Aggression in Flocks of Foraging Shorebirds during Spring Stopover at Delaware Bay, USA

The objective of this study was to examine aggressive behavior of shorebirds during spring stopover on beaches and other stopover habitats in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. More aggressive interactions were observed between members of the same species than between species at all study locations. The...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Published in:Waterbirds
Main Author: Novcic, Ivana
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Kean Digital Learning Commons 2018
Subjects:
horseshoe crab
interference competition
interspecific aggression
migration
shorebirds
species interactions
Calidris alba
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.kean.edu/keanpublications/1515
https://doi.org/10.1675/063.041.0110
Description
Summary:The objective of this study was to examine aggressive behavior of shorebirds during spring stopover on beaches and other stopover habitats in Delaware Bay, New Jersey, USA. More aggressive interactions were observed between members of the same species than between species at all study locations. The incidence of interspecific interactions was higher than previously reported for shorebirds, particularly in Sanderlings (Calidris alba), which directed almost half of their attacks toward members of other species, mainly Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla). Significantly more heterospecific attacks were directed toward smaller competitors (67%) than toward similarly sized (15%) or larger (18%) competitors.

Similar Items