scholarly journals Investigating parental care behaviour in same-sex pairing of zoo greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5227
Author(s):  
Barbara Regaiolli ◽  
Camillo Sandri ◽  
Paul E. Rose ◽  
Vittoria Vallarin ◽  
Caterina Spiezio
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Adaptive Value ◽  
Pair Bonds ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
Focal Animal ◽  
Egg Care ◽  
Greater Flamingos ◽  
Insight Into

Same-sex pair bonds have been documented in several animal species and they are widespread in birds. However, little is known about the evolutionary origin and the adaptive value of such behaviour. The aim of this study was to investigate the parental behaviour of four zoo female greater flamingos involved in two breeding pairs, housed in a flock at Parco Natura Viva, Italy. Further, the behaviour of the study females was compared with that of male and female flamingos in heterosexual pairs described in a previous published work on this same flock. For each pair, the behaviour of both birds during the incubation period was recorded and twenty 10-minute sessions were run within the incubation period. A continuous focal animal sampling method was used to collect data on location (on the nest or not on the nest) and the parental care behaviour (e.g.: agonistic behaviours toward disturbing conspecifics, egg-care, nest-building, self-comfort behaviour, sleeping) of the two pairs. Data of the current study females were compared with those of females and males involved in heterosexual pairs of this same flock. Results showed that within each pair the egg-layer female stayed away from the nest more than the other female. In addition, the female that did not lay an egg was more involved in agonistic behaviour compared to other females, particularly when in specific locations. In heterosexual pairs, male flamingos were more involved in the incubation and in nest protection. Moreover, no significant differences in the time spent on the nest and away from the nest between the heterosexual male and the non-layer females of same-sex pairs were found. The same findings were reported when comparing heterosexual females and the egg-layer females of the same-sex pairs. Therefore, our findings suggest that in greater flamingos the behaviour of the female–female pairs seems to be equivalent to that of male-female bonds. Such research provides more insight into flamingo social behaviour, and their reproductive cycle, and provides information on why pair bonds may form and how these affect the wider breeding behaviour of the flock.

scholarly journals How to be a great dad: Parental care in a flock of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Sandri ◽  
Vittoria Vallarin ◽  
Carolina Sammarini ◽  
Barbara Regaiolli ◽  
Alessandra Piccirillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Greater Flamingos

The zoo-science literature on flamingos, and avian species in general, is lacking. However, this kind of research is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aims of the present study were to assess the welfare of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, through ethological parameters and to improve the knowledge on this species in zoological gardens. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected data on the parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and the behavioural category that was performed. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest and near it and were more aggressive toward other flamingos. Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. Greater flamingos of this study performed species-specific behaviours. Both parents were involved in parental care and displayed all the activities reported in the wild. Therefore, the study flock of greater flamingos seems to be in a good welfare. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment.

scholarly journals How to be a great dad: Parental care in a flock of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Sandri ◽  
Vittoria Vallarin ◽  
Carolina Sammarini ◽  
Barbara Regaiolli ◽  
Alessandra Piccirillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Science Literature ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Greater Flamingos

The zoo-science literature on flamingos, and avian species in general, is lacking. However, this kind of research is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aims of the present study were to assess the welfare of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, through ethological parameters and to improve the knowledge on this species in zoological gardens. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected data on the parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and the behavioural category that was performed. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest and near it and were more aggressive toward other flamingos. Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. Greater flamingos of this study performed species-specific behaviours. Both parents were involved in parental care and displayed all the activities reported in the wild. Therefore, the study flock of greater flamingos seems to be in a good welfare. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment.

scholarly journals How to be a great dad: parental care in a flock of greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus)

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Camillo Sandri ◽  
Vittoria Vallarin ◽  
Carolina Sammarini ◽  
Barbara Regaiolli ◽  
Alessandra Piccirillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Social Needs ◽  
Ex Situ ◽  
Nest Protection ◽  
Zoo Animals ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Greater Flamingos

In the last years, studies on captive greater flamingos have increased. Research on zoo animals is important to improve the knowledge on these species and to improve their ex-situ and in-situ conservation. The aim of the present study was to investigate the parental behaviour of a captive colony of greater flamingo hosted at Parco Natura Viva, an Italian zoological garden, to improve the knowledge on this species in zoos. In particular, the present study investigated and compared the parental care of females and males in 35 breeding pairs of greater flamingos. For each pair, we collected durations of parental care behaviour of both females and males, recording their position in relation to the nest (near the nest, on the nest, away from the nest) and individual and social behaviours performed. First, both partners were involved in parental care and displayed species-specific behaviours reported in the wild. The main results were that males spent more time than females on the nest (P = 0.010) and near it (P = 0.0001) and were more aggressive toward other flamingos than females, both when sitting on the nest (P = 0.003) and when near the nest (P = 0.0003). Therefore, male flamingos seem to be more involved in incubation duties and nest protection than females. This kind of research is important not only to expand the knowledge on bird species such as flamingos, but also to improve their husbandry and breeding in controlled environment. Indeed, understanding animal behaviour allows us to gain insights into their individual and social needs, addressing potential animal welfare issues.

