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The ultimate function of animals inhabiting and defending a territory is to increase the individual fitness or inclusive fitness of the animals expressing the behaviour. Fitness in this biological sense relates to the ability of an animal to survive and raise young. The proximate functions of territory defense vary.
Bird song is an example of learned territorial defense. Studies show that birds with high-quality songs will use them as a stimulus to deter predators from their territorial range. [13] Higher quality songs have been proven to act as the best defense mechanism in a variety of bird species, such as the red-winged blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus ...
The ultimate function of the dear enemy effect is to increase the individual fitness of the animal expressing the behaviour. This increase in fitness is achieved by reducing the time, energy or risk of injury unnecessarily incurred by defending a territory or its resources (e.g. mate, food, space) against a familiar animal with its own territory; the territory-holder already knows about the ...
Direct intraspecific competition also includes animals claiming a territory which then excludes other animals from entering the area. There may not be an actual conflict between the two competitors, but the animal excluded from the territory suffers a fitness loss due to a reduced foraging area and is unable to enter the area as it risks ...
Visual communication is a common dominance signal among animals. They are an effective modality as they come at a low cost to the animal and minimize risk. The Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) for example, express bright orange splotches during territorial conflict to warn competitors that they are poisonous, and thus assert their dominance over a territory.
When you think of “gory” animals, creatures like great white sharks, tigers, and vampire bats might come to mind. But the most gruesome defense mechanism of any animal belongs to something ...
Behavioral ecology, also spelled behavioural ecology, is the study of the evolutionary basis for animal behavior due to ecological pressures. Behavioral ecology emerged from ethology after Niko Tinbergen outlined four questions to address when studying animal behaviors: What are the proximate causes, ontogeny, survival value, and phylogeny of a behavior?
A male yellow headed blackbird surveys his territory. Resource defense polygyny is a common strategy in insects. For examples, damselflies in the family Calopterygidae typically display resource defense polygyny, in which territorial males guard riverine habitat that is sought after by females for egg deposition.