Premium
Influences on Vigilance in Nine‐banded Armadillos
Author(s) -
McDonough Colleen M.,
Loughry W. J.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
ethology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.739
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1439-0310
pISSN - 0179-1613
DOI - 10.1111/j.1439-0310.1995.tb00314.x
Subject(s) - vigilance (psychology) , armadillo , biology , intraspecific competition , dasypus novemcinctus , agonistic behaviour , zoology , ecology , psychology , developmental psychology , aggression , neuroscience
Functional aspects of vigilance in nine‐banded armadillos (Edentata: Dasypus novemcinctus) were investigated. Data on solitary individuals revealed few age or sex differences in time spent vigilant. However, vigilance increased in most social contexts and was highest during intraspecific agonistic encounters. These results suggest social functions for armadillo vigilance. Armadillos with higher vigilance levels had longer flight distances, suggesting that vigilance may also have antipredator benefits. Further examination of flight distances revealed that they varied with age, weather conditions, and time of year (breeding versus non‐breeding season), and were negatively correlated with body size. In total, the results indicate the complexity of vigilance in a solitary species and suggest that armadillo vigilance is multifunctional.