Effects of supplemental food on intra‐and inter‐specific behaviour of the Varied Tit Parus varius
Effects of supplemental food on intra‐and inter‐specific behaviour of the Varied Tit Parus varius
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DOI：
10.1111/j.1474-919x.2000.tb04871.x
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发表时间：
2008-06
期刊：
影响因子：
2.1
通讯作者：
Haruo Kubota;M. Nakamura
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Haruo Kubota;M. Nakamura
Varied Tits Parus varius lived in flocks containing a pair, or a pair with one or two unpaired birds. To test whether the sociality of Varied Tits or their participation in mixed-species flocks is sensitive to additional food (sunflower seeds), we compared the following parameters between fed and unfed periods at the individual level: population size, degree of site fidelity, mono-specific flock size and the stability of its membership, home-range size and distribution, attendance rate with mixed-species flocks, and flock size. Neither the size of the mono-specific flock nor its membership was affected by food supply. Whether food was added or not, individuals exhibited a strong site fidelity resulting in stable population size. Supplemental feeding had no effect on home-range size or distribution. In the presence of extra food, Varied Tits were observed in mono-specific flocks but rarely in mixed-species flocks. However, when we stopped feeding, they shifted to mixed-species flocking. After adding food, mixed-species flocks were significantly smaller than in the control samples. Varied Tits were more likely to join mixed-species flocks as temperatures dropped and wind speed increased. These results suggest that intra-specific sociality of Varied Tits is relatively insensitive to food supply, but they easily shift to mixed-species flocking in relation to food and weather conditions. We conclude that Varied Tits participate in mixed-species flocks to obtain short-term benefits e.g. increased foraging efficiency but they also obtain long-term benefits from stability of pair bonds and strong site fidelity, which did not respond to supplemental food.
