Laterality of head position at rest in mallard (<em>Anas platyrhynchos</em>) from two distinct northern wintering groups

Uliana Birina; Yegor Malashichev

doi:10.21638/spbu03.2015.304

Authors

Uliana Birina Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab., 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation
Yegor Malashichev Department of Vertebrate Zoology, Faculty of Biology, Saint Petersburg State University, Universitetskaya nab., 7–9, Saint Petersburg, 199034, Russian Federation https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3813-5712

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu03.2015.304

Abstract

Motor asymmetries are wide spread among vertebrate and invertebrate animals. More frequently asymmetries in the use of paired appendages and turns of the body in space become the subject of research. Unpaired organs, positioned along the long axis of the body become the subjects of investigation of the functional asymmetries less often. Here we performed a preliminary estimation of populational characteristics of asymmetry in the turn of the head while resting in Mallards (Anas platyrynchos) from two distinct wintering groups. On tracks along the banks of rivers and channels in the center of Saint-Petersburg, Russia, and along the Buksnesfjord at the Vestvagøy island (Lofoten Islands, Norway Sea, Norway), we recorded the position of the head (under the left wing, or under the right wing) in resting birds ones for each individual. Totally we recorded head position in 151 individuals from Saint-Petersburg and in 77 individuals at Vestvagøy. Individuals keeping heads under the right wing were predominant in Saint-Petersburg, while at Vestvagøy the proportion of «left» and «right» individuals did not differ significantly from 1:1. Difference between the populations was significant, while sex differences in both populations were not found. We discuss possible reasons for the differences in population characteristics of asymmetry in the head position («head-under-wing»), particularly conditions of wintering, birds behaviour. We conclude that the study of different wintering groups of mallards can be possibly perspective for estimation of population status by assessment of relative proportion of «left» and «right» birds.

Keywords:

mallard, wintering groups, motor asymmetry, lefties, visual asymmetry, ecological conditions, wintering

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Malashichev Y. B., Deckel A. W. Behavioral and morphological asymmetries in vertebrates. Austin, Landes Bioscience, 2006. 193 p.

Rogers L. J., Vallortigara G., Andrew R. J. Divided brains: The biology and behavior of brain asymmetries. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2013. 229 p.

Ströckens F., Güntürkün O., Ocklenburg S. Limb preferences in non-human vertebrates. Laterality, 2013, vol. 18(5), pp. 536–575.

Bisazza A., Lippolis G., Vallortigara G. Lateralisation of ventral fins use during object exploration in the blue gourami (Trichogaster trichopterus). Physiology and Behavior, 2001, vol. 72, pp. 575–578.

Versace E., Vallortigara G. Forelimb preferences in human beings and other species: multiple models for testing hypotheses on lateralization. Frontiers in Psychology, 2015, 6: 233. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00233" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00233

Giljov A., Karenina K., Ingram J., Malashichev Y. Parallel emergence of true handedness in the evolution of marsupials and placentals. Current Biology, 2015, vol. 25, no. 14, pp. 1878–1884.

Giljov A., Karenina K., Malashichev Y. Istoriia izucheniia motornykh asimmetrii u ptits [The history of studies of motor asymmetries in birds]. Russ. Ornithol. journal [Russian Ornithological Journal], 2011, vol. 20(664), pp. 1151–1165. (In Russian)

Benelli G., Romano D., Messing R. H., Canale A. First report of behavioral lateralization in mosquitoes: right-biased kicking behavior against males in females of the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus. Parasitol. Res., 2015, vol. 114, pp. 1613–1617.

Romano D., Canale A., Benelli G. Do right-biased boxers do it better? Population-level asymmetry of aggressive displays enhances fighting success in blowflies. Behav. Proc., 2015, vol. 113, pp. 159–162.

Ades C., Ramires N. E. Asymmetry of leg use during prey handling in the spider Scytodes globula (Scytodidae). J. Insect Behavior, 2002, vol. 15(4), pp. 563–570.

Heuts B. A., Brunt T. Behavioral left-right asymmetry extends to arthorpodes. Behav. Brain Sci., 2005, vol. 28(4), pp. 601–602.

Haakonsson J. E., Semple S. Lateralization of trunk movements in captive Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). Laterality, 2009, vol. 14 (4), pp. 413–422.

Martin F., Niemitz C. “Right-trunkers” and “left-trunkers”: Side preferences of trunk movements in wild Asian elephants (Elephas maximus). J. Comp. Psychology, 2003, vol. 117(4), pp. 371–379.

Anderson M. J., Williams S. A., O’Brien E. H. Individual differences in the preferred neck-resting position of Caribbean flamingos (Phoenicopterus ruber). Laterality, 2009, vol. 14(1), pp. 66–78.

Birina U. A., Malashichev Y. B. Asimmetriia v polozhenii «golova-pod-krylom» vo vremia otdykha u vodoplavaiushchikh i okolovodnykh ptits [Asymmetry in position «head-under-wing» while resting in waterfowl and waders]. Russ. Ornithol. Journal [Russian Ornithological Journal], 2014, vol. 23(1031), pp. 2389–2393. (In Russian)

Birina U. A. Zimnee-vesenniaia chislennost’ gagi (Somateria mollissima) i kriakvy (Anas platyrhynchos) v 1997–2005 u ostrova Vestvageiia (Lofotenskie o-va, Severnaia Norvegiia) [Winter and spring abundance of Common Eider (Somateria mollissima) and Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) near Vestvagøy (Lofoten Islands, Northern Norway) during 1997–2005]. Guseobraznye ptitsy Severnoi Evrazii: tez. dokl. 3-go mezhdunar. simp. [Abstracts of Third International Symposium on Waterfowl of Northern Eurasia], October, 06–10, 2005, Saint-Petersburg, RUSSIA, pp. 40–42. (In Russian)

Birina U. A. Peremeshcheniia kriakv (Anas platyrhynchos) v tsentre Sankt-Peterburga osen’iu i zimoi [Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) autumn and winter moving in the centre of Saint-Petersburg]. Guseobraznye ptitsy Severnoi Evrazii: tez. dokl. 3-go mezhdunar. simp. [Abstracts of Third International Symposium on Waterfowl of Northern Eurasia], October, 06–10, 2005, Saint-Petersburg, RUSSIA, pp. 42–44. (In Russian)

Karenina K., Giljov A., Baranov V., Osipova L., Krasnova V., Malashichev Y. Visual laterality of calf—mother interactions in wild whales. PloS One, 2010, vol. 5, no. 11, pp. e13787.

Leutin V. P., Nikolaeva E. I. Funktsional’naia asimmetriia mozga: mify i deistvitel’nost’ [Functional brain asymmetry: myths and reality]. Saint-Petersburg, Retch Publ., 2005, 368 p. (In Russian)

Randler C. Foot preferences during resting in wildfowl and waders. Laterality, 2007, vol. 12(2), pp. 191–197.

Anderson M. J., Laughlin C. P. Investigating laterality, social behavior, and temperature effects in captive Chilean flamingos, Phoenicopterus chilensis. Avian Ecol. Behav., 2014, vol. 25, pp. 3–19.