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| Yellow-legged gull chicks in their nest (image credit: Contando Estrelas) |
Birds and animals emanating alarm calls to warn
their offspring about possible predator presence is a common occurrence in the animal
world. However, a new study published in nature Ecology and Evolution journal shows that Yellow-legged gull eggs which are exposed to such alarm calls can imbibe
that information and pass it on to other nest mates through vibrations,
inducing developmental changes at embryonic stage and also influencing anti-predator
behavior in later life.
As part of the study, the researchers collected 90 eggs from a large
colony of Yellow-legged gulls from Salvora Island in Spain and conducted an
experiment to investigate whether alarm calls about predators ‘heard’ by the
eggs induce anti-predator traits in the chicks when they hatch. They
have created an experimental group – clutches of 3 eggs each, (totaling 45)
which were exposed to alarm calls – and a control group –clutches of 3 eggs (totaling
45) which were not exposed to alarm calls.