scholarly journals Changing landscapes: Gay men in the west and northwest of Ireland

Sexualities ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136346072098169
Author(s):  
Aidan McKearney
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Social Rights ◽  
Irish Society ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Lgbt People ◽  
The Many ◽  
Northwest Region ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Insight Into

This article focuses on the experiences of gay men in the rural west and northwest region of Ireland, during a period of transformational social and political change in Irish society. These changes have helped facilitate new forms of LGBTQI visibility, and local radicalism in the region. Same-sex weddings, establishment of rural LGBT groups and marching under an LGBT banner at St Patricks Day parades would have been unthinkable in the recent past; but they are now becoming a reality. The men report continuing challenges in their lives as gay men in the nonmetropolitan space, but the emergence of new visibility, voice and cultural acceptance of LGBT people is helping change their lived experiences. The study demonstrates the impact of local activist LGBT citizens. Through their testimonies we can gain an insight into the many, varied and interwoven factors that have interplayed to create the conditions necessary for the men to: increasingly define themselves as gay to greater numbers of people in their localities; to embrace greater visibility and eschew strategies of silence; and aspire to a host of legal, political, cultural and social rights including same-sex marriage. Organic forms of visibility and local radicalism have emerged in the region and through an analysis of their testimonies we can see how the men continue to be transformed by an ever-changing landscape.

scholarly journals Parental effects alter the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait

eLife ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca M Kilner ◽  
Giuseppe Boncoraglio ◽  
Jonathan M Henshaw ◽  
Benjamin JM Jarrett ◽  
Ornela De Gasperin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Theoretical Modelling ◽  
Parental Effects ◽  
Levels Of Care ◽  
Adaptive Value ◽  
Nicrophorus Vespilloides ◽  
Low Levels ◽  
Behavioural Trait ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Benefits And Costs

The parents' phenotype, or the environment they create for their young, can have long-lasting effects on their offspring, with profound evolutionary consequences. Yet, virtually no work has considered how such parental effects might change the adaptive value of behavioural traits expressed by offspring upon reaching adulthood. To address this problem, we combined experiments on burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) with theoretical modelling and focussed on one adult behavioural trait in particular: the supply of parental care. We manipulated the early-life environment and measured the fitness payoffs associated with the supply of parental care when larvae reached maturity. We found that (1) adults that received low levels of care as larvae were less successful at raising larger broods and suffered greater mortality as a result: they were low-quality parents. Furthermore, (2) high-quality males that raised offspring with low-quality females subsequently suffered greater mortality than brothers of equivalent quality, which reared larvae with higher quality females. Our analyses identify three general ways in which parental effects can change the adaptive value of an adult behavioural trait: by influencing the associated fitness benefits and costs; by consequently changing the evolutionary outcome of social interactions; and by modifying the evolutionarily stable expression of behavioural traits that are themselves parental effects.

Mechanics of Embryonic Head Fold Morphogenesis

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor D. Varner ◽  
Dmitry A. Voronov ◽  
Larry A. Taber
Keyword(s):  
Embryonic Development ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Neural Plate ◽  
Vitelline Membrane ◽  
Heart Tube ◽  
Germ Layers ◽  
Embryonic Tissues ◽  
Anterior Extent ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Embryonic Head

Head fold morphogenesis constitutes the first discernible epithelial folding event in the embryonic development of the chick. It arises at Hamburger and Hamilton (HH) stage 6 (approximately 24 hours into a 21-day incubation period) and establishes the anterior extent of the embryo [1]. At this stage, the embryonic blastoderm is composed of three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm), which are organized into a flat layered sheet that overlies the fibrous vitelline membrane (VM). Within this blastodermal sheet, a crescent-shaped head fold develops just anterior to the elongating notochord, spanning across the embryonic midline at the rostral end of neural plate. At the crest of this fold, the bilateral precardiac plates fuse in a cranial to caudal direction and give rise to the primitive heart tube and foregut [2, 3]. An understanding of head fold morphogenesis may thus offer insight into how embryonic tissues are arranged to make ready for proper cardiac formation.

scholarly journals Anticipatory Minority Stressors among Same-Sex Couples: A Relationship Timeline Approach

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mieke Beth Thomeer ◽  
Allen LeBlanc ◽  
David Frost ◽  
Kayla Bowen
Keyword(s):  
Life Events ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Daily Hassles ◽  
Minority Populations ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Relationship Duration ◽  
Same Sex Couples ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract: We build on previous stress theories by drawing attention to the concept of anticipatory couple-level minority stressors (i.e., stressors expected to occur in the future that emanate from the stigmatization of certain relationship forms). A focus on anticipatory couple-level minority stressors brings with it the potential for important insight into vulnerabilities and resiliencies of people in same-sex relationships—the focus of our study. We use relationship timelines to examine stressors among a diverse sample of same-sex couples (N = 120). Respondents in same-sex relationships anticipated stressors that may not be unique to same-sex couples (e.g., purchasing a home together), but labeled many of their anticipatory stressors as reflecting the stigmatization of their same-sex relationship, in and of itself. Respondents rated anticipatory minority stressors as more stressful than other anticipatory stressors. Moreover, stressors varied by gender, age, and relationship duration, although not race/ethnicity or geographic site. This analysis is a preliminary step in examining how unique anticipatory couple-level minority stressors function as determinants of relationship quality, mental and physical health, and health disparities faced by sexual minority populations. Attempts to understand current stress levels should consider anticipatory stressors, alongside past and current life events, chronic strains, daily hassles, and minority stressors, as these processes are impossible to disentangle and may be consequential for current well-being. Cite as: Thomeer, Mieke Beth, Allen J. LeBlanc, David M. Frost, & Kayla Bowen. (2018). Anticipatory Minority Stressors among Same-Sex Couples: A Relationship Timeline Approach. Social Psychology Quarterly 81(2): 126-148

