The relationship between environmental factors and flamingo aggression examined via internet resources

Author: Peluso Alicia I.   Royer Erica A.   Wall Matthew J.   Anderson Matthew J.  

Publisher: Science Reviews 2000 Ltd

ISSN: 1758-1559

Source: Avian Biology Research, Vol.6, Iss.3, 2013-08, pp. : 215-220

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

This study sought to examine the relationship between weather and aggression in Caribbean flamingos by utilising a novel observation method. Previous research has shown evidence of increased levels of aggression during periods of warmer weather in a wide range of species including humans. We observed the captive flock of Caribbean flamingos at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park (Washington, DC, USA) by means of a web cam, and correlated the observed instances of aggression with eight different weather variables gathered via www.weather.com. Results evidenced significant positive correlations between aggression and several variables including: temperature [r (38) = 0.31, P = 0.048], "feels like" [r (38) = 0.31, P = 0.049], and UV-index [r (38) = 0.35, P = 0.025]; and a multiple linear regression (stepwise) suggested that UV-index is a significant predictor of aggressive instances, thus highlighting the relationship between such environmental factors and flamingo aggression. Evidence has been found of a relationships between UV light and aggression in other species, and the results of the present study suggest a similar relationship in flamingos. Employing webcams may allow researchers to obtain larger samples to be included in the study of aggression or to examine this and other behaviors in a wider variety of captive animals.