in
Macaranga or Piper
FBs. Both characters might represent an adaptation to producing FBs unprotected at
the leaf tips under dry conditions. Acacia FBs
contain all amino acids and all fatty acids that are considered essential for
insects, and their contents of lipids and proteins are higher than in the leaves
from which they are ontogenetically derived. This indicates a putatively adaptive
enrichment of nutritionally valuable compounds in structures functioning as ant-food. 相似文献
5.
Beata Szafranek Elżbieta Synak Danuta Waligóra Janusz Szafranek Jan Nawrot 《Chemoecology》2008,18(4):205-216
Summary. The sampling behavior of the Colorado potato beetle Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say (CPB) involves examination of the surface
of potato leaves. It has been suggested that leaf surface compounds (volatiles and cuticular waxes) may be involved in host-plant
recognition, acceptance or discrimination. Here we report on the effect of leaf surface extracts of six Polish commercial
potato varieties on CPB feeding. We tested the influence of potato leaf surface extracts on CPB adult and larval feeding,
then separated the extracts with HPLC, and finally tested the effect of the HPLC-separated fractions on CPB feeding. The bioassays
were performed using potato leaf discs deprived of their original surface compounds. Applied to test discs at concentrations
ten times higher than natural (10 leaf area equivalent), the extracts deterred CPB adults and larvae from feeding. HPLC-separated
fractions composed of alkanes, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, wax esters, benzoic acid esters, fatty acid methyl, ethyl, isopropyl
and phenylethyl esters, aldehydes, ketones, methyl ketones, fatty acids, primary alcohols, β-amyrin and sterols did not affect
adult CPB feeding. Similarly, alkanes, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons, wax esters, methyl ketones, sesquiterpene alcohols and
secondary alcohols had no effect on larval CPB feeding. The sterol fraction (cholesterol, β-sitosterol and stigmasterol) acted
as a phagostimulant to CPB larvae. We isolated a fraction demonstrating a phagodeterrent effect on CPB adults and larvae.
The qualitative composition of the deterrent fraction was quite similar in all potato extracts, but there were quantitative
differences between the varieties. Much further work is needed to identify the compounds that can produce the deterrent effect. 相似文献
6.
In bumblebees all species of the subgenus Psithyrus are social parasites in the nests of their Bombus hosts. In the bumblebee B. terrestris we investigated how colony size influences survival rates of nest entering females of the social parasite Psithyrus vestalis. Furthermore, we studied whether the host worker’s dominance status and age are reflected in its individual scent and whether
Psithyrus females use volatiles to selectively kill host workers. The survival rate of Psithyrus vestalis females drops from 100%, when entering colonies with five workers, to 0% for colonies containing 50 host workers. Older host
workers, born before the nest invasion, were selectively killed when Psithyrus females entered the nest. In contrast, all workers born after the nest invasion survived. The host workers’ dominance status
and age are reflected by their individual odours: newly emerged workers produced a significantly lower total amount of secretions
than 4-day-old workers. In chemical analyses of female groups we identified saturated and unsaturated hydrocarbons, aldehydes,
and unsaturated wax-type esters of fatty acids. In a discriminant function analysis different worker groups were mainly separated
by their bouquets of hydrocarbons. Killed workers release significantly more scent and of a different chemical composition,
than survivors. Survivors alter scent production and increase it beyond the level of the killed workers within 1 day of the
invasion. The Psithyrus female clearly maintains reproductive dominance utilizing these differences in the odour bouquets as criteria for killing
workers that compete for reproduction. 相似文献
7.
The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis (ICHH) suggests that dominance signals are costly because their development is controlled by testosterone, which is immunosuppressive. Signal control therefore links an increased disease risk with a high quality signal. The chest bib of the house sparrow, Passer domesticus, is a signal known to be related to dominance and under control of testosterone levels. We experimentally manipulated testosterone in male sparrows during the breeding season and again independently during the post-breeding period to test whether variation in levels of testosterone could cause variation in levels of immunocompetence. There was no effect of testosterone manipulation on the cell-mediated response of birds to phytohaemagglutinin injection, nor did testosterone levels appear to affect either white blood cell ratios or red blood cell counts. In contrast, both breeding season and post-breeding season testosterone levels had significant effects upon the humoral response of the birds to sheep red blood cell injections. However, whilst testosterone during the breeding season appeared to act immunosuppressively, the role of post-breeding levels is less clear. In concordance with a previous study, there was an indication that corticosterone is involved in mediating the immunosuppressive effects of testosterone. The strength of the secondary humoral response and the cell-mediated response were negatively related suggesting the possibility of a trade-off between the different arms of the immune system. These results provide some support for the ICHH as a mechanism promoting the evolution of costly badges of status, although the results question whether the immunosuppressive cost can be mediated by testosterone at the time of badge development.Communicated by W.A.Searcy 相似文献
8.
Informational constraints can be an important limitation on the accuracy of recognition. One potential constraint is the use
of recognition information from the same sources in multiple discriminatory contexts. Worker wood ants, Formica fusca, discriminate eggs based on their maternal sources of origin in two main contexts: recognition of eggs laid by nestmate versus
non-nestmate queens and recognition of worker-laid versus queen-laid eggs. We manipulated the experience of F. fusca workers in laboratory colonies to both worker-laid and queen-laid eggs by transferring eggs between colonies in order to
investigate whether these two contexts of egg discrimination are independent. Experience of non-nestmate queen-laid eggs significantly
increased worker acceptance of both familiar (18% accepted) and unfamiliar (10%) queen-laid eggs compared to control workers
without experience of eggs other than those laid by their own colony’s queen (2%). In contrast, worker acceptance of worker-laid
eggs was not affected by variation in the egg experience of workers (14% in workers from control colonies exposed only to
eggs from their own colony’s queen versus 19% and 17% in workers from colonies which had received eggs laid by either a non-nestmate
queen or nestmate workers, respectively). Our results suggest that these two recognition contexts do not strongly constrain
each other and are different in their ontogeny. In particular, worker-laid eggs are universally discriminated against by workers
from colonies with a queen whatever the egg experience of the workers, while non-nestmate queen-laid eggs are strongly discriminated
against only by workers without experience of eggs laid by more than one queen. 相似文献
9.
The signature whistle hypothesis states that dolphins produce highly stereotyped, individually distinctive whistles when in isolation. The presence of signature whistles has been called into question by recent studies proposing that dolphins produce a shared, simple upsweep whistle when in isolation, and that whistles produced by socializing dolphins are shared across individuals and social groups. This shared repertoire hypothesis suggests that when two animals produce the same whistle type, it is due to sharing the same common repertoire rather than one animal learning to produce the whistle of another. One difference between studies supporting or denying the existence of signature whistles is the method used to classify whistle types. We examined whistle production by 17 free-ranging bottlenose dolphins while temporarily restrained. We used both a quantitative comparison technique similar to that used to support the shared repertoire hypothesis and human judges to classify whistle types and quantify similarity between types. Contrary to recent studies that emphasize shared whistles, overall whistle sharing between isolated individuals was low (25%) and a simple upsweep did not account for the most common whistle type in half of the animals. Some species of birds, bats, and primates with stable social groups use vocal learning to converge over time to one common group distinctive call type. We examined whistle similarity between adult male dolphins that are partners in a close social alliance in order to test whether vocal learning may enable a similar vocal convergence. Whistle similarity was rated very high between partners and low between non-partners by both the quantitative technique and human observers. This suggests that as in songbirds and some other mammals, adult male bottlenose dolphins may use vocal learning to converge on similar whistles as they develop affiliative social relationships.Communicated by G. Wilkinson 相似文献
10.
