Competition over guarding in the Arabian babbler (Turdoides squamiceps), a cooperative breeder.

ABSTRACT: Observations on 12 groups comprised of two adult males and one adult female (some included one or two fledglings), tame, individually marked, Arabian babblers ( Turdoides squamiceps) in the rift valley in Israel revealed that the babblers compete to guard. The pattern of guarding and the way by which one sentinel replaces another reflect the dominance relationships within the group. The dominant (alpha) male guarded more than any other individual. It interfered with and replaced the guarding by the adult beta male more than it did with the yearlings. About one-third of the replacements occurred less than one minute after the sentinel had assumed guarding. Whereas the dominant often replaced its subordinates directly; subordinates hardly ever replaced their dominants directly. The alpha mal

SUBMITTER: Dattner A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4706064 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature