Untangling behaviours: independent expressions of female-female aggression and snake-like hissing in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus).

ABSTRACT: Aggression plays a crucial role in deterring predators and securing resources to promote fitness. Nevertheless, studies focussing on female aggression remain scarce. In songbirds, aggression is prevalent during the breeding season, when same-sex individuals compete for limited resources. Additionally, females of some bird species exhibit snake-like hissing behaviour during incubation presumably to lower predation rates and improve fitness. Such behaviours may co-vary, forming a behavioural syndrome that could constrain trait expression. Here, we investigated a resident population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), to examine the repeatability and covariation of female-female aggression and hissing behaviour, aiming to determine if these constitute a behavioural syndrome. We quantified fem

SUBMITTER: van Iersel R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10539291 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature