scholarly journals Female response to predation risk alters conspecific male behaviour during pre-copulatory mate guarding

Ethology ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 124 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-130 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keiko Oku ◽  
Erik H. Poelman ◽  
Peter W. de Jong ◽  
Marcel Dicke
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Conspecific Male ◽  
Female Response

Male mate guarding increases females' predation risk? A case study on tandem oviposition in the damselfly Coenagrion puella (Insecta: Odonata)

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (6) ◽  
pp. 1013-1016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Zeiss ◽  
Andreas Martens ◽  
Jens Rolff
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Oviposition Behaviour ◽  
Oviposition Site ◽  
Male Mate

To estimate whether male mate guarding alters the predation risk for females, we conducted experiments in field cages with the damselfly Coenagrion puella. We experimentally compared the risk for females ovipositing solitarily versus in tandem with the male. The backswimmer Notonecta glauca was used as a predator. Owing to the oviposition behaviour of the damselflies, N. glauca only preys on females, therefore it was possible to determine whether the presence of males decreases or increases females' predation risk. Females in tandem were more frequently touched and grasped by N. glauca than solitary females. In most tandem pairs, the female showed the first reaction to the attack and the male responded subsequently. After an attack, most solitary females left the oviposition site but most tandem females stayed. Once grasped by the predator, more solitary females were killed.

Vigilance in human groups: a test of alternative hypotheses

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (5) ◽  
pp. 695-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Inverse Relationship ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Mate Searching ◽  
Clear Cut ◽  
Vigilance Behaviour ◽  
Alternative Hypotheses

AbstractHumans exhibit the same inverse relationship between group size and vigilance rates that has been classically described in animals. We collected data on natural human vigilance behaviour in two different contemporary environments (a large refectory-style cafeteria and open parks) to test between four alternative hypotheses for this relationship: predation risk, searching for friends, mate searching and mate guarding. The results demonstrate that, at least in contemporary city environments, humans monitor their surroundings largely for reasons motivated by mate searching. Data on whom subjects look at in a busy environment indicate that males are significantly more likely to attend differentially to female passers-by, but that females show a less clear-cut discrimination. We conclude that vigilance patterns are determined by locally salient functions.

Elevated nest predation risk promotes offspring size variation in birds with prolonged parental care.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gretchen F. Wagner ◽  
Emeline Mourocq ◽  
Michael Griesser
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Reproductive Cycle ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Nest Predation ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Variation ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Offspring Size ◽  
Natural Predation ◽  
Risk Spreading

Predation of offspring is the main cause of reproductive failure in many species, and the mere fear of offspring predation shapes reproductive strategies. Yet, natural predation risk is ubiquitously variable and can be unpredictable. Consequently, the perceived prospect of predation early in a reproductive cycle may not reflect the actual risk to ensuing offspring. An increased variance in investment across offspring has been linked to breeding in unpredictable environments in several taxa, but has so far been overlooked as a maternal response to temporal variation in predation risk. Here, we experimentally increased the perceived risk of nest predation prior to egg-laying in seven bird species. Species with prolonged parent-offspring associations increased their intra-brood variation in egg, and subsequently offspring, size. High risk to offspring early in a reproductive cycle can favour a risk-spreading strategy particularly in species with the greatest opportunity to even out offspring quality after fledging.

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