Experimental study of alarm calls of the oriental tit (Parus minor) toward different predators and reactions they induce in nestlings

Ha Jungmoon, Lee Keesan, Yang Eunjeong, Kim Woojoo, Song Ho-Kyung, Hwang Injae, Lee Cruz Larisa, Lee Sang-im, Jablonski Piotr. 2020. Experimental study of alarm calls of the oriental tit (Parus minor) toward different predators and reactions they induce in nestlings. Ethology, 126 (6) : 610-619.

Quartile : Q2, Sujet : ZOOLOGY / Quartile : Q4, Sujet : BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Liste HCERES des revues (en SHS) : oui

Thème(s) HCERES des revues (en SHS) : Psychologie-éthologie-ergonomie

Résumé : Anti-predatory strategies of birds are diverse and may include predator-specific alarm calls. For example, oriental tit (Parus minor) parents can distinguish snakes from other predators and produce snake-specific referential vocalizations ("jar" call) when a snake poses a threat to their nest. The “jar” call has a very specific function to induce fledging of nestlings close to fledging age. This reaction ensures nestlings' survival in natural encounters with snakes that are capable of entering nest cavities and kill entire broods. Sciurid rodents, like chipmunks, may pose a similar threat to cavity-nesting birds. We explored the hypothesis that parents use the fledging-inducing alarm vocalizations in this situation, because chipmunks, like snakes, can kill the brood upon entering the nest cavity. We compared alarm calls of parents toward two predators (chipmunk and snake) who pose a similar threat to the nestlings in a nest cavity, and toward an avian predator (Eurasian jay) who cannot enter nest cavities and poses no threat to the nestlings in a nest. Our results show that the vocal responses of oriental tits were different among the three predators. This suggests that the acoustic properties of vocal responses to predators are different between predators of a similar hunting strategy (nest-cavity entering). The playback of recorded vocal responses of parents to chipmunks did not trigger the fledging of old nestlings, whereas the vocalizations toward a snake did, as shown by earlier studies. Our study suggests that the vocal response of parents does not carry information about the ability of predators to enter the nest cavity and confirms the special status of alarm calls triggered by snakes.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : écureuil, vocalisation, serpent, propriété acoustique, prédateur, oiseau

Mots-clés géographiques Agrovoc : France

Mots-clés libres : Alarm call, Anti-predator, Birds, Nest predation, Parus minor, Referential call

Agences de financement hors UE : National Research Foundation of Korea

Auteurs et affiliations

• Ha Jungmoon, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Lee Keesan, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Yang Eunjeong, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Kim Woojoo, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Song Ho-Kyung, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Hwang Injae, Seoul National University (KOR)
• Lee Cruz Larisa, CIRAD-ES-UMR TETIS (FRA)
• Lee Sang-im, Seoul National University (KOR) - auteur correspondant
• Jablonski Piotr, Seoul National University (KOR) - auteur correspondant

Source : Cirad-Agritrop (https://agritrop.cirad.fr/614812/)

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