Resource Value and Dominance Among American Goldfinches

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Abstract
This study investigated whether changes in how individuals valued a disputed resource affected their dominance within groups. Subordinate captive American Goldfinches Carduelis tritis were deprived of food before being reintroduced to dominant birds to increase the value subordinate birds placed on the feeding site as a resource. Food deprivation led to subordinate birds winning more encounters than during control periods. Dominance was even reversed in some cases. Subordinate birds were also more likely to initiate encounters after being starved; and encounters were longer and more likely to end in fights. These results suggest that dominance relationships among birds are at least partly dependent on the value each bird places on the resource under dispute.