TY - JOUR
T1 - Intra- and interspecific agonistic behaviour in hatchling Australian freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) and saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus)
AU - Brien, Matthew
AU - Webb, Grahame
AU - Lang, Jeffrey
AU - Christian, Keith
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - We examined agonistic behaviour in hatchling Australian freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) at 2 weeks, 13 weeks, and 50 weeks after hatching, and between C. johnstoni and saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) at 40-50 weeks of age. Among C. johnstoni, agonistic interactions (15-23s duration) were well established by two weeks old and typically involved two and occasionally three individuals, mostly between 17:00 and 24:00hours in open-water areas of enclosures. A range of discrete postures, non-contact and contact movements are described. The head is rarely targeted in contact movements with C. johnstoni because they exhibit a unique 'head raised high' posture, and engage in 'push downs'. In contrast with C. porosus of a similar age, agonistic interactions between C. johnstoni were conducted with relatively low intensity and showed limited ontogenetic change; there was also no evidence of a dominance hierarchy among hatchlings by 50 weeks of age, when the frequency of agonistic interactions was lowest. Agonistic interactions between C. johnstoni and C. porosus at 40-50 weeks of age were mostly low level, with no real exclusion or dominance observed. However, smaller individuals of both species moved slowly out of the way when a larger individual of either species approached. When medium- or high-level interspecific interactions did occur, it was between similar-sized individuals, and each displayed species-specific behaviours that appeared difficult for contestants to interpret: there was no clear winner or loser. The nature of agonistic interactions between the two species suggests that dominance may be governed more strongly by size rather than by species-specific aggressiveness.
AB - We examined agonistic behaviour in hatchling Australian freshwater crocodiles (Crocodylus johnstoni) at 2 weeks, 13 weeks, and 50 weeks after hatching, and between C. johnstoni and saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) at 40-50 weeks of age. Among C. johnstoni, agonistic interactions (15-23s duration) were well established by two weeks old and typically involved two and occasionally three individuals, mostly between 17:00 and 24:00hours in open-water areas of enclosures. A range of discrete postures, non-contact and contact movements are described. The head is rarely targeted in contact movements with C. johnstoni because they exhibit a unique 'head raised high' posture, and engage in 'push downs'. In contrast with C. porosus of a similar age, agonistic interactions between C. johnstoni were conducted with relatively low intensity and showed limited ontogenetic change; there was also no evidence of a dominance hierarchy among hatchlings by 50 weeks of age, when the frequency of agonistic interactions was lowest. Agonistic interactions between C. johnstoni and C. porosus at 40-50 weeks of age were mostly low level, with no real exclusion or dominance observed. However, smaller individuals of both species moved slowly out of the way when a larger individual of either species approached. When medium- or high-level interspecific interactions did occur, it was between similar-sized individuals, and each displayed species-specific behaviours that appeared difficult for contestants to interpret: there was no clear winner or loser. The nature of agonistic interactions between the two species suggests that dominance may be governed more strongly by size rather than by species-specific aggressiveness.
KW - aggression
KW - body size
KW - crocodilian
KW - dominance
KW - hatching
KW - interspecific interaction
KW - intraspecific interaction
KW - posture
KW - Australia
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84883731469&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1071/ZO13035
DO - 10.1071/ZO13035
M3 - Article
SN - 0004-959X
VL - 61
SP - 196
EP - 205
JO - Australian Journal of Zoology
JF - Australian Journal of Zoology
IS - 3
ER -