Chickadees will change their feeding behaviour if they think predators are nearby, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists.
Chickadees will change their feeding behaviour if they think predators are nearby, according to new research by University of Alberta biologists.
The study, led by graduate student Josue Arteaga-Torres in the Department of Biological Sciences, took place in the UAlberta Botanical Gardens. The researchers simulated the presence of predators using visual and auditory cues and examined how these cues affected the feeding behaviour of black-capped chickadees. The results show that chickadees are slower to return to feeders when they have seen visual cues that suggest predators are nearby, while alarm calls made by other birds do not deter them for as long.
“These birds are constantly using information around them to make life or death decisions,” explained Arteaga-Torres. “The way birds respond to cues in their environment can vary greatly depending on the type of cue, but also it varies at the individual level.
“Some individuals will be more affected by particular sources of information than others.”
Continue reading at University of Alberta.
Image via University of Alberta.
