Department of Biotechnology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, 5404 Latvia.
Chair of Plant Health, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu 51006, Estonia.
Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 2023 Jun 5;378(1878):20220102. doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0102. Epub 2023 Apr 17.
Animals adjust their use of alarm calls depending on social environments. We tested whether dominant (adult) and subordinate (juvenile non-kin) male crested tits () warn each other and heterospecific willow tits () across the wintering season. Birds rarely alarm called when feeding alone. Both adult and juvenile crested tits warned each other in early winter, and adults did so in the middle of wintering season. However, juvenile males rarely warned conspecific adult males in the middle of the winter. Both adult and juvenile males stopped giving alarm calls when feeding together at the end of wintering season. The results suggest that the mid-winter reduction of juvenile alarms could increase the likelihood of successful predator attacks on adults, increasing the chances for juveniles to replace adults and acquire their territories. By contrast, both adult and juvenile males produced alarm calls throughout the season when foraging together with willow tits. Whether juvenile male crested tits could be selectively altering alarm call propensity to endanger adult males, thereby selfishly enhancing their own succession to territory ownership, is discussed. The results add to the understanding of the origin of mixed-species groups and explain the dynamics of social communication. This article is part of the theme issue 'Mixed-species groups and aggregations: shaping ecological and behavioural patterns and processes'.
动物会根据社交环境调整其警报叫声的使用。我们测试了支配性（成年）和从属（非亲缘关系的未成年）雄性凤头山雀是否会在整个越冬季节相互警告，并警告不同种的柳莺。鸟类单独进食时很少发出警报叫声。在初冬，成年和未成年的凤头山雀都会互相警告，而成年凤头山雀在整个越冬季节的中期也会发出警告。然而，未成年雄性在冬季中期很少向成年同类发出警告。当成年和未成年雄性在越冬末期一起进食时，它们都会停止发出警报叫声。研究结果表明，冬季中期减少未成年发出的警报叫声可能会增加成年个体成功遭受捕食者攻击的可能性，从而增加了未成年个体取代成年个体并获得其领地的机会。相比之下，当与柳莺一起觅食时，成年和未成年雄性在整个季节都会发出警报叫声。讨论了未成年凤头山雀是否可以选择性地改变发出警报叫声的倾向，从而危及成年雄性，从而自私地增强自己对领地所有权的继承。研究结果有助于理解混合物种群体的起源，并解释了社会交流的动态。本文是主题为“混合物种群体和聚集：塑造生态和行为模式和过程”的一部分。
