1Core facility KLF for Behaviour and Cognition, University of Vienna, Fischerau 11, 4645 Grünau
im Almtal, AUSTRIA; didone.frigerio@univie.ac.at
2Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090 Vienna,
AUSTRIA
3Department for Agro-Food, Environmental and Animal Science, University of Udine, Via delle
Scienze 206, 3310 Udine, ITALY
Social context is known to modulate physiology, behaviour, fertility and immune system of group
living animals. Furthermore, individuals‟ nutritional strategies may affect their performance and
impact their social interactions. In the present study we discuss the results of a pilot study
conducted on N = 38 individuals of the semi-tame, long-term monitored and individually marked
flock of Greylag geese (Anser anser) at the Konrad Lorenz Research Station in Upper Austria.
Focal birds belonged to different social categories within the flock, i.e. paired with and without
offspring, single and juveniles (five males and three to five females per category). The animals are
well habituated to the close presence of humans and are used to get fed twice a day on the meadow
in front of the Research Station. During 9 consecutive days in winter 2017, when the snow pack
was closed, after standardization of the provided food, a total number of 184 individual droppings
were collected from the focal individuals (mean = 4,8; SD = 0,4). Samples were analysed by
determining the apparent digestibility of total organic matter. Preliminary results show similarities
between males and females but hint at differences depending on the social category with parental
individuals showing higher digestive capability than unpaired individuals or paired without
offspring. We discuss our findings with respect to the complex relationships between social status,
physiology and the capacity of digesting food, extracting nutrients and improving fitness
