| Adult California quail are more likely to exhibit defensive rushing behavior when chicks are younger Alex Sidare1, Natalia Valdés Heredia2, Jennifer M.Gee3, David Jerome4, Alison M.Roth1. 1University of Missouri - Columbia, Columbia, Missouri, USA.2Hastings Natural History Reservation, Caramel Valley, California, USA.3Prescott College, Prescott, Arizona, USA.4N/A, Idyllwild, California |
Abstract
Parental defense is a costly behavior which forces individuals to balance the tradeoff between current and future reproduction. Past work has shown that offspring age and number can affect the occurrence and intensity of defense. Some hypotheses predict an increase in defense with chick age and/or number while others suggest the opposite. California quail exhibit biparental care, and previous reports suggest that adults defend chicks against squirrel predators. Although previously not described in detail, this defense appears to include a fixed sequence of behavioral events, and we term this behavior “defensive rushing”. Using 262 videos, we assessed if mean chick age and number predicted the occurrence, intensity, and duration of defensive rushing. We hypothesized that occurrence, intensity, and duration would decrease with chick age but had no directional hypotheses regarding chick number. We found quail were more likely to rush when chicks were younger. Intensity and duration were not predicted by chick age or number. Our results suggest that parental defense is adjusted according to offspring vulnerability in California quail, with younger chicks eliciting stronger responses.
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