Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Renewable Natural Resources

Document Type

Dissertation

Abstract

Ant-following birds, that forage on arthropods flushed by swarm raiding army ants, are an iconic phenomenon in tropical forests around the globe. Despite capturing the attention of naturalists for over a century, research on ant-following birds has largely focused on Neotropical species. Decades of research on Neotropical ant-following birds has revealed fascinating aspects of their specialization, including complex cognitive and behavioral adaptations that allow birds to locate and track nomadic army ants. Despite this breadth of research on Neotropical species, virtually nothing is known of the behavioral ecology of African ant-following birds, and it remains unknown whether they exhibit adaptations for ant-following or to what degree they specialize on army ants. In this study, I use highly specialized Neotropical species as a comparative framework for understanding three key behavioral adaptations in African ant-following birds—centrality at swarms, social information use, and bivouac-checking—to infer their degree of specialization on army ants. In my first chapter, I explored the attendance rates of African species at army ant swarms and their roles in ant-following bird flocks using animal social network analysis. Species showed high variation in attendance rates, with eight species identified as putative specialists and occupying central positions in the network. Furthermore, their simulated removal from flock networks led to network dissolution, indicating these species were critical for facilitating interactions between flock members. In my second chapter, I tested social information using a playback experiment and found that the vocalizations of putative specialists attracted more individuals and species than controls, suggesting birds prospecting swarms rely on the vocalizations of core species to locate army ants. In my last chapter, I used camera traps to document the first definitive evidence of bivouac-checking in African species, a critical behavior for tracking army ant colonies. Altogether, I found that African species exhibit a suite of complex behavioral adaptions that is found in the most specialized Neotropical ant-following birds, suggesting these birds are likely far more specialized than previously thought.

Date

7-19-2024

Committee Chair

Stouffer, Philip C

DOI

https://doi.org/10.31390/gradschool_dissertations.6530

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Available for download on Sunday, January 12, 2025

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