Mine or my neighbours' offspring: an experimental study on parental discrimination of offspring in a colonial seabird, the little auk Alle alle.

ABSTRACT: Individual recognition (IR) abilities may result from various ecological and naturally selected features of a species. Complex IR mechanisms should develop when the risk of misidentification of a chick is high. For colonial seabirds, the ability to identify their own brood is crucial to ensure parental fitness. Vocalizations seem to be a key component of most parent-offspring interactions, although few studies have assessed the interindividual differences in seabird chick calls and their potential usage in IR. The little auk (Alle alle), which breeds in dense colonies, constitutes a perfect model for testing IR. In this study, we (1) examined chick calls at different stages of the nesting period, and (2) cross-fostered chicks to examine the rate of acceptance/nonacceptance of chicks by par

SUBMITTER: Kidawa D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10497497 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature