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Age‐dependent responses to alarm calls depend on foraging activity in Willow Tits Poecile montanus
Author(s) -
RAJALA MARI,
KAREKSELA SANTTU,
RÄTTI OSMO,
SUHONEN JUKKA
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.2011.01188.x
Subject(s) - foraging , alarm , predation , biology , alarm signal , juvenile , willow , ecology , trade off , zoology , materials science , composite material
Survivorship in animals depends on both foraging activities and avoidance of predation, and thus behavioural decisions often reflect a trade‐off between predation risk and foraging efficiency. In this experimental study, we compared behavioural responses of free‐living adult and juvenile Willow Tits Poecile montanus to a conspecific alarm call in two treatments. The alarm call was played back when a focal bird was either not feeding, or feeding on a sunflower seed on the middle part of a spruce branch. When feeding at the time of the alarm call, juveniles more often stayed motionless or moved shorter distances than adults. Our results suggest that in hierarchical groups, juveniles are forced to take greater risks to maintain access to food or lack experience to optimize between food and safety.