Child abuse in birds: Study documents 'cycle of violence' in nature

Public release date: 3-Oct-2011

Contact: Cheryl Walker
walkercv@wfu.edu
336-758-6073
http://www.wfu.edu/">Wake Forest University

Child abuse in birds: Study documents 'cycle of violence' in nature

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The new study of Nazca boobies by Wake Forest University researchers provides the first evidence from the animal world showing those who are abused when they are young often grow up to be abusers. The study appears in the October issue of the ornithology journal, The Auk.

"We were surprised by the intense interest that many adults show in unrelated young, involving really rough treatment," said Wake Forest Professor of Biology Dave Anderson, who led the study with Wake Forest graduate student Martina Müller. "A bird's history as a target of abuse proved to be a strong predictor of its adult behavior."

In Nazca boobies, traumatic abuse of developing young significantly increases the chances those maltreated individuals will exhibit the same maltreatment later in life as adults, Müller said. She is now at the University of Groeningen in the Netherlands.

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"It's fascinating that what many would consider an extremely complex human phenomenon is also occurring - perhaps through the same physiological mechanism — in Nazca boobies, which are more closely related to crocodiles than mammals," Grace said. "Both studies suggest Nazca boobies might be a good model system to begin understanding the mechanisms underlying the cycle of violence in humans."

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The researchers collected data during three breeding seasons documenting which nestlings suffered abuse or neglect, then several years later evaluated their behavior as adults in the same colony. They tracked the birds and identified them using leg bands.

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