hays-femalefemale-2007.pdf (749.96 kB)
Female–female aggression : structure of interaction and outcome in loggerhead sea turtles
journal contribution
posted on 2007-01-01, 00:00 authored by Gail Schofield, K Katselidis, J Pantis, P Dimopoulos, Graeme HaysGraeme HaysAggressive behaviour between females of the same species is not widely documented, particularly in marine vertebrates. During a 3 yr in-water survey at the temperate loggerhead sea turtle Caretta caretta breeding area of Zakynthos, Greece, female–female interactions comprised 4% of all female loggerhead sighting events (n = 60 out of 1449 events). Male–female interactions comprised an additional 4% of sighting events, while 92% were of solitary females. The structure of interactions was analysed for 58 of these sighting events, each lasting an average of 3.4 min (SD ± 1) and comprising a total of 3.1 h observation time. We found that interactions involved ritualized escalation in behaviour from passive threat displays (e.g. head–tail circling) to aggressive combat (e.g. sparring). We suggest that circling individuals evaluate opponent size, sparring individuals test opponent strength, and that the positioning of the prehensile tail signals motivational intent to either escalate or abort. The presence of intruder females triggered a passive response in 100% of events involving basking and swimming turtles (n = 19); although residents resting on the seabed only responded on 69% of occasions (n = 27), their response was almost 4 times more likely to escalate to one of aggression. Our results suggest that certain sites may be preferentially sought after and defended by sea turtles.
History
Journal
Marine ecology progress seriesVolume
336Pagination
267 - 274Publisher
Inter-ResearchLocation
Oldendorf, GermanyPublisher DOI
ISSN
0171-8630eISSN
1616-1599Language
engPublication classification
C1.1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalCopyright notice
2007, Inter-ResearchUsage metrics
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Keywords
Caretta carettasequential assessmentevolutionary stable strategyterritorymarinevertebratereptileScience & TechnologyLife Sciences & BiomedicinePhysical SciencesEcologyMarine & Freshwater BiologyOceanographyEnvironmental Sciences & EcologyCARETTA-CARETTACHELONIA-MYDASBEHAVIORSIZEEVOLUTIONZoologyOceanographyEcology
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