The Relationship between Environmental Factors and Flamingo Aggression Examined via Internet Resources

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.