Journal Title
Title of Journal: acta ethol
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Abbravation: acta ethologica
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Publisher
Springer-Verlag
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Authors: Petra Quillfeldt Juan F Masello
Publish Date: 2004/10/23
Volume: 7, Issue: 2, Pages: 73-80
Abstract
A key question in parentoffspring conflict is if provisioning is controlled primarily by parents or by their offspring and how this interaction is mediated behaviourally We recorded the vocalisations of chicks of Cory’s shearwater Calonectris diomedea during feeding sessions in a season with abundant food Cory’s shearwater chicks conveyed information about their body condition through begging and parents were responsive to the level of solicitation In order to test experimentally for the effects of saturation on begging we supplemented chicks’ food Observational and experimental data both indicated that satiated chicks did not beg and consequently no feeding occurred Adults decreased their attendance following the decreased demand of supplemented chicks We compare the results with data from a poor breeding season The data suggest that only during the good season was variation in begging large enough to be detected and to serve as a reliable signal to the parents Our results are in line with the predictions of a recent model indicating that begging signals were most informative to the parents in a context when there was a class of satiated individuals which stand to gain no benefit from the resource and hence will refrain from signallingWe would like to thank Bob Furness Antonio Texeira and the staff of the Reserva Natural das Berlengas especially Carlos Santos Paulo Crisóstomo and André Jordão Martins for their contributions to this work We received logistical support and the necessary authorisations for the fieldwork and the experiment from the Instituto da Conservação da Natureza Lisbon Portugal This study was funded by a grant provided to PQ by the DAAD German Academic Exchange Service and DFG German Science Foundation Qu1481
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