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Asymmetries in commitment in an avian communication network.

Christoph Randler1, Christian Vollmer

  • 1Department of Biology, University of Education Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 561-2, 69120, Heidelberg, Germany. Randler@ph-heidelberg.de

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Summary

Bird mobbing communication networks are unequal. Species like chaffinches show lower commitment to mobbing calls, while blue tits show higher commitment, indicating an asymmetric system with uneven costs across the community.

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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Animal Communication
  • Community Ecology

Background:

  • Mobbing behavior in birds occurs in both conspecific (same species) and heterospecific (different species) contexts.
  • Previous research has not fully quantified mobbing within a communication network framework, especially concerning heterospecific reciprocity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To quantify mobbing behavior distribution within a deciduous forest bird community.
  • To analyze mobbing responses in relation to a communication network and heterospecific reciprocity.
  • To determine if mobbing commitment varies between species and call types (conspecific vs. heterospecific).

Main Methods:

  • Playback experiments using mobbing calls from five bird species: great tit (Parus major), blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus), marsh tit (Poecile palustris), nuthatch (Sitta europaea), and chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs).
  • Measured commitment to mobbing by assessing minimum approach distance, response latency, and vocalizations.
  • Compared responses to conspecific mobbing calls versus heterospecific mobbing calls.

Main Results:

  • Mobbing behavior was unequally distributed among the studied bird species.
  • All five species responded to each other's mobbing calls, confirming interspecific communication.
  • Commitment to mobbing was significantly higher when responding to conspecific calls compared to heterospecific calls.
  • Species exhibited differential commitment to mobbing heterospecific calls, with chaffinches showing the lowest and blue tits the highest tendency.
  • The mobbing communication network is asymmetric, with some species investing more in mobbing than they receive benefits from other species.

Conclusions:

  • Mobbing communication networks in bird communities are characterized by asymmetry.
  • The costs associated with mobbing predators are unequally distributed among species within the community.
  • Understanding these asymmetric interactions is crucial for comprehending the evolution of social behavior and community dynamics.