scholarly journals Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner: Unveiling the Trauma of Adolescent Boys Trapped in Afghanistan’s Culturally Legitimised Paedophilia-‘Bacha Bazi’

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pallavi Thakur ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Psychological Trauma ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Same Sex ◽  
Adolescent Boys ◽  
Afghan Women ◽  
Adult Men ◽  
The World ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Instrumental Role

Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner is a powerful narrative on ‘Bacha Bazi’, “same-sex pedophilia restricted to adult men and adolescent boys” (Powell, 2018, p.1), prevalent in Afghanistan. When marginalisation of Afghan women became the nucleus of major studies , especially during the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, Hosseini unveiled in The Kite Runner, the gruesome Afghan culture of ‘Bacha Bazi’ that disintegrates a boy’s social and sexual identity. ‘Bacha Bazi’ is not consensual rather coercion hence is equivalent to rape and reflects the grotesque violation of Afghan male children’s human rights. While the world viewed Afghanistan as a land of incessant wars, tribal conflicts, violence and female exploitation, Khaled Hosseini’s The Kite Runner provided a startling insight into ‘Bacha Bazi’ and its implications on Afghan boys. The novel reveals the socio-culture domain of Afghanistan and ethnic rivalry playing an instrumental role in the existence of Bacha Bazi. In the light of the above discussions, the present paper examines the deleterious effects of Bacha Bazi on Afghan male children. It elucidates the psychological trauma of adolescent Afghan boys that evolves out of the sexual abuse and new androgynous identity imposed on them.

Evidence for egg brooding and parental care in icefish and other notothenioids in the Southern Ocean

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 223-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
K.-H. Kock ◽  
L.K. Pshenichnov ◽  
A.L. Devries
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Incubation Period ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Ross Sea ◽  
Antarctic Fish ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Relative Fecundity ◽  
Egg Carrying ◽  
Egg Brooding

One of the least known Antarctic fish species is the icefish Chionobathyscus dewitti described first in 1978. Some of its reproductive characteristics appear to be similar to other channichthyids of similar size and shape. Females close to spawning have gonado–somatic indices (GSIs) of more than 20, and absolute fecundity was 2967 to 15612 oocytes in females 33–62 cm long. Relative fecundity was 7.6 in one female. Spawning has been observed in the Ross Sea at 1300 to 1500 m depth from January to March. Chionobathyscus dewitti may exhibit a remarkable egg carrying behaviour: eggs stick together in batches around the pelvic fins of females. The comparatively large number of mature males observed with no indication of an egg batch attached to their ventral fins makes it unlikely that males are involved in egg carrying. The few larvae of C. dewitti caught so far occurred from October onwards. Their size indicates that they have hatched as early as September. This suggests an incubation period of at least six months. We compare this with parental care reported in other notothenioids.

The ‘culture of two’: Communication accommodation in ravens’ (Corvus corax) nonvocal signaling

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Eva Maria Luef ◽  
Andries Ter Maat ◽  
Manuela Jäger ◽  
Simone Pika
Keyword(s):  
Corvus Corax ◽  
Communication Accommodation ◽  
Communicative Skills ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Crucial Feature ◽  
Pair Bonds ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Social Units ◽  
Communicative Abilities ◽  
Insight Into

Abstract The theory of communication accommodation refers to linguistic processes through which human interactants—consciously or subconsciously—shift their speech and gesture styles to resemble those of their conversation partners. This phenomenon represents a crucial feature of human language and is particularly pronounced in affiliative and/or strong relationships. Communication accommodation is suggested to reflect a need for social integration or identification with other individuals and, as such, plays an important role in communication within closely-knit social units and in particular monogamous relationships. Concerning nonhuman animals, the phenomenon of communication accommodation has received relatively little research attention. Here, we tested whether common ravens (Corvus corax), which are known for their sophisticated communicative skills and lifelong monogamous pair bonds, accommodate their nonvocal signals within a relationship (i.e., pair-partners). Specifically, we investigated whether the nonvocal signals exchanged within pairs become synchronized over time. Our results provided evidence that raven pairs matched their repertoires, with recipients reciprocating the signals of their communication partners in relation to time spent together. This study thus strengthens the hypothesis that the motives to form and maintain affiliate relationships may have been crucial in boosting not only cognitive but also communicative abilities, and provides insight into the role social bonding might have played in the evolution of communicative plasticity.

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