New Zealand Journal of Zoology abstracts
Topography affects foot trembling side preference in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes)
Åsa Berggren*
Ecology Group
Massey University
Private Bag 11 222
Palmerston North, New Zealand
asa.berggren@entom.slu.se
*Present address: Department of Entomology, P.O. Box 7044, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden.
Abstract Behavioural laterality, where an
individual shows a preference for using its left or right side when
engaging in a task, has been documented in a wide range of species.
Typically, such preferences have been correlated with neurological
biases associated with brain structure, genetics, sex, and age. In
birds, behavioural laterality (and footedness) is most commonly
expressed in the searching and handling of food. I examined foot
preferences during foraging in the North Island robin (Petroica longipes),
a species which rapidly vibrates one of its legs when searching for
food on the forest floor. Topography of the study site had a
significant effect on the laterality of the individual, with the
uppermost leg almost exclusively used for the trembling behaviour. With
this exception, there was no bias in which leg was used across the
population or within the individual for different sexes or age classes.
As study sites and their features are seldom described in laterality
studies, the results of my study show that topographical features may
be important factors in determining side preferences and need to be
accounted for.
Keywords North Island robin; Petroica; footedness; handedness; laterality; prey searching; foot trembling; foot quivering; foot shaking; bilateral asymmetry
Z06001; Received 3 January 2006; accepted 22 April 2006; Online publication date 5 July 2006
New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 2006, Vol. 33: 197–201
0301–4223/06/3303–197 © The Royal Society of New Zealand 2006
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