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Neighbor–stranger discrimination in Audubon's shearwater (Puffinus l. lherminieri) explained by a “real enemy” effect

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Abstract

Neighbor–stranger discrimination (NSD) occurs when animals respond with more aggression to strangers than to territorial neighbors. NSD has been reported in many species that defend multi-purpose territories for breeding and foraging, but it is rare among species that defend other types of territories. For birds that defend only their nest sites, there is no experimental evidence for NSD, and observational studies have provided mixed results. In a colony of Audubon's shearwaters (Puffinus l. lherminieri), I played back the calls of a neighbor and a stranger to males defending nest sites. Subjects responded with longer calls to playbacks of strangers than to those of neighbors. In shearwater colonies, strangers are often birds looking for future breeding sites. In contrast, there is no evidence that established breeders compete with their neighbors for any resources. Shearwaters should benefit from NSD because strangers represent a “real enemy” and established neighbors do not.

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Acknowledgements

I thank my advisor, R. H. Wiley, for his help in all aspects of this study. In addition, I thank my committee members (D. Lee, K. Lohmann, A. Feduccia, H. Mueller) and individuals who helped with banding and fieldwork (D. Lee, M. K. Clark, K. and R. Oliver, N. Wheeler, J. Micancin, T. Uyeno, B. Cathey, T. Kiernan, J. Prichett, K. and C. Brand, M. McKown, R. and E. Darville, B. Bayou, C. Knapp, R. Gross, L. Vick, L. Roth, C. Julian, J. Rothchild, the R/V Coral Reef II, and the Exuma Park volunteers). Support and advice were also provided by S. Buckner, L. Gape, E. Carey, The Shedd Aquarium, The Bahamas National Trust, and The Bahamas Department of Agriculture. This research was supported by grants from The Georgia Ornithological Society, The Cooper Ornithological Society, The UNC Biology Department, The American Museum of Natural History, and The Animal Behavior Society. R. H. Wiley, J. Hyman, A. Mackin, J. J. Price, M. Bee, B. Searcy, and one anonymous reviewer provided helpful comments on the manuscript. The research was approved by the IACUC of UNC-Chapel Hill, The Bahamas National Trust, and The Bahamas Department of Agriculture, Conservation Division.

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  1. Biology Department, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB#3280, Coker Hall, NC 27599, Chapel Hill

    William A. Mackin

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  1. William A. Mackin
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Correspondence to William A. Mackin.

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Communicated by W. A. Searcy

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Mackin, W.A. Neighbor–stranger discrimination in Audubon's shearwater (Puffinus l. lherminieri) explained by a “real enemy” effect. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 59, 326–332 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0055-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0055-2

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