Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus
We studied aggressive behaviour in a mixed colony of Mediterranean gulls and common terns. The two species bred syntopically but selected different reproductive microhabitats. Common terns were more aggressive than Mediterranean gulls, and aggression rate was higher towards heterospecifics than cons...
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ftunivpavia:oai:iris.unipv.it:11571/19656 2024-01-28T10:09:24+01:00 Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus CANOVA, LUCA FASOLA, MAURO Canova, Luca Fasola, Mauro 2004 STAMPA http://hdl.handle.net/11571/19656 eng eng volume:28 firstpage:5 lastpage:8 numberofpages:4 journal:AVOCETTA http://hdl.handle.net/11571/19656 Laridae breeding competition info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2004 ftunivpavia 2024-01-03T17:36:11Z We studied aggressive behaviour in a mixed colony of Mediterranean gulls and common terns. The two species bred syntopically but selected different reproductive microhabitats. Common terns were more aggressive than Mediterranean gulls, and aggression rate was higher towards heterospecifics than conspecifics. In both species, aggression rates were higher during the incubation phase, fell to a minimum when chicks rested in nests and increased again when chicks were able to wander inside the colony. High aggression rates during the pre-hatching phase are in agreement with theories of parental investment, while those involving adults during the chick wandering phase could be explained by a higher encounter rate with non-familiar adults, that induced an increase of aggressions between territory holders. The lower aggression in the “early chicks” phase can be explained by the increased food demand by chicks and the consequent reduction of adult density foraging out of the colony; however, selection of differing reproductive microhabitat can be considered as a further factor promoting coexistence, enhancing chicks survival immediately after hatching. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sterna hirundo IRIS UNIPV (Università degli studi di Pavia) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
IRIS UNIPV (Università degli studi di Pavia) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivpavia |
language |
English |
topic |
Laridae breeding competition |
spellingShingle |
Laridae breeding competition CANOVA, LUCA FASOLA, MAURO Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
topic_facet |
Laridae breeding competition |
description |
We studied aggressive behaviour in a mixed colony of Mediterranean gulls and common terns. The two species bred syntopically but selected different reproductive microhabitats. Common terns were more aggressive than Mediterranean gulls, and aggression rate was higher towards heterospecifics than conspecifics. In both species, aggression rates were higher during the incubation phase, fell to a minimum when chicks rested in nests and increased again when chicks were able to wander inside the colony. High aggression rates during the pre-hatching phase are in agreement with theories of parental investment, while those involving adults during the chick wandering phase could be explained by a higher encounter rate with non-familiar adults, that induced an increase of aggressions between territory holders. The lower aggression in the “early chicks” phase can be explained by the increased food demand by chicks and the consequent reduction of adult density foraging out of the colony; however, selection of differing reproductive microhabitat can be considered as a further factor promoting coexistence, enhancing chicks survival immediately after hatching. |
author2 |
Canova, Luca Fasola, Mauro |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
CANOVA, LUCA FASOLA, MAURO |
author_facet |
CANOVA, LUCA FASOLA, MAURO |
author_sort |
CANOVA, LUCA |
title |
Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
title_short |
Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
title_full |
Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
title_fullStr |
Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
title_full_unstemmed |
Aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns Sterna hirundo and Mediterranean gulls Larus melanocephalus |
title_sort |
aggression and microhabitat segregation among nesting common terns sterna hirundo and mediterranean gulls larus melanocephalus |
publishDate |
2004 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11571/19656 |
genre |
Sterna hirundo |
genre_facet |
Sterna hirundo |
op_relation |
volume:28 firstpage:5 lastpage:8 numberofpages:4 journal:AVOCETTA http://hdl.handle.net/11571/19656 |
_version_ |
1789339301341822976 |