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Acta Ethol 2018 22;21(3):203-208. Epub 2018 Aug 22.

5Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus C, Denmark.

Understanding the adaptive function of the unique morphology of the human eye, in particular its overexposed white sclera, may have profound implications for the fields of evolutionary behavioural science, and specifically the areas of human interaction and social cognition. Existing hypotheses, such as the cooperative eye hypothesis, have attracted a lot of attention but remain untested. Here, we: (i) analysed variation in the visible sclera size in humans from different ethnic backgrounds and (ii) examined whether intraspecific variation of exposed sclera size is related to trust. Read More

Acta Ethol 2018 5;21(1):13-20. Epub 2017 Sep 5.

PiedFly.Net, Yarner Wood, Bovey Tracey, Devon TQ13 9LJ UK.

Birds often engage in nest defence against predators to improve breeding success, but defence efficiency requires the capability to assess the threat level posed by potential predators. For species with low breeding-site tenacity, which may encounter varying occurrence and density of predators in different areas, threat recognition could be compromised due to naivety, and so predator recognition may focus on broad key features to diminish the risk of misidentification. We experimentally tested this hypothesis by recording behavioural reactions of the nomadic wood warbler to objects reflecting various levels of threat: least weasel and Eurasian jay taxidermy mounts, an inanimate object and an empty display mount. Read More

Acta Ethol 2017 21;20(3):223-233. Epub 2017 May 21.

Institute of Environmental Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa Street 7, 30-387 Kraków, Poland.

The trade-off between animal's parental reproductive effort and survival is still poorly understood. Parental allocation between the workload during breeding attempts and the parents' own body conditions can be assessed through the offspring quality. Here, I questioned whether the immune responsiveness of female great tits may be considered as a mediator of this trade-off. Read More

Acta Ethol 2017 9;20(2):191-195. Epub 2017 Feb 9.

Department of Nature Conservation, Institute of Biology, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, Akademicka 19, 20-033 Lublin, Poland.

Animals confronted with the threat of the death of their offspring may exhibit unusual and risk-prone behaviours. Grebes (Podicipediformes) are water birds which cannot effectively walk, thus unfledged young are assumed to be unable to depart from their natal ponds by land. We provide evidence that red-necked grebes , breeding on ponds with scarce food resources, transferred their flightless young (2-4 weeks old) to other, unconnected ponds by land or air. Read More

Acta Ethol 2017 29;20(2):137-145. Epub 2017 Mar 29.

Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Environmental Biology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.

Song is a sexually selected trait that is involved in mate attraction and territory defence in birds. Songs may convey information about different male quality components. They are flexible in terms of frequency, amplitude, and duration. Read More

Acta Ethol 2017 13;20(1):1-8. Epub 2016 Oct 13.

Department of Human Biology, Chair of Physiotherapy Foundations, Faculty of Physiotherapy, University School of Physical Education in Wroclaw, al. I. J. Paderewskiego 35, 51-612 Wroclaw, Poland.

Mate value discrepancy (MVD) between heterosexual partners is an important factor influencing relationship satisfaction which, in turn, has an effect on the quality and the stability of the relationship. Therefore, partners' involvement in mate retention behaviours, such as controlling behaviours, can be related to MVD and our study aims to determine whether such an association exists. In order to do so, we analysed female perception of MVD and their opinion regarding the intensity of controlling behaviours performed by themselves as well as their romantic partners. Read More

Acta Ethol 2016 19;19(3):163-171. Epub 2016 May 19.

Department of Avian Biology and Ecology, Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznań, Poland.

Birds exhibit various forms of anti-predator behaviours to avoid reproductive failure, with mobbing-observation, approach and usually harassment of a predator-being one of the most commonly observed. Here, we investigate patterns of temporal variation in the mobbing response exhibited by a precocial species, the northern lapwing (). We test whether brood age and self-reliance, or the perceived risk posed by various predators, affect mobbing response of lapwings. Read More

Acta Ethol 2016;19:91-94. Epub 2015 Sep 16.

P. O. Box 272, 88000 Eilat, Israel.

The hooded crow is a west Palaearctic, solitary nesting, monogamous corvid. In the breeding season, populations are characterized by a social organization wherein breeding pairs are territorial and non-breeding individuals, called floaters, live in flocks. During a study of the breeding ecology of the hooded crow, conducted in a protected flooded area, we monitored nests with video cameras. Read More

Acta Ethol 2015;18(2):197-208. Epub 2014 Oct 22.

Association Ornithologique de la Martinique (AOMA), 59, Route de Pointe Fort, 97231 Le Robert, Martinique France.

The White-breasted Thrasher () is surviving at the tip of the Caravelle peninsula in Martinique, on a 5 km territory. Once widespread throughout the island, this passerine was on the verge of extinction in the 1950s but managed to recover. The creation of the Caravelle Nature Reserve in 1976 contributed to the protection of its habitat, but little is known about the factors behind the slow population growth registered in the past decades. Read More

Acta Ethol 2014 Jun;17(2):69-75

University of Memphis, Department of Biological Sciences, (901) 678-3509, Ellington Hall, Memphis, TN 38152, USA.

