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- Title
Habitat but not group size or recent predator activity affect corvid collective vigilance at carcasses.
- Authors
Bragato, Patrick J.; Spencer, Emma E.; Dickman, Chris R.; Crowther, Mathew S.; Tulloch, Ayesha; Newsome, Thomas M.
- Abstract
Vigilance is an important anti‐predator behaviour that can be an indicator of the predation risk faced by potential prey animals. Here, we assess the collective vigilance, or the vigilance level of an entire group, of corvids (Family: Corvidae) at experimentally placed carcasses in a desert environment in Australia. Specifically, we explore the relationship between collective vigilance levels and the habitat in which the carcass was placed, the time since a potential predator (dingo Canis dingo, wedge‐tailed eagle Aquila audax or red fox Vulpes vulpes) was present at a carcass, and the group size of corvids around the carcass. We found that corvids are more vigilant in open habitat, but that group size and the recent presence of a potential predator does not affect the collective vigilance behaviour of corvids. The results demonstrate the important link between habitat and vigilance, and that animals may adopt anti‐predator behaviours irrespective of the size of the group in which they occur or the recent presence of a potential predator.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; PREDATION; PREDATORY animals; HABITATS; DINGO; CANIS; CORVIDAE; RED fox
- Publication
Austral Ecology, 2023, Vol 48, Issue 5, p999
- ISSN
1442-9985
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/aec.13323