1
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Culbert BM, Ligocki IY, Salena MG, Wong MYL, Hamilton IM, Bernier NJ, Balshine S. Social regulation of arginine vasopressin and oxytocin systems in a wild group-living fish. Horm Behav 2024; 161:105521. [PMID: 38452613 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2024.105521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Revised: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 02/26/2024] [Indexed: 03/09/2024]
Abstract
The neuropeptides arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT) are key regulators of social behaviour across vertebrates. However, much of our understanding of how these neuropeptide systems interact with social behaviour is centred around laboratory studies which fail to capture the social and physiological challenges of living in the wild. To evaluate relationships between these neuropeptide systems and social behaviour in the wild, we studied social groups of the cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher in Lake Tanganyika, Africa. We first used SCUBA to observe the behaviour of focal group members and then measured transcript abundance of key components of the AVP and OXT systems across different brain regions. While AVP is often associated with male-typical behaviours, we found that dominant females had higher expression of avp and its receptor (avpr1a2) in the preoptic area of the brain compared to either dominant males or subordinates of either sex. Dominant females also generally had the highest levels of leucyl-cystinyl aminopeptidase (lnpep)-which inactivates AVP and OXT-throughout the brain, potentially indicating greater overall activity (i.e., production, release, and turnover) of the AVP system in dominant females. Expression of OXT and its receptors did not differ across social ranks. However, dominant males that visited the brood chamber more often had lower preoptic expression of OXT receptor a (oxtra) suggesting a negative relationship between OXT signalling and parental care in males of this species. Overall, these results advance our understanding of the relationships between complex social behaviours and neuroendocrine systems under natural settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M Culbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Isaac Y Ligocki
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA
| | - Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marian Y L Wong
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian M Hamilton
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Nicholas J Bernier
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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2
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Bilby J, Colombelli-Négrel D, Katsis AC, Kleindorfer S. When aggressiveness could be too risky: linking personality traits and predator response in superb fairy-wrens. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14011. [PMID: 36193436 PMCID: PMC9526405 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality syndromes in animals may have adaptive benefits for survival. For example, while engaging in predator deterrence, reactive individuals tend to prioritise their own survival, while proactive individuals engage in riskier behaviours. Studies linking animal personality measured in captivity with individual fitness or behaviours in the wild are sparse, which is a gap in knowledge this study aims to address. We used playback experiments in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), a common Australian songbird with a cooperative breeding system, to assess whether three personality traits measured during short-term captivity correlated with behavioural responses in the wild to a perceived nest and adult predator, the grey currawong (Strepera versicolor). We used three standard measures of personality in birds: struggle responses to human handling (boldness), exploration during a novel environment test, and aggressiveness during a mirror presentation. Superb fairy-wrens showed a significantly stronger response to the predator playback than to the control (willie wagtail, Rhipidura leucophrys) playback, suggesting that they recognised the predator playback as a threat without any accompanying visual stimulus. Birds that attacked their mirror image during the mirror presentation and those that spent a moderate amount of time close to the mirror responded more strongly to predator playback (by approaching the speaker faster and closer, spending more time near the speaker, and being more likely to alarm call) compared to those with low aggressiveness or those that spent very short or long durations close to the mirror. Neither boldness nor exploration in the novel environment test predicted playback response. Our results align with a growing number of studies across species showing the importance of animal personalities as factors for fitness and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Bilby
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Diane Colombelli-Négrel
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew C. Katsis
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Sonia Kleindorfer
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia,Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition & Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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3
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Culbert BM, Ligocki IY, Salena MG, Wong MYL, Hamilton IM, Aubin-Horth N, Bernier NJ, Balshine S. Rank- and sex-specific differences in the neuroendocrine regulation of glucocorticoids in a wild group-living fish. Horm Behav 2021; 136:105079. [PMID: 34717080 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 07/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Individuals that live in groups experience different challenges based on their social rank and sex. Glucocorticoids have a well-established role in coordinating responses to challenges and glucocorticoid levels often vary between ranks and sexes. However, the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating glucocorticoid dynamics in wild groups are poorly understood, making it difficult to determine the functional consequences of differences in glucocorticoid levels. Therefore, we observed wild social groups of a cooperatively breeding fish (Neolamprologus pulcher) and evaluated how scale cortisol content (an emerging method to evaluate cortisol dynamics in fishes) and expression of glucocorticoid-related genes varied across group members. Scale cortisol was detectable in ~50% of dominant males (7/17) and females (7/15)-but not in any subordinates (0/16)-suggesting that glucocorticoid levels were higher in dominants. However, the apparent behavioural and neuroendocrine factors regulating cortisol levels varied between dominant sexes. In dominant females, higher cortisol was associated with greater rates of territory defense and increased expression of corticotropin-releasing factor in the preoptic and hypothalamic regions of the brain, but these patterns were not observed in dominant males. Additionally, transcriptional differences in the liver suggest that dominant sexes may use different mechanisms to cope with elevated cortisol levels. While dominant females appeared to reduce the relative sensitivity of their liver to cortisol (fewer corticosteroid receptor transcripts), dominant males appeared to increase hepatic cortisol breakdown (more catabolic enzyme transcripts). Overall, our results offer valuable insights on the mechanisms regulating rank- and sex-based glucocorticoid dynamics, as well as the potential functional outcomes of these differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M Culbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
| | - Isaac Y Ligocki
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA
| | - Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marian Y L Wong
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian M Hamilton
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie and Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, Quebec, Canada
| | - Nicholas J Bernier
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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4
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Kasper C, Schreier T, Taborsky B. Heritabilities, social environment effects and genetic correlations of social behaviours in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate. J Evol Biol 2019; 32:955-973. [PMID: 31152617 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13494] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Revised: 04/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Social animals interact frequently with conspecifics, and their behaviour is influenced by social context, environmental cues and the behaviours of interaction partners, allowing for adaptive, flexible adjustments to social encounters. This flexibility can be limited by part of the behavioural variation being genetically determined. Furthermore, behaviours can be genetically correlated, potentially constraining independent evolution. Understanding social behaviour thus requires carefully disentangling genetic, environmental, maternal and social sources of variations as well as the correlation structure between behaviours. Here, we assessed heritability, maternal, common environment and social effects of eight social behaviours in Neolamprologus pulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid. We bred wild-caught fish in a paternal half-sibling design and scored ability to defend a resource against conspecifics, to integrate into a group and the propensity to help defending the group territory ("helping behaviour"). We assessed genetic, social and phenotypic correlations within clusters of behaviours predicted to be functionally related, namely "competition," "aggression," "aggression-sociability," "integration" and "integration-help." Helping behaviour and two affiliative behaviours were heritable, whereas there was little evidence for a genetic basis in all other traits. Phenotypic social effects explained part of the variation in a sociable and a submissive behaviour, but there were no maternal or common environment effects. Genetic and phenotypic correlation within clusters was mostly positive. A group's social environment influenced covariances of social behaviours. Genetic correlations were similar in magnitude but usually exceeding the phenotypic ones, indicating that conclusions about the evolution of social behaviours in this species could be provisionally drawn from phenotypic data in cases where data for genetic analyses are unobtainable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Tanja Schreier
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Behavioural Ecology, University of Bern, Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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5
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Balzarini V, Taborsky M, Villa F, Frommen JG. Computer animations of color markings reveal the function of visual threat signals in Neolamprologus pulcher. Curr Zool 2017; 63:45-54. [PMID: 29491962 PMCID: PMC5804153 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zow086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2016] [Accepted: 07/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Visual signals, including changes in coloration and color patterns, are frequently used by animals to convey information. During contests, body coloration and its changes can be used to assess an opponent's state or motivation. Communication of aggressive propensity is particularly important in group-living animals with a stable dominance hierarchy, as the outcome of aggressive interactions determines the social rank of group members. Neolamprologus pulcher is a cooperatively breeding cichlid showing frequent within-group aggression. Both sexes exhibit two vertical black stripes on the operculum that vary naturally in shape and darkness. During frontal threat displays these patterns are actively exposed to the opponent, suggesting a signaling function. To investigate the role of operculum stripes during contests we manipulated their darkness in computer animated pictures of the fish. We recorded the responses in behavior and stripe darkness of test subjects to which these animated pictures were presented. Individuals with initially darker stripes were more aggressive against the animations and showed more operculum threat displays. Operculum stripes of test subjects became darker after exposure to an animation exhibiting a pale operculum than after exposure to a dark operculum animation, highlighting the role of the darkness of this color pattern in opponent assessment. We conclude that (i) the black stripes on the operculum of N. pulcher are a reliable signal of aggression and dominance, (ii) these markings play an important role in opponent assessment, and (iii) 2D computer animations are well suited to elicit biologically meaningful short-term aggressive responses in this widely used model system of social evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Balzarini
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Behavioral Ecology Division, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Behavioral Ecology Division, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Fabienne Villa
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Behavioral Ecology Division, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Joachim G. Frommen
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Behavioral Ecology Division, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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6
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Hess S, Fischer S, Taborsky B. Territorial aggression reduces vigilance but increases aggression towards predators in a cooperatively breeding fish. Anim Behav 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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7
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O’Connor CM, Reddon AR, Odetunde A, Jindal S, Balshine S. Social cichlid fish change behaviour in response to a visual predator stimulus, but not the odour of damaged conspecifics. Behav Processes 2015; 121:21-9. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2015.10.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2015] [Revised: 09/24/2015] [Accepted: 10/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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8
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Ingley SJ, Rehm J, Johnson JB. Size doesn't matter, sex does: a test for boldness in sister species of Brachyrhaphis fishes. Ecol Evol 2014; 4:4361-9. [PMID: 25540696 PMCID: PMC4267873 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1304] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2014] [Revised: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 10/03/2014] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The effect of divergent natural selection on the evolution of behavioral traits has long been a focus of behavioral ecologists. Predation, due to its ubiquity in nature and strength as a selective agent, has been considered an important environmental driver of behavior. Predation is often confounded with other environmental factors that could also play a role in behavioral evolution. For example, environments that contain predators are often more ecologically complex and “risky” (i.e., exposed and dangerous). Previous work shows that individuals from risky environments are often more bold, active, and explorative than those from low-risk environments. To date, most comparative studies of environmentally driven behavioral divergence are limited to comparisons among populations within species that occur in divergent selective environments but neglect comparisons between species following speciation. This limits our understanding of how behavior evolves post-speciation. The Central American live-bearing fish genus Brachyrhaphis provides an ideal system for examining the relationship between selective environments and behavior, within and between species. Here, we test for differences in boldness between sister species B. roseni and B. terrabensis that occur in streams with and without piscivorous predators, respectively. We found that species do differ in boldness, with species that occur with predators being bolder than those that do not. Within each species, we found that sexes differed in boldness, with males being bolder than females. We also tested for a relationship between size (a surrogate for metabolic rate) and boldness, but found no size effects. Therefore, sex, not size, affects boldness. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that complex and risky environments favor individuals with more bold behavioral traits, but they are not consistent with the hypothesis that size (and therefore metabolic rate) drives divergence in boldness. Finally, our results provide evidence that behavioral trait divergence continues even after speciation is complete.
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Affiliation(s)
- Spencer J Ingley
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, 84602
| | - Jeremy Rehm
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, 84602
| | - Jerald B Johnson
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of Biology, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, 84602 ; Monte L. Bean Life Science Museum, Brigham Young University Provo, Utah, 84602
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9
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Mirror, mirror on the wall: the predictive value of mirror tests for measuring aggression in fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1698-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 90] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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10
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Riebli T, Taborsky M, Chervet N, Apolloni N, Zürcher Y, Heg D. Behavioural type, status and social context affect behaviour and resource allocation in cooperatively breeding cichlids. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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11
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Hamilton IM, Ligocki IY. The extended personality: indirect effects of behavioural syndromes on the behaviour of others in a group-living cichlid. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.06.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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12
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Martins CIM, Schaedelin FC, Mann M, Blum C, Mandl I, Urban D, Grill J, Schößwender J, Wagner RH. Exploring novelty: a component trait of behavioural syndromes in a colonial fish. BEHAVIOUR 2012; 149:215-231. [PMID: 31031407 DOI: 10.1163/156853912x634430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Individual differences in exploratory behaviour have been shown to be consistent across contexts and suggested to be part of behavioural syndromes in a diversity of species, including fish. Exploration has also been shown to be a key factor in understanding complex ecological processes such as sexual selection and cooperation. Another important question in ecology is why animals breed in colonies. Exploration syndromes, by affecting prospecting behaviour, dispersal and public information use may also contribute to our understanding of coloniality. This study aims at investigating whether an exploration syndrome exists in a colonial fish species, Neolamprologus caudopunctatus. Individuals of this species were subjected to two consecutive tests, a novel environment and a novel object test. Results show that more explorative individuals in a novel environment are also less neophobic in the presence of a novel object, suggesting that the tendency to engage with novelty per se is a consistent trait and part of an exploration syndrome. These results are discussed in light of the contribution of an exploration syndrome to explain colony formation in animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catarina I M Martins
- Centro de Ciências do Mar (CCMAR), Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, 8005-139 Faro, Portugal
| | - Franziska C Schaedelin
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Marlene Mann
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Blum
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Isabella Mandl
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Damaris Urban
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Johannes Grill
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Julia Schößwender
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - Richard H Wagner
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria.,Konrad Lorenz Institute Vetmed of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Veterinary University of Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1a, A-1160 Vienna, Austria
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13
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Le Vin A, Mable B, Taborsky M, Heg D, Arnold K. Individual variation in helping in a cooperative breeder: relatedness versus behavioural type. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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14
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Cain KE, Rich MS, Ainsworth K, Ketterson ED. Two sides of the same coin? Consistency in aggression to conspecifics and predators in a female songbird. Ethology 2011; 117:786-795. [PMID: 21927524 DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2011.01932.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Different forms of aggression have traditionally been treated separately according to function or context (e.g. aggression towards a conspecific versus a predator). However, recent work on individual consistency in behavior predicts that different forms of aggression may be correlated across contexts, suggesting a lack of independence. For nesting birds, aggression towards both conspecifics and nest predators can affect reproductive success, yet the relationship between these behaviors, especially in females, is not known. Here we examine free-living female dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) and compare their aggressive responses towards three types of simulated intruders near the nest: a same-sex conspecific, an opposite-sex conspecific, and a nest predator. We also examine differences in the strength of response that might relate to the immediacy of the perceived threat the intruder poses for the female or her offspring. We found greater aggression directed towards a predator than a same-sex intruder, and towards a same-sex than an opposite-sex intruder, consistent with a predator being a more immediate threat than a same-sex intruder, followed by an opposite-sex intruder. We also found positive relationships across individuals between responses to a same-sex intruder and a simulated predator, and between responses to a same-sex and an opposite-sex intruder, indicating that individual females are consistent in their relative level of aggression across contexts. If correlated behaviors are mediated by related mechanisms, then different forms of aggression may be expressions of the same behavioral tendency and constrained from evolving independently.
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Affiliation(s)
- K E Cain
- Department of Biology & Center for the Integrative Study of Animal Behavior, Indiana University, 1001 East 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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15
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Chervet N, Zöttl M, Schürch R, Taborsky M, Heg D. Repeatability and heritability of behavioural types in a social cichlid. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 2011; 2011:321729. [PMID: 21716729 PMCID: PMC3119426 DOI: 10.4061/2011/321729] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2010] [Accepted: 02/28/2011] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Aim. The quantitative genetics underlying correlated behavioural traits (''animal personality") have hitherto been studied mainly in domesticated animals. Here we report the repeatability (R) and heritability (h(2)) of behavioural types in the highly social cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher. Methods. We tested 1779 individuals repeatedly and calculated the h(2) of behavioural types by variance components estimation (GLMM REML), using 1327 offspring from 162 broods from 74 pairs. Results. Repeatability of behavioural types was significant and considerable (0.546), but declined from 0.83 between tests conducted on the same day, to 0.19 on tests conducted up to 1201 days apart. All h(2) estimates were significant but low (e.g., pair identity h(2) = 0.15 ± 0.03 SE). Additionally, we found significant variation between broods nested within the parent(s), but these were not related to several environmental factors tested. Conclusions. We conclude that despite a considerable R, h(2) in this cichlid species is low, and variability in behavioural type appears to be strongly affected by other (non)genetic effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noémie Chervet
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Markus Zöttl
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Roger Schürch
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Michael Taborsky
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Dik Heg
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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16
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Behavioural type affects dominance and growth in staged encounters of cooperatively breeding cichlids. Anim Behav 2011. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2010.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
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