Abstract
Preference measures are widely used in habitat selection studies to test an animal’s choice relative to particular habitat features, but most measures are subject to criticism as they fail to indicate the underlying behavioral motivation. Order of settlement on breeding sites has been proposed as an effective measure in migratory organisms, as it conceptually approaches a choice experiment. We tested the assumption that early red-backed shrikes (Lanius collurio) are more willing to defend their territorial resource than individuals arriving later. We earlier showed that shrikes arriving first settled in forest plantations that resulted in lower reproductive success compared to territories on farmland, suggesting an ecological trap. Therefore, individuals are expected to place higher value on the lower quality sites in forests. Within the context of resource valuation theory in animal contests, we used a simulated territorial intrusion experiment to measure territorial defense and to evaluate the perceived value of the territory during the settlement phase in both habitat types. Males arriving early were much more motivated to defend their territory than late birds. After correction for the disparity in the timing of arrival between habitat types, shrikes also more vigorously defended their territories in the forest habitat associated with the lowest reproductive returns. Although some resource valuation mechanisms remain unclear, our results show that early and late-arriving individuals strongly differ in behavioral motivation to hold their territorial resources. This study also demonstrates for the first time that organisms may exhibit a higher degree of territorial aggressiveness in a lower quality habitat.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Kate Mitchell and Vanessa Peardon for language editing the final version of this manuscript. F.A.H. was funded by the Belgian National Fund of Scientific Research (FRIA grant). This is publication BRC 246 of the Biodiversity Research Centre (UCL, Louvain-la-Neuve).
Ethical standards
Permission for the use of the mounted specimen was granted by the Walloon Region, Service Public de Wallonie (DNF/DGARNE). The Royal Institute for Natural Sciences of Belgium (IRScNB-KBIN) provided us with a national license for L. collurio trapping.
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The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest.
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Hollander, F.A., Titeux, N. & Van Dyck, H. Territorial resource valuation deviates from habitat quality in an ecologically trapped, long-distance migratory bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 66, 777–783 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1325-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-012-1325-4