Journal of Ornithology

, Volume 155, Issue 1, pp 291–299 | Cite as

The effect of intruders on territorial Palestine Sunbirds (Nectarinia osea) during the pre-egg laying period

Original Article
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Abstract

In monogamous species, conspecific aggression is a primary tactic to deter intruders. Alternative reproductive strategies, such as extra-pair copulations or intra-specific brood parasitism that peak at the pre-egg laying period and are practised by intruders, pose a significant threat to the monogamous pair. Here, we addressed the question whether male and female Palestine Sunbirds (Nectarinia osea) demonstrate different aggression levels toward conspecific intruders during the pre-egg laying period. We further asked whether indirect measures of certainty of paternity affect male aggression toward such intruders. For that, we measured the aggression of both partners toward intruders while using stuffed birds. We conducted two experiments on a monogamous and territorial Palestine Sunbird population. In the first experiment, we exposed breeding pairs to a conspecific or a heterospecific intruder and measured their aggression toward it. During the second experiment, we exposed breeding pairs to an intruder, before and after temporarily removing the local male. The local male demonstrated higher aggression than the local female toward a male decoy. Toward a female decoy, the local male demonstrated lower aggression than the local female. Following their release, the removed males did not change their aggression toward the male decoy, but rather they decreased their aggression toward the female decoy. These results suggest that the indirect male’s certainty of paternity may be an important factor of the male’s interests when he faces a risk of potential intra-specific brood parasitism. Furthermore, these findings suggest that each gender is more sensitive to its similar intruder gender, and acts according to its interests in terms of its aggression toward the intruder.

Keywords

Aggression Birds Extra-pair copulations Intra-specific brood parasitism Mate guarding Monogamy 

Zusammenfassung

Die Wirkung von Eindringlingen auf territoriale Jerichonektarvögel ( Nectarinia osea ) vor der Eiablage

Bei monogam lebenden Vögeln ist Aggression unter Artgenossen eine primäre Taktik, um Eindringlinge abzuwehren. Alternative reproduktive Strategien, wie zusätzliche Kopulationen oder intra-spezifischer Brutparasitismus, die vor allem vor der Eiablage durch Konkurrenten praktiziert werden, stellen eine erhebliche Bedrohung für den Bruterfolg des monogamen Paares dar. In diesem Kontext stellten wir die Frage, ob männliche und weibliche Jerichonektarvögel (Nectarinia osea) verschieden hohe Aggressionslevel gegenüber eindringenden Artgenossen vor der Eiablage zeigen. Weiterhin fragten wir uns, ob eine indirekte Abschätzung der Gefahr einer Fremdvaterschaft durch die Männchen deren Aggression gegen solche Eindringlinge beeinflusst. Dafür haben wir den Aggressionslevel der beiden Partner auf Eindringlinge mit Hilfe präparierter Vögel beobachtet. Es wurden zwei Experimente an einer monogamen, territorialen Jerichonektarvogel-Population durchgeführt. Im ersten Experiment konfrontierten wir Brutpaare mit einem Artgenossen oder artfremden Eindringling und bestimmten ihre Aggression gegen ihn. Im zweiten Experiment setzten wir den Brutpaaren einen Eindringling vor, wobei das Männchen des Paares temporär entfernt und wieder dazu gesetzt und die Aggressionen beider Partner bestimmt wurde. Die Männchen der untersuchten Paare demonstrierten eine höhere Aggression als die weiblichen Partner gegenüber einem männlichen Lockvogel. Gegen einen weiblichen Lockvogel verhielten sich die Männchen allerdings weniger aggressiv als die Weiblichen. Nachdem die entfernten Männchen dem Versuch wieder zugefügt wurden, hatte sich ihre Aggression gegenüber dem männlichen Eindringling nicht geändert, dem weiblichen Lockvogel gegenüber waren sie aber noch weniger aggressiv. Diese Ergebnisse legen nahe, dass das Risiko einer Fremdvaterschaft eine wichtige Triebkraft im Verhalten der Männchen ist, wenn sie der Gefahr eines möglichen intra-spezifischen Brutparasitismus gegenüber stehen. Darüber hinaus zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass jedes Geschlecht sensibler auf Eindringling desselben Geschlechts reagiert, und sich entsprechend seiner Interessen in Bezug auf seine Aggression gegen Eindringlinge verhält.

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Notes

Acknowledgments

We thank Maria Novosolov for her help during field work. We also thank to Ido Izhaki and Arnon Lotem for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. We are grateful to the Natural History Museum at Tel Aviv University for providing the stuffed birds. This study was done with a permission of the Israel Nature and Parks Authority. We declare that the experiments conducted during this study comply with the current laws of Israel.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright information

© Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V. 2013

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Biology and Environment, Faculty of Natural SciencesUniversity of Haifa at OranimTivonIsrael
  2. 2.Department of ZoologyTel-Aviv UniversityTel-AvivIsrael

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