Many terrestrial mammals will deposit scent marks and over-marks, the latter being the overlapping scent marks of two conspecifics. Studies have shown that male rodents that are exposed to the overlapping scent marks of two female conspecifics later spend more time investigating the mark of the top-scent female than that of the bottom-scent female. This suggests over-marking is a form of competition and that the top-scent female is more likely than the bottom-scent female to be chosen as a potential mate. Read More

Acta Ethol 2014 28;17:107-111. Epub 2013 Aug 28.

Department of Biological Sciences, Auburn University, 331 Funchess Hall, Auburn, AL 36849 USA.

Preening behavior in birds is important for the maintenance of thermoregulatory and ornamental functions of plumage. It has been repeatedly demonstrated that birds trade off time between plumage maintenance and other activities. However, the condition-dependent constraints of preening remain virtually unstudied. Read More

Acta Ethol 2014 20;17:31-35. Epub 2013 Jul 20.

Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.

Although the use of sounds in spatial orientation is widespread among animals, only a few groups advanced such specific adaptations as echolocation. In contrast, practically all animals and night-active species in particular, must occasionally orient themselves relative to invisible but audible objects such as a hidden rival or predator. In this study, I would like to determine the impact of locating which involves the use of acoustic parameters of sender's vocalisations by receivers and changes of positions and triangulation of sender's vocalisations by receivers in estimating the distance to the sender during night-time territorial interactions of the corncrake (). Read More

Acta Ethol 2013 Jun;16(2)

Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078.

Contaminants, like pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and metals, are persistent and ubiquitous and are known to threaten the environment. Traditionally, scientists have considered the direct physiological risks that these contaminants pose. However, scientists have just begun to integrate ethology and toxicology to investigate the effects that contaminants have on behavior. Read More

Acta Ethol 2013 12;16:173-179. Epub 2013 May 12.

Department of Behavioural Ecology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Umultowska 89, 61-614 Poznan, Poland.

Locomotor performance affects foraging efficiency, predator avoidance and consequently fitness. Agility and speed determine the animal's social status and reflect its condition. In this study, we test how predatory pressure and parasite load influences locomotor performance of wild specimens of the sand lizard . Read More

Acta Ethol 2010 Oct 11;13(2):75-85. Epub 2010 May 11.

Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Vorobievy Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia.

Vocal indicators of welfare have proven their use for many farmed and zoo animals and may be applied to farmed silver foxes as these animals display high vocal activity toward humans. Farmed silver foxes were selected mainly for fur, size, and litter sizes, but not for attitudes to people, so they are fearful of humans and have short-term welfare problems in their proximity. With a human approach test, we designed here the steady increase and decrease of fox-human distance and registered vocal responses of 25 farmed silver foxes. Read More

Acta Ethol 2010 May 4;13(1):23-31. Epub 2010 May 4.

We investigated the changes in the behavioral repertoire over the course of life and determined the life expectancy and entropy of workers of the ant Ectatomma vizottoi. Newly emerged ants were individually marked with model airplane paint for observation of behaviors and determination of the age and life expectancy. Ants were divided into two groups: young and old workers. Read More

Acta Ethol 2010 May 21;13(1):1-9. Epub 2010 Jan 21.

Chicks of burrowing petrels use begging calls to advertise their hunger levels when parents arrived at the nest. In a previous study, adult thin-billed prions Pachyptila belcheri responded to higher begging call rates of their single chick by regurgitating larger meals. We tested whether acoustic parameters of begging call elements may also be involved in signalling. Read More

Acta Ethol 2009 Oct 24;12(2):121-125. Epub 2009 Sep 24.

The courtship behavior of Podocnemis erythrocephala (Red-headed Amazon River Turtle) in captivity was studied to examine female receptivity and male response to female rejection. We observed 20 females and 39 males in 150 sessions (3-6 h/day for a total of 450 h). In 36% of the trials, there was no interaction between males and females, and 20% of the trials resulted in copulations. Read More

Acta Ethol 2009 Oct 22;12(2):93-98. Epub 2009 Jul 22.

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606 USA.

Singing birds optimize signal transmission by perching in exposed locations. However, conspicuous singing may be risky, and previous research has found that individuals trade off singing performance with song perch exposure. We studied the relationship between predation risk (degree of concealment, height in tree or shrub, and distance to the forest edge) and time allocated to singing and vigilance in a group of 13 passerine species living in an East African savanna. Read More

Acta Ethol 2009 Oct 5;12(2):79-85. Epub 2009 Aug 5.

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, 621 Young Drive South, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606 USA.

Both direct cues that provide information about the actual presence of a predator and indirect environmental cues that provide information about the probability of encountering a predator may be used by animals assessing predation risk, but relatively few studies manipulate both simultaneously to study their relative importance. We conducted two experiments to study the foraging decisions of white-browed sparrow-weavers (Plocepasser mahali). The first experiment manipulated both direct and indirect cues in a feeding array by simultaneously placing feeding stations at different distances from humans (to manipulate direct risk) and from protective cover (to manipulate indirect risk). Read More

Acta Ethol 2008 Apr;11(1):34-41

Konrad Lorenz Research Station, 4645 Gruenau 11, Austria.

Recent studies suggest the existence of primate-like cognitive abilities in corvids. Although the learning abilities of corvids in comparison to other species have been investigated before, little is known on how corvids perform on simple discrimination tasks if tested in experimental settings comparable to those that have been used for studying complex cognitive abilities. In this study, we tested a captive group of 12 ravens () on four discrimination problems and their reversals. Read More