Narrow or Wide Distribution? A Comparison of Behavioral Traits between the Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius) and Great Tit (Parus cinereus)
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Department of Life Sciences, Liaoning University

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    Abstract:

    Animal behavior is the response of individuals and communities to internal and external environmental changes (stimulus). Behavioral traits are important for animal fitness and evolution. There are few studies on the dispersal and distribution of birds' behavioral traits. We investigated the Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius) and the Great Tit (Parus cinereus), two passerine birds with similar life history but different distribution ranges. A novel-environment test was used to compare three behavioral traits: exploratory, active and risk-taking behavior. The results showed that the exploratory (Mann-Whitney U-test: Z =﹣2.582, P < 0.01, Fig. 1), active (Mann-Whitney U-test: Z =﹣5.148, P < 0.001, Fig. 2) and risk-taking (Mann-Whitney U-test: Z =﹣2.046, P < 0.05, Fig. 3) scores of the Great Tit were all significantly higher than those of the Varied Tit. Therefore, we suggest that bird behaviors may be related to the distribution range of the population. We suspect that the more widely distributed individuals are likely to be more exploratory, active and adventurous, as these behavioral traits will enable them to obtain more information about the resource availability and habitat quality in the challenging and dynamic environments. The study of species' behavior may predict the future development of the population and provide a reliable basis for conservation of populations.

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zhang li,,Wandongmei, and. 2019. Narrow or Wide Distribution? A Comparison of Behavioral Traits between the Varied Tit (Sittiparus varius) and Great Tit (Parus cinereus). Chinese Journal of Zoology, 54(4): 471-477.

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History
  • Received:December 28,2018
  • Revised:June 16,2019
  • Adopted:June 13,2019
  • Online: August 07,2019
  • Published: