Journal
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
Volume 202, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
ELSEVIER
DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104735
Keywords
Behavioral flexibility; Context-dependent aggression; Fairywren; Mirror image stimulation; Simulated territorial intrusion
Categories
Funding
- National Science Foundation [IOS-1354133]
- American Ornithological Society
- Society for Comparative and Integrative Biology
- American Philosophical Society
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology of Tulane University
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Aggression in socially monogamous species can vary depending on contextual factors, including the aggression of their mate. This study used simulated territorial intrusion and mirror image simulation assays to explore how individuals of white-shouldered fairywrens respond to potential rivals. The results showed that male and female birds exhibited different levels of response and aggression depending on the assay used.
Agonistic conflict is ubiquitous throughout taxa, although the intensity of aggression observed is often highly variable across contexts. For socially monogamous species, a coordinated effort by both pair members can improve the chances of successfully warding off challengers and reinforce pair bonds. However, the intensity of aggression exerted by any one pair member may vary with respect to contextual factors, including the intensity of their mate's aggression. Thus, experimentally exploring how individuals respond to potential rivals via multiple assays with varying social contexts can advance our basic understanding of how aggression varies in socially monogamous systems. We used simulated territorial intrusion and mirror image simulation assays to explore this issue in white-shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus moretoni) of Papua New Guinea. While males tended to be more responsive than females during simulated territorial intrusions, females were more aggressive towards their mirrored reflection than males. Further, individual females that were most aggressive in mirror image simulations were the least aggressive during simulated territorial intrusions, whereas males were inconsistent. These results suggest that female behavioral phenotypes appear to be flexible, relative to context. We discuss how multiple commonly used measurements of aggression might in fact measure different types of responses.
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