INVESTIGADORES
MARTIN ALBARRACIN Valeria Leticia
artículos
Título:
Do neophobia and dietary wariness explain ecological flexibility? An analysis with two seed-eating birds of contrasting habits
Autor/es:
CAMÍN, SERGIO; MARTIN ALBARRACIN, VALERIA LETICIA; JEFFERIES, MARÍA MILAGROS; MARONE, LUIS
Revista:
JOURNAL OF AVIAN BIOLOGY
Editorial:
WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Londres; Año: 2016 vol. 47 p. 245 - 251
ISSN:
0908-8857
Resumen:
The neophobia threshold hypothesis suggests that the acquisition and maintenance of a high behavioral and ecological flexibility (e.g. generalized feeding habits and diet) over a species? evolutionary and adaptive history is the consequence of lower levels of neophobia towards novel foraging microsites and of dietary wariness of novel foods. To test this idea we assessed the degree of neophobia and dietary wariness in two seed-eating bird species with contrasting degrees of ecological flexibility inhabiting the central Monte desert in Argentina: a grass-seed specialist, the many-colored chaco-finch, and a generalist feeder, the rufous-collared sparrow. We expected that both species would exhibit neophobia and wariness when faced new foraging opportunities but that the rufous-collared sparrow would be less neophobic and less wary than the specialized many-colored chaco-finch. Experimental indicators of neophobia and dietary wariness included willingness to eat near novel objects and willingness to eat novel seeds respectively. Both species exhibited neophobia towards novel objects, but only the rufous-collared sparrow was wary of novel seeds. Contrary to our predictions, the rufous-collared sparrow was neither less hesitant nor faster or greedier than the many-colored chaco-finch. This experimental evidence does not support a negative relationship between neophobia / wariness and ecological flexibility in these two seed-eating birds and coincide with the growing piece of evidence that challenges the neophobia threshold hypothesis. The current situation calls for further research to identify and test other alternative mechanisms that could be used to model the ecological flexibility in birds.