Maud C. O. Ferrari François Messier Douglas P. Chivers 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(7):1079-1083
A prerequisite for prey to show adaptive behavioural responses to predators is that the prey has the ability to recognise
predators as threats. While predator recognition can be innate in many situations, learning is often essential. For many aquatic
species, one common way to learn about predators is through the pairing of a novel predator odour with alarm cues released
from injured conspecifics. One study with fish demonstrated that this mode of learning not only allows the prey to recognise
the predatory cues as a threat, but also mediates the level of threat associated with the predator cues (i.e. threat-sensitive
learning). When the prey is exposed to the novel predator with a high concentration of alarm cues, they subsequently show
a high intensity of antipredator response to the predator cues alone. When exposed to the predator with a low concentration
of alarm cues, they subsequently show a low-intensity response to the predator cues. Here, we investigated whether larval
mosquitoes Culex restuans have the ability to learn to recognise salamanders as a threat through a single pairing of alarm cues and salamander odour
and also whether they would learn to respond to salamander cues in a threat-sensitive manner. We conditioned individual mosquitoes
with water or a low, medium or high concentration of crushed conspecific cues (alarm cues) paired with salamander odour. Mosquitoes
exposed to salamander odour paired with alarm cues and subsequently exposed to salamander odour alone responded to the salamander
as a threat. Moreover, the intensity of antipredator response displayed during the conditioning phase matched the response
intensity during the testing phase. This is the first demonstration of threat-sensitive learning in an aquatic invertebrate. 相似文献
11.
Summary. The major component of the trail pheromone of
the myrmicine ant Crematogaster castanea
has been identified as (R)-2-dodecanol from
the tibial glands of the hind legs. The substance gave activity comparable to the
contents of 8 tibial glands at a concentration of 1 pg per 32 cm trail. 相似文献
12.
We examine vigilance within a mixed-species troop of saddleback (Saguinus fuscicollis) and moustached (S. mystax) tamarins over a complete year. Saddleback tamarins were consistently more vigilant than moustached tamarins. This may be linked to their preference for lower strata. In accordance with previous studies of other primates, vigilant tamarins of both species were significantly further away from their nearest neighbours, and were also at lower heights in the forest than non-vigilant individuals. There was no observed sex difference in the amount of time spent vigilant. In terms of modes of scanning, the saddleback tamarins looked up significantly more frequently than the moustached tamarins, whereas there was no difference between the species in the frequency of side sweeps. There were no differences between the sexes in the frequencies of either type of vigilant behaviour. The proportion of time spent vigilant was higher than average immediately prior to entering a sleeping site for saddleback tamarins, but not for moustached tamarins. Both species were more vigilant immediately after exiting a sleeping site than at other times of the day. There was significant variation in the amount of time devoted to vigilance over the course of the year. These findings are discussed with respect to the social structure, ecology and main predator threats facing these species.Communicated by D. Watts 相似文献
13.
Paula A. White 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(3):377-361
Among spotted hyenas, Crocuta crocuta, neonatal aggression in twins is a well-known phenomenon and serves to establish intra-litter dominance soon after birth.
As the stronger more aggressive cub presumably attains dominance over its twin, intra-litter dominance presents mothers with
an ideal opportunity to assess individual cub fitness and, thereafter, to selectively favor one cub over the other. This study
quantified maternal response to sibling conflict in 26 sets of twins born to 16 wild-living females to determine whether mothers
of different social ranks exhibited favoritism towards sons or daughters, or in the case of same-sex twins, the dominant or
subordinate cub. Maternal response to sibling conflict did not vary with litter sex composition, suggesting that mothers do
not favor offspring of one sex over the other. All mothers intervened when their cubs fought and sometimes punished their
cubs. Higher-ranking mothers more often punished both cubs, while lower-ranking mothers were more selective and punished the
dominant cub. Where sibling aggression was most extreme, rather than favor the dominant sibling, mothers of all ranks made
concessions to the subordinate cub that included procuring private nursing bouts for the subordinate and temporarily housing
twins in separate dens, presumably to decrease sibling conflict. These findings represent a complex example of parent–offspring
conflict and support both the insurance cub hypothesis and resource tracking hypothesis that mothers endeavor to keep all
offspring alive for as long as possible in the event that the dominant sibling dies or that resources provide for the rearing
of twins.
This contribution is part of the special issue “Sibling competition and cooperation in mammals” (guest editors: Robyn Hudson
and Fritz Trillmich). 相似文献
14.
Many animals show seasonal shifts in behaviors that coincide with breeding, migration, or hibernation. These behavioral shifts provide ideal opportunities to study the regulation of behavior. The red-sided garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis parietalis) spends 8 months of the year inactive in underground hibernacula, 1 month breeding, and 3 months feeding to build up enough energy stores to survive the following winter. Although they emerge from 8 months of hibernation with severely depleted energy reserves, they do not feed until weeks later, after the breeding season. We tested the hypothesis that this lack of feeding during the breeding season is due to a shift in behavior rather than the distribution of food and potential mates. Male garter snakes were given a series of choices between pursuing a breeding or feeding opportunity. The proportion of tests in which males selected feeding over breeding gradually increased throughout the study period, reaching almost 100% in the final tests. Males also were given opportunities to feed and court at the beginning and end of the study. Males initially refused food and courted females, but when retested at the end of the study they fed and did not court females. Thus aphagia during the breeding season is due at least in part to an endogenous shift in behavior.Communicated by P. Weatherhead 相似文献
15.
Noam Leader Eli Geffen Ofer Mokady Yoram Yom-Tov 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(8):1299-1305
Geographic variation in vocalizations is widespread in passerine birds, but its origins and maintenance remain unclear. In
this study, we test the hypothesis that song dialect, a culturally transmitted trait, is related to the population genetic
structure of the orange-tufted sunbird, Nectarinia osea. To address this, we compared mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation together with allele frequencies at five microsatellite
loci from an urban population of sunbirds exhibiting two distinct song dialects on a microgeographic scale. Our findings reveal
no association between dialect membership and genetic composition. All genetic measures, from both mitochondrial and nuclear
DNA, indicate high levels of gene flow between both dialect populations. The low F
ST values obtained from mtDNA and microsatellite analysis imply that the variation among dialects does not account for more
than 2%, at best, of the overall genetic variation found in the entire population. These measures fall well within the range
of similar measures obtained in other studies of species exhibiting vocal dialects, most of which fail to detect any dialect-based
genetic differentiation. The persistence of dialects in the orange-tufted sunbird may thus best be explained by dispersal
of individuals across dialect boundaries and possibly from surrounding areas, followed by postdispersal vocal matching. Because
genetic structuring appears weaker than cultural structure in this species, we discuss the behavioral mechanisms underlying
dialect maintenance in the presence of apparent gene flow. 相似文献
16.
Deborah A. Hutchinson Alan H. Savitzky Akira Mori Jerrold Meinwald Frank C. Schroeder 《Chemoecology》2008,18(3):181-190
Summary.
Rhabdophis tigrinus obtains defensive steroids (bufadienolides) from its diet and sequesters those compounds in specialized structures on its
neck known as nuchal glands. Hatchling snakes lacking these steroids must acquire them from toads consumed as prey. Here we
show that females provision bufadienolides to their offspring in amounts correlated to the quantity in their own nuchal glands;
thus, chemically protected mothers produce defended offspring. Bufadienolides can be provisioned to embryos via deposition
in yolk and by transfer across the egg membranes within the oviducts. Maternally provisioned bufadienolides persist in the
nuchal glands of juvenile snakes from the time of hatching in late summer until the following spring, when toads of ingestible
size become abundant. Therefore, maternal provisioning may provide chemical protection from predators for young R. tigrinus in the absence of dietary sources of bufadienolides. 相似文献
17.
Guira cuckoos, Guira guira, exhibit a rare polygynandrous reproductive system with groups containing several male and female breeders, allowing for important tests of reproductive skew models. Female reproductive strategies involve leaving the group, varying clutch size, egg ejection and infanticide, among others. Here we examined the predictions of reproductive skew models relative to reproductive partitioning among females in groups. We used yolk protein electrophoresis to identify individual females eggs in joint nests. We found that reproductive partitioning favors early-laying females, which lay and incubate more eggs than females that begin laying later. Because the female that lays first tends to switch between repeated nesting bouts, and females do not always contribute eggs to each bout, female reproductive success tends to equalize within groups over time. The pattern of reproductive partitioning differs from that described for anis, another crotophagine joint-nester. We calculated reproductive skew indices for groups in 2 years, for both laying and incubation, as well as an overall population value. These were compared to random skew generated by simulations. Varying degrees of skew were found for different groups, and also across sequential nesting bouts of the same groups. Overall, however, skew did not deviate from random within the population. Nests that reached incubation tended to have lower skew values during the laying phase than nests terminated due to ejection of all eggs followed by desertion. Groups had higher reproductive skew indices in their first nesting bout of the season, and these nests frequently failed. These results illustrate the importance of social organization in determining not only individual, but group success in reproduction, and highlight the flexibility of vertebrate social behavior.Communicated by J. Dickinson 相似文献
18.
Matthias Bandilla Teija Hakalahti-Sirén E. Tellervo Valtonen 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(6):975-982
Mating is essential for sexually reproducing species to pass on their genes. For sexual parasites, this implies a need to
switch the host in the search for a mate when potential partners are not available on the same host, although host switching
includes risks like starvation and predation. Studies of mate-searching behavior predict that commonly only one sex searches
for mating partners while the other remains stationary. In the present work, we experimentally infected rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) with the fish ectoparasite Argulus coregoni and determined whether the sex, age and the presence of mating partners influenced the host switching activity. Our results
show that increased host switching by A. coregoni occurred only after the parasite reached the adult stage and a difference between the sexes was also recorded. Host switching
by mature males was enhanced when no mating partners were present on the same host, whereas females remained mainly stationary
on their host regardless of male presence or absence. Our data therefore support the hypothesis that there is a strategic
difference in reproductive behavior between males and females; males invest energy in mate searching while females are rather
stationary and invest into body size and hence increased fecundity. Our data also showed that leaving the host to find a mate
is potentially costly in terms of predation since a substantial number of free-swimming parasites were eaten by fish. 相似文献
19.
Behavioural variation is known to occur between individuals of the same population competing for resources. Individuals also vary with respect to their boldness or shyness. An individuals position along the shy-bold axis may be defined as the extent to which it is willing to trade off potentially increased predation risks for possible gains in resources. Similarly, group living may be interpreted as a trade-off between anti-predatory tactics and foraging efficiency. The responses of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) were tested across four social contexts to assess relative boldness or shyness and to further examine whether their behaviour would be consistent within and between contexts. Individuals displayed consistent responses within and between the first two contexts: those individuals which resumed foraging rapidly after a simulated aerial predator attack also displayed low shoaling tendencies. Such fish were deemed to be bold, whilst those which displayed the converse behaviour, slow resumption of foraging and a high shoaling tendency, were deemed to be shy. In a third context, bold individuals out-competed shy conspecifics for food. Boldness was also positively correlated with growth over a 6-week period. The position adopted by an individual within a group is usually interpreted as a trade-off between predation risk and foraging efficiency—both are greater at the front of a mobile group. Bold individuals showed significantly stronger tendencies towards front positions than shy conspecifics. The results suggest that, contrary to some previous studies on other animals, bold or shy behaviour in sticklebacks is consistent between contexts.Communicated by T. Czeschlik 相似文献
20.
Many species base their choice of mates on multiple signals which provide them with different kinds of information. Choosers
may assess the signals together to evaluate the overall quality of potential mates, but individuals often pay attention to
different signals in different contexts. In Rhinogobius brunneus, a fish displaying exclusive male parental care, females generally prefer males showing larger first dorsal fins (FDF) and
more active courtship displays as mates. Females choosing a mate usually initially assess the FDF and later utilize courtship
for the final decision. In our experiments, females with different hunger states used different signals when selecting mates.
Females in both hunger states preferred males with larger FDF in the first stage. In the second stage, well-fed females showed
highly repeatable choice, whereas poorly fed females responded only to variation in the courtship activity of males. The males
preferred by poorly fed females exhibited significantly higher offspring survival than nonpreferred males. Under conditions
of food shortage, males allocate more energy to future reproduction at the expense of the present brood, and females may prioritize
signals predictive of offspring survivorship over signals reflecting other aspects in male quality to minimize the losses
in direct benefits. We conclude that R. brunneus females may employ information from both signals but dynamically adjust their prioritization of each signal to current conditions
to ensure the choice that is currently most adaptive. 相似文献