1
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Tchabovsky AV, Surkova EN, Savinetskaya LE. Multi-assay approach shows species-associated personality patterns in two socially distinct gerbil species. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0296214. [PMID: 38625985 PMCID: PMC11020386 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0296214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/18/2024] Open
Abstract
We aimed to investigate whether two closely related but socially distinct species of gerbils differ in personality patterns. Using a suit of multivariate repeated assays (docility test, dark-light emergence test, startle test, novel object test, elevated platform test, and stranger test), we assessed contextual and temporal consistency of docility, boldness, exploration, anxiety, and sociability in the solitary midday gerbil, Meriones meridianus, and social Mongolian gerbil, M. unguiculatus. We revealed contextually consistent and highly repeatable sex-independent but species-specific personality traits. Species differed in temporal repeatability of different behaviours, and contextual consistency was more pronounced in solitary M. meridianus than in social M. unguiculatus. This finding contradicts the social niche specialization hypothesis, which suggests that personality traits should be more consistent in more social species. Instead, we hypothesize that social complexity should favour more flexible and less consistent behavioural traits. The habituation effect indicative of learning abilities was weak in both species yet stronger in social M. unguiculatus, supporting the relationship between the sociality level and cognitive skills. In both species, only a few different behavioural traits covaried, and the sets of correlated behaviours were species-specific such that the two species did not share any pair of correlated traits. Between-species differences in personality traits, habituation, and behavioural syndromes may be linked to differences in sociality. The lack of prominent behavioural syndromes is consistent with the idea that context-specific individual behavioural traits might be favoured to allow more flexible and adequate responses to changing environments than syndromes of correlated functionally different behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrey V. Tchabovsky
- Laboratory for Population Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Elena N. Surkova
- Laboratory for Population Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
| | - Ludmila E. Savinetskaya
- Laboratory for Population Ecology, Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
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2
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Han CS, Lee B, Moon J. Activity-aggression behavioural syndromes exist in males but not in females of the field cricket Teleogryllus emma. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10642. [PMID: 37859828 PMCID: PMC10582681 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10642] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Revised: 09/20/2023] [Accepted: 10/09/2023] [Indexed: 10/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Previous studies on sex differences in behaviour have largely focused on differences in average behaviours between sexes. However, males and females can diverge not only in average behaviours but also in the direction of behavioural correlations at the individual level (i.e. behavioural syndromes). Behavioural syndromes, with their potential to constrain the independent evolution of behaviours, may play a role in shaping sex-specific responses to selection and contributing to the development of sex differences in behaviour. Despite the pivotal role of behavioural syndromes in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in behaviour, robust empirical evidence of sex differences in behavioural syndromes based on repeated measurements of behaviours is scarce. In this study, we conducted repeated measurements of activity and aggression in male and female field crickets Teleogryllus emma, providing evidence of sex differences in the existence of behavioural syndromes. Males exhibited a significantly positive behavioural syndrome between activity and aggression, whereas females, in contrast, did not show any aggressive behaviour, resulting in the absence of such a syndrome. The sex differences in the existence of the activity-aggression behavioural syndromes in this species could be attributed to differences in selection. Selection favouring more active and aggressive males may have shaped a positive activity-aggression behavioural syndrome in males, whereas the absence of selection favouring female aggression may have resulted in the absence of aggression and the related behavioural syndrome in females. However, given the plasticity of behaviour with changes in age or the environment, further research is needed to explore how sex differences in the existence of activity-aggression behavioural syndromes change across contexts. Furthermore, understanding the genetic underpinning of sex differences in a behavioural syndrome would be pivotal to assess the role of behavioural syndromes in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in behaviours.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang S. Han
- Department of BiologyKyung Hee UniversitySeoulKorea
| | - Byeongho Lee
- Department of BiologyKyung Hee UniversitySeoulKorea
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3
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van Iersel R, Boiten G, Pinxten R, Eens M. Untangling behaviours: independent expressions of female-female aggression and snake-like hissing in the blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus). Sci Rep 2023; 13:16346. [PMID: 37770619 PMCID: PMC10539291 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-43652-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Aggression plays a crucial role in deterring predators and securing resources to promote fitness. Nevertheless, studies focussing on female aggression remain scarce. In songbirds, aggression is prevalent during the breeding season, when same-sex individuals compete for limited resources. Additionally, females of some bird species exhibit snake-like hissing behaviour during incubation presumably to lower predation rates and improve fitness. Such behaviours may co-vary, forming a behavioural syndrome that could constrain trait expression. Here, we investigated a resident population of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), to examine the repeatability and covariation of female-female aggression and hissing behaviour, aiming to determine if these constitute a behavioural syndrome. We quantified female-female aggression during simulated territorial intrusions and measured number of hissing calls in response to a simulated predator intrusion into the nest box. We found that both female-female aggression and hissing behaviour were repeatable traits, and that older females approached the intruder less. However, we found no evidence of covariation between female-female aggression and hissing behaviour. Thus, our findings suggest that female-female aggression and hissing behaviour, although both displayed in a nest defence context, are evolutionarily independent traits in the blue tit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin van Iersel
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium.
| | - Gust Boiten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
- Research Group Didactica, Antwerp School of Education, University of Antwerp, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Antwerp, Belgium
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4
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Delmé C, Jackson N, Class B, Strickland K, Potvin DA, Frère CH. Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230805. [PMID: 37339740 PMCID: PMC10281801 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, we have begun to appreciate that social behaviours might exhibit repeatable among-individual variation. Such behavioural traits may even covary and have critical evolutionary implications. Importantly, some social behaviours such as aggressiveness have been shown to provide fitness benefits, including higher reproductive success and survival. However, fitness consequences of affiliative behaviours, especially between or among sexes, can be more challenging to establish. Using a longitudinal behavioural dataset (2014-2021) collected on eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii), we investigated whether various aspects of affiliative behaviour (i) were repeatable across years, (ii) covaried with each other at the among-individual level, and (iii) influenced individuