The Great Tit, a passerine bird, employs both mobbing behavior and alarm calls.

In behavioral ecology, mobbing behavior is an antipredator behavior which occurs when individuals of a certain species mob a predator by cooperatively attacking or harassing it, usually in order to protect their offspring. A simple definition of mobbing is an assemblage of individuals around a potentially dangerous predator.^[1] This is most frequently seen in avian species, though it is also known to occur in other social animals. While mobbing has evolved independently in many species, it only tends to be present in those whose young are frequently preyed on. This behavior may complement cryptic adaptations in the offspring themselves, such as camouflage and hiding. Mobbing calls may be used to summon nearby individuals to cooperate in the attack. Image:Parus major 4 (Marek Szczepanek). ... Image:Parus major 4 (Marek Szczepanek). ... Families Many, see text A passerine is a bird of the giant order Passeriformes. ... Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment (both intrinsic and extrinsic). ... For the Pet Shop Boys album of the same name see Behaviour Behavior or behaviour (see spelling differences) refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. ... Mobbing refers to a group behavioural phenomenon and a type of animal behavior. ... This snapping turtle is trying to make a meal of a Canada goose, but the goose is too wary. ... In biology, offspring are the product of reproduction, a new organism produced by one or more parents. ... “Aves” redirects here. ... “Animalia” redirects here. ... Crypsis is a phenomena where an organisms appearance allows it to blend well into its environment. ... Countershaded Ibex are almost invisible in the Israeli desert. ... The word HIDING has two completely different meanings, deriving from different roots (and etymologies?) : from the verb to hide in the sense of render inconspicuous for a specific application in computer programming see Hidden surface determination from (the verb deriving from) the noun hide, i. ... Co-operation or co-operative behaviours are terms used to describe behaviours by biological organisms which are beneficial to other members of the same species. ...

Mobbing in birds

Nesting Kittiwakes.

Birds that breed in colonies such as gulls are widely seen to attack intruders, including encroaching humans.^[2] Behavior includes flying about the intruder, dive bombing, loud squawking and defecating on the predator. Costs of mobbing behavior include the risk of engaging with predators, as well as energy expended in the process. Black-headed Gulls are one species which aggressively engages intruding predators, such as Carrion Crows. Classic experiments on this species by Hans Kruuk involved placing hen eggs at intervals from a nesting colony, and recording the percentage of successful predation events as well as the probability of the crow being subjected to mobbing.^[3] The results showed decreasing mobbing with increased distance from the nest, which was correlated with increased predation success. Mobbing may function by reducing the predator's ability to locate nests, in other words as a distraction, since predators cannot focus on locating eggs while they are under direct attack. Look up gull in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Binomial name Larus ridibundus Linnaeus, 1766 The Black-headed Gull, (Larus ridibundus), is a small gull which breeds in much of Europe and Asia, and also in coastal eastern Canada. ... A basket style nest A nest is place of refuge built to hold an animals eggs and/or provide a place to raise their offspring. ...

Adaptationist hypotheses regarding why an organism should engage in such risky behavior have been suggested by Eberhard Curio,^[4] including advertising their physical fitness and hence uncatchability (much like stotting behavior in gazelles), distracting predators from finding their offspring, warning their offspring, luring the predator away, allowing offspring to learn to recognize the predator species,^[5] directly injuring the predator or attracting a predator of the predator itself. The much lower frequency of attacks between nesting seasons suggests such behavior may have evolved due to its benefit for the mobber's young. Niko Tinbergen argued that the mobbing was a source of confusion to gull chick predators, distracting them from searching for prey .^[6] Indeed, an intruding carrion crow can only avoid incoming attacks by facing its attackers, which prevents it from locating its target.^[2] Maynard Smith was a proponent Adaptationism is the view that all or most traits are adaptations. ... A scientific hypothesis has not been tested by the prediction validation process for a scientific theory. ... Stotting is a behavior of gazelles, particularly Thomsons Gazelles, involving leaping straight up during pursuit by a predator, typically a cheetah or lion. ... Animal communication is any behaviour on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. ... Learned redirects here. ... Injury is damage or harm caused to the structure or function of the body caused by an outside agent or force, which may be physical or chemical. ... This article is about biological evolution. ... Kin Selection is the phrase used to refer to changes in gene frequency driven by natural selection that can only be understood by looking at how biological relatives influence the fitness of each other. ... Nikolaas Tinbergen (April 15, 1907 - December 21, 1988) was a noted ethologist and ornithologist who shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Karl Von Frisch and Konrad Lorenz for their discoveries concerning organization and elicitation of individual and social behaviour patterns. ... Look up Confusion in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Confusion can have the following meanings: Unclarity or puzzlement, e. ...

Besides experimental research, the comparative method can also be employed to investigate hypotheses such as those given by Curio above. For example, closely related species such as the Kittiwake do not show mobbing behavior. The kittiwake's cliff nests are almost completely inaccessible to possible predators due to gusty winds and the shear nature of the cliffs they nest in, meaning its young are not at risk to predation like the Black-headed Gull.^[7] This is an example of an evolutionary pattern known as divergent evolution. In the scientific method, an experiment (Latin: ex-+-periri, of (or from) trying), is a set of actions concerning phenomena. ... // When applied to comparative data, conventional statistical methods assume, in effect, that all species are completely unrelated, as if they descended from a big bang of special creation. ... A group of organisms is said to have common descent if they have a common ancestor. ... Species Rissa tridactyla Rissa brevirostris The Kittiwakes (genus Rissa) are two closely related seabird species in the gull family Laridae. ... “Precipice” redirects here. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Divergent evolution occurs when two or more biological characteristics have a common evolutionary origin but have diverged over evolutionary time. ...

Mobbing is thought to carry risks to roosting predators, including suffering harm from the mobbing birds or the risk of attracting larger, more dangerous predators. Birds at risk of mobbing such as owls have adapted cryptic plumage and hidden roosting sites in order to reduce this danger.^[8] Families Strigidae Tytonidae Ogygoptyngidae (fossil) Palaeoglaucidae (fossil) Protostrigidae (fossil) Sophiornithidae (fossil) Synonyms Strigidae sensu Sibley & Ahlquist Owls are a group of birds of prey. ...

In other animals

The occurrence of mobbing behavior across widely different taxa, including California Ground Squirrels, is evidence of convergent evolution.

Another way the comparative method can be used here is by comparing gulls with distantly related organisms. This approach relies on the existence of convergent evolution, where distantly related organisms evolve the same trait due to similar selection pressures. As mentioned, many bird species such as the swallows also show mobbing of predators, however even more distantly related species including mammals are known to engage in this behavior. One example is California Ground Squirrels, which are known to distract predators such as the rattlesnake and gopher snake from locating their nest burrows by kicking sand into their eyes.^[9] This social species also uses alarm calls. A taxon (plural taxa) is an element of a taxonomy, e. ... In evolutionary biology, convergent evolution is the process whereby organisms not closely related, independently evolve similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches. ... Evolutionary pressure or selection pressure can be formalized as an external pressure applied to a process, thereby pushing that process in a distinct direction. ... Genera Many, see text. ... Subclasses & Infraclasses Subclass †Allotheria* Subclass Prototheria Subclass Theria Infraclass †Trituberculata Infraclass Metatheria Infraclass Eutheria Mammals (class Mammalia) are warm-blooded, vertebrate animals characterized by the production of milk in female mammary glands and the presence of hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the... Binomial name Spermophilus beecheyi (Richardson, 1829) The California Ground Squirrel, Spermophilus beecheyi (referred to in some older sources as Otospermophilus beecheyi or Citellus beecheyi), is a common and easily observed ground squirrel of the western United States and the Baja California peninsula; it is common in Oregon and California and... Species 27 species; see list of rattlesnake species and subspecies. ... Binomial name Pituophis catenifer (Blainville, 1835) Gopher snakes are found in a wide variety of habitats including desert flats, coastal dunes and coniferous forests, but preferring grasslands and open brush areas. ... A burrow is a hole or tunnel dug into the ground by an animal to create a space suitable for habitation, temporary refuge, or as a byproduct of locomotion. ... In biology, psychology and sociology social behavior is behavior directed towards, or taking place between, members of the same species. ...

Mobbing has also been observed in fishes, for example bluegills have been seen to attack snapping turtles.^[1] Bluegills, which form large nesting colonies, were seen to attack both released and naturally occurring turtles, which may function to advertise their presence, drive the predator from the area, or aid in cultural transmission of predator recognition. A giant grouper at the Georgia Aquarium Fish are aquatic vertebrates that are typically cold-blooded; covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins. ... Binomial name Lepomis macrochirus Rafinesque, 1819 The Bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus) is a species of freshwater fish. ... Binomial name Chelydra serpentina (Linnaeus, 1758) Common Snapping Turtle head The Snapping TurtleMexico. ... Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ...

Mobbing calls

Mobbing calls are signals made by the mobbing species while harassing a predator. These differ from alarm calls, which allow con-specifics to escape from the predator. The Great Tit, a European songbird uses such a signal to call on nearby birds to harass a perched bird of prey, such as an owl. This call occurs in the 4.5kHz range,^[2] and is effective in traveling long distances. However, when their prey are in flight, they employ an alarm signal in the 7-8kHz range. This call is less effective at travelling great distances, but is much more difficult for both owls and hawks to hear (and detect the direction from which the call came).^[10] In the case of the alarm call, it is disadvantageous to the sender if the predator picks up on the signal, hence selection has favored those birds able to hear and employ calls in this higher frequency range. Within evolutionary biology, signalling theory refers to the scientific theory around how organisms signal their condition to others. ... Concerning animals, an alarm call refers to various vocalizations that they emit in response to danger. ... Binomial name Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 The Great Tit, Parus major, is a passerine bird in the tit family Paridae. ... A songbird is a bird belonging to the suborder Oscines of Passeriformes (ca. ... Orders Accipitriformes     Cathartidae     Pandionidae     Accipitridae     Sagittariidae Falconiformes     Falconidae A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts its food, especially one that preys on mammals or other birds. ... A schematic representation of hearing. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Mobbing calls may also be part of an animal's arsenal in harassing the predator - for example studies of Phainopepla mobbing calls indicate it may serve to enhance the swooping attack on the predators, including Scrub Jays. In this species the mobbing call is smoothly upsweeping, and is made when swooping down in an arc beside the predator. This call was also heard during agonistic interactions with conspecifics, and may serve additionally or alternatively as an alarm call to their mate.^[11] Binomial name Phainopepla nitens (Swainson, 1838) The Phainopepla (Phainopepla nitens) is the most northerly representative of the mainly tropical Central American family Ptilogonatidae, the silky flycatchers. ... Species Aphelocoma californica – Western Scrub Jay Aphelocoma coerulescens – Florida Scrub Jay Aphelocoma insularis – Island Scrub Jay Aphelocoma ultramarina – Mexican Jay Aphelocoma unicolor – Unicolored Jay The scrub jays are passerine birds of the genus Aphelocoma. ...

Evolution

The evolution of mobbing behaviour is explained using evolutionary stable strategies which are in turn based on Game Theory.^[12] The evolutionarily stable strategy (or ESS; also evolutionary stable strategy) is a central concept in game theory introduced by John Maynard Smith and George R. Price in 1973 (a full account is given by Maynard Smith, 1982). ... Game theory is often described as a branch of applied mathematics and economics that studies situations where multiple players make decisions in an attempt to maximize their returns. ...

Mobbing involves risks (costs) to the individual and benefits (payoffs) to the individual and others. The individuals themselves are often genetically related and and it is increasingly studied with the Gene-centered view of evolution by considering inclusive fitness (the carrying on of one's genes through one's family members), rather than merely benefit to the individual. The gene-centered view of evolution, gene selection theory or selfish gene theory holds that natural selection acts through differential survival of competing genes, increasing the frequency of those alleles whose phenotypic effects successfully promote their own propagation. ... Inclusive fitness encompasses conventional Darwinian fitness with the addition of behaviors that contribute to an organism’s individual fitness through altruism. ...

By cooperating to successfully drive away predators all individuals involved increase their chances of survival and reproduction. An individual stands little chance against a larger predator, but when a large group is involved, the risk to each group member is minimized. By being in a large group, the risk for a particular individual is reduced or diluted. This so-called dilution effect proposed by W. D. Hamilton is another way of explaining the benefits of cooperation by selfish individuals. Lanchester's laws also provide an insight into the advantages of attacking in a large group rather than individually. ^[13][14] W. D. Hamilton William Donald Bill Hamilton, F.R.S. (1 August 1936 — 7 March 2000) was a British evolutionary biologist, considered one of the greatest evolutionary theorists of the 20th century. ... Lanchesters laws are mathematical formulae for calculating the strength of military forces. ...

Another interpretation involves the use of the handicap principle. Here the idea is that a mobbing bird, by apparently putting itself at risk, displays its status and health so as to be preferred by potential partners.^[15] The handicap principle is an idea proposed by the Israeli biologist Amotz Zahavi. ... Illustration from The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin showing the Tufted Coquette Lophornis ornatus, female on left, ornamented male on right. ...

References

A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... John Alcock is an American behavioral ecologist and author. ... OCLC Online Computer Library Center was founded in 1967 and originally named the Ohio College Library Center (OCLC). ... Science is the journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). ... A digital object identifier (or DOI) is a standard for persistently identifying a piece of intellectual property on a digital network and associating it with related data, the metadata, in a structured extensible way. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 12 is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Interspecific reciprocity explains mobbing behaviour of the breeding chaffinches, Fringilla coelebs Paper by Indrikis Krams and Tatjana Krama (PDF)
• Nature Photography - Using mobbing behavior in photography