Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Ahd Mahmoud Al-Salman, Joseph Paez Chavez, Karunia Putra Wijaya
Summary: Honest signals play a crucial role in interspecific communication and evolution of anti-predation techniques. A model is introduced to investigate the impact of honest signals and cues on predator-prey populations, revealing the significant role of predator behavior in population dynamics.
APPLIED MATHEMATICAL MODELLING
(2021)
Article
Biology
Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen, Thomas J. H. Morgan, Katharina Riebel
Summary: The study found that zebra finches do not simply mimic the majority of individuals in social learning, but are influenced by the foraging activity of the demonstrators in an anti-conformist manner, indicating that they are not conformists but users of public information.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Hugo Loning, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib
Summary: Zebra finches in their natural habitat produce soft songs with limited transmission range, which challenges the conventional understanding of birdsong as long-range communication. These findings, combined with data on hearing physiology, offer a new ecological perspective on the function of zebra finch song. The study highlights the contrast between zebra finches' short-range vocal communication in the wild and the use of song as a long-range advertisement signal by other songbirds.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Carrie Easter, Andrew Rowlands, Christopher Hassall, William Hoppitt
Summary: This study investigated social learning biases in a population of zebra finches through a novel foraging task. The results showed that the finches primarily learn from aggressors and to a lesser extent from mates, highlighting the importance of considering multiple potential information pathways in social learning analyses.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Corinna Adrian, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib, Wiebke Schuett
Summary: This study experimentally tested the use of acoustic cues in wild zebra finches to locate conspecifics and access social information. The results indicate that zebra finches were more likely to land near the sound source when vocalizations from foraging conspecific groups were broadcast. This suggests that they use acoustic cues as a source of social information for grouping decisions.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Melvin L. Rouse, Kavanaugh Kaji
Summary: The study found that antibiotic exposure during the perinatal period may affect affiliative behaviors in zebra finch offspring, thereby influencing their social behaviors. The immune system, possibly through the gut microbiome, plays a role in influencing certain aspects of social behaviors in birds.
BEHAVIOURAL PROCESSES
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Lucille Le Maguer, Sebastien Deregnaucourt, Nicole Geberzahn
Summary: Birdsong, culturally transmitted, shows geographical variations in song among different bird species. Dialects in song contribute to reproductive isolation through female preference, with female zebra finches showing a preference for songs similar to their colony's dialect. Song may serve as an affiliative signal in highly social species, suggesting that song dialects play a role in social learning.
Article
Biology
Raina Fan, Simon M. Reader, Jon T. Sakata
Summary: Learning to respond appropriately to novel dangers is crucial for survival, and social learning can reduce risks. Research on the Trinidadian guppy reveals that the neural substrates involved in social learning of novel threats may vary depending on the specific cues involved.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Biological
Lauren M. Guillette, Tas I. F. Vamos, Susan D. Healy, Simone L. Meddle
Summary: Female zebra finches are capable of copying the novel foraging choices made by males, but the extent to which they do so can vary. This study examines the differences in social learning and neural pathways in female zebra finches. The findings suggest that further research should focus on neural activity during the social learning test phase, rather than the social information acquisition phase.
LEARNING & BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Lior Zalmanson, Gal Oestreicher-Singer, Yael Ecker
Summary: Through online experiments, this study found that social cues on websites indirectly affect users' likelihood of disclosing private information, and this effect is stronger when users perceive the website as trustworthy. These findings are beneficial for managers and policy makers in safeguarding users' privacy.
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Natalia Albuquerque, Carine Savalli, Francisco Cabral, Briseida Resende
Summary: Dogs are able to learn socially, but whether emotional cues influence their social learning requires further research. The study showed that emotionally charged interactions did not significantly affect dogs' performance.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Christopher M. Jones, Daniel Diethei, Johannes Schoening, Rehana Shrestha, Tina Jahnel, Benjamin Schuez
Summary: This study conducted field experiments on Twitter users and found that providing social reference cues along with flagging COVID-19-related misinformation can significantly reduce the sharing of misleading information and improve overall sharing quality. This strategy can effectively curb the spread of COVID-19-related misinformation on social media.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Political Science
Rune Slothuus, Martin Bisgaard
Summary: The study found that political party cues can influence citizen's opinions even when there is personal stake in policy, but it does not lead them to go against their self-interest. Instead, party cues moderate extreme policy demands among public employees by tempering the pursuit of self-interest. These findings highlight the potential for political parties to moderate, rather than fuel, extreme opinions.
AMERICAN POLITICAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2021)
Article
Communication
Anthony Fowler, William G. Howell
Summary: In this era of hyper-polarization and partisan animosity, people may not incorporate the viewpoints of their political opponents. However, research shows that incomplete experimental designs and specific measurement strategies have led to findings suggesting the reflexive adoption of opposite positions when presented with information about opponents' policy views. In a series of experiments, updating beliefs in accordance with both Republican and Democratic leaders' positions was observed, indicating that partisans are not perpetually determined to disagree and are often willing to incorporate opposing viewpoints on various policy issues.
PUBLIC OPINION QUARTERLY
(2023)
Article
Political Science
Davide Morisi, Thomas Leeper
Summary: Citizen forecasting plays an important role in predicting election outcomes, but individual accuracy varies. Politically sophisticated voters have more accurate predictions and are less prone to wishful thinking. Partisan voters adjust their predictions based on party elites and campaign arguments.
POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Antti Piironen, Anthony D. Fox, Hakon Kampe-Persson, Ulf Skyllberg, Ole Roland Therkildsen, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Migratory connectivity is a metric that measures the co-occurrence of migratory animals from different breeding sites, and it can vary throughout the annual cycle. Tracking taiga bean geese, the study found that connectivity can vary at different times during the nonbreeding period, and total counts might underestimate the population size.
POPULATION ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Hugo Loning, Laura Verkade, Simon C. Griffith, Marc Naguib
Summary: Male songbirds sing to establish territories and attract mates, but recent research has shown that singing also serves other functions, such as social cohesion and breeding synchronization. The study of zebra finches found that despite not having territories, males still sing and form long-term monogamous bonds with females. The study also revealed that singing plays an important role in social aggregations by attracting conspecifics. These findings demonstrate that birdsong has important functions beyond territoriality and mate choice.
Article
Ornithology
Haruka Wada, Leslie Dees, Laura L. Hurley, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Avian females can modify their nest-site selection and breeding behavior in response to changes in ambient temperature. However, their response to high ambient temperature in terms of eggshell characteristics has not been extensively studied. To address this, wild-derived and domesticated Zebra Finches were bred under temperatures of 18 degrees C, 30 degrees C, or 35 degrees C. The study found that eggs from finches bred at 18 degrees C and 30 degrees C had similar characteristics, but females exposed to 35 degrees C laid significantly thinner eggs compared to the 18 degrees C group. These findings suggest that ecologically relevant temperatures in arid regions of Australia can affect eggshell thickness, an important factor for bird hatchability.
Article
Ecology
Daniele Baroni, Jan Hanzelka, Teresa Raimondi, Marco Gamba, Jon E. Brommer, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Passive acoustic monitoring is an effective method to detect elusive species, especially in forests. The study shows that the Eurasian pygmy owl prefers mature forests, and passive acoustic monitoring can help estimate population numbers.
Article
Ecology
Hector Pacheco-Fuentes, Riccardo Ton, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Understanding the consequences of heat exposure on mitochondrial function is vital for the understanding of metabolic processes and population dynamics. Experiments with zebra finches showed that heat treatments during early development led to decreased mitochondrial metabolism in adults. The intensity, pattern, and duration of temperature conditions at early-life stages affected the reaction of adult birds to heat. Our study provides insights into the complexity of mitochondrial metabolism variation and raises questions about the adaptive value of long-lasting physiological adjustments triggered by the early-life thermal environment.
