Researchers discovered that while albatrosses are mates for life, shy males are more likely get dumped. They also noted Wednesday that personality has been proven to predict divorce in wild animals.
Wandering albatrosses, found in the Southern Hemisphere, have the longest wingspan (more than 3m) and are the monogamous animal.
They can live up to 50 years. While they are often on the wing most of the time, they will meet up with their same partner every two years to breed.
Ruijiao, Sun’s lead author in a study that was published in the journal, stated that divorce is a “superrare event” that occurs about 13 percent of all the time. Biology Letters, said AFP.
The PhD student at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in America said that if they feel their breeding success with a particular partner is not high enough, they may consider looking for another partner.
The researchers used a unique database to discover how individual birds’ personalities affect their chances of getting divorced.
Scientists have been following a colony wandering albatrosses since 1959 on Possession Island in the southern Indian Ocean’s Crozet archipelago.
Stephanie Jenouvrier, marine biologist and co-author of the study, told AFP that she had put a stainless ring on her leg with a number.
“Because they aren’t really scared, we can approach very slowly. We can read the number,” she said. This allowed the team “reconstruct all of the history of these birds”.
Sun stated that the birds only “breed every 2 years” because it takes them a year to raise their chicks and is very energy-consuming. Therefore, they take a 1-year sabbatical to recuperate and don’t spend that time together.
Shy guys finish last
The researchers studied the behavior of birds when a person approaches their nest and measured their boldness over the course of more than a decade.
They found that shyer male albatrosses were up to twice as likely to get divorced than their bolder rivals – but no difference was found in females.
Sun stated that “We have demonstrated for the first time the relationship between personality and divorcing in wild species, thanks probably the most comprehensive dataset in the world,”
Wandering albatrosses are “elaborate courtship systems”, according to the study As the birds dance, they raise their wings and squawk.
Sometimes, an outsider male couple may try to intervene. That is when the shyer males avoid confrontation – and accept divorce.
The researchers found other factors that could affect divorce rates.
Male albatrosses are larger than females, as females forage in areas that are more likely to be caught up in fishing line.
According to the study, although females can quickly find a mate due to the abundance of males, it can take males up to four years.
Jenouvrier stated that people who have been in a relationship for a while are less likely to divorce than those who are only starting to see each other.
Research from last year indicated that Climate ChangeIt is possible that albatrosses are also driving them to divorce by having to travel further in order to find decreasing numbers.