Article
Ecology
Callum S. McDiarmid, Fiona Finch, Marianne Peso, Erica van Rooij, Daniel M. Hooper, Melissah Rowe, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Mating behavior plays a crucial role in speciation by influencing gene flow between closely related species. The long-tailed finch provides an opportunity to study mating behavior and species barriers through the examination of hybrid zones. Behavioral assays revealed an assortative mating preference for males of the same subspecies, but this preference was not observed when bill color was manipulated. This suggests that mate preference may be based on other traits or a combination of traits, or the bill manipulations were not convincing to the female choosers.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Jan Hanzelka, Daniele Baroni, Petri Martikainen, Tapio Eeva, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: The nests of secondary cavity-nesters in tree cavities provide specific microhabitats for arthropods, but the differences in arthropod communities in different nest types have not been extensively studied. In this research, the diversity and composition of arthropod communities in different cavity types and bird species' nests were investigated in managed boreal forests. The study found that arthropod communities varied between different nest types, emphasizing the importance of the ecological chain tree cavities-bird nests-arthropod communities.
BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Laura L. Hurley, Riccardo Ton, Melissah Rowe, Katherine L. Buchanan, Simon C. Griffith, Ondi L. Crino
Summary: Birds that breed opportunistically maintain partial activation of reproductive systems to rapidly exploit environmental conditions when they become suitable for breeding. Males of seasonally breeding birds downregulate testosterone production outside of a breeding context to minimize costs.
HORMONES AND BEHAVIOR
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Madeleine Wheeler, Riccardo Ton, Hanja B. Brandl, Wiebke Schuett, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: Due to global warming, understanding how organisms adapt their behavior to environmental temperature conditions has become an increasingly important question in animal biology. Temperature-driven adjustments in parental care are important as they affect offspring size and survival. A study on zebra finches found that with every 1°C increase in daytime temperature, there was a 0.91% reduction in the frequency of parental visits to the nest, indicating the potential impact on food availability for nestlings.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Hugo Loning, Rita Fragueira, Marc Naguib, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study identified semi-permanent gathering locations, or "social hotspots," in free-living populations of zebra finches and found that these hotspots are continuously visited by the birds for social interactions and information exchange. These findings reveal the social organization of zebra finches in the wild and contribute to our understanding of their natural social life.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ornithology
Kumkum Dubey, Callum S. Mcdiarmid, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study assessed the impact of experimentally manipulated diet on the sperm traits of long-tailed finches. The results showed that diet had no significant impact on sperm length, in contrast to a study on zebra finches. However, there was a slight increase in head, flagellum, and total sperm length during the treatment period. The dietary manipulation also affected bill color saturation and body mass in the long-tailed finches.
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Riccardo Ton, Winnie Boner, Shirley Raveh, Pat Monaghan, Simon C. Griffith
Summary: This study investigates the effects of heat waves on telomere dynamics and parental brooding behavior in zebra finch nestlings. The results suggest that the impact of heat waves on telomere dynamics varies depending on the age and thermoregulatory stage of the offspring, as well as parental brooding behavior.
Article
Biology
Antti Piironen, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Migratory divides separate populations of migratory animals, leading to intraspecific differences in migration strategies. In this study, we used satellite tracking and neckband resightings to uncover a gradual migratory divide between two populations of greylag geese in Europe. The birds in the Western Flyway exhibited different migration strategies compared to those in the Central Flyway.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Forestry
Jan Hanzelka, Daniele Baroni, Toni Laaksonen
Summary: Nest boxes had a high occupancy rate (81%), while natural cavities excavated in the forest interior, forest edges, and retention trees had lower rates (42-46%). The occupancy rates in nest boxes were influenced by the amount of Norway spruce and deciduous tree foliage biomass, tree height, and the proportion of Scots pine. In forest interior cavities, stand age had a negative effect, while the proportion of spruce had a positive effect. The internal quality of excavated cavities may play a more important role in occupancy rates than forest structure.
SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF FOREST RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Katja Della Libera, Ariana Strandburg-Peshkin, Simon C. Griffith, Stephan T. Leu
Summary: Fission-fusion events are a mechanism for animals to adjust the social environment in response to short-term changes in the cost-benefit ratio of group living. This study identified fission-fusion events in free-ranging sheep based on high-resolution GPS data and found that group size was highest during resting times, while fission and fusion frequencies were highest during periods of high activity. However, fission and fusion events were not more frequent near food patches and water resources, suggesting limited role of resource competition.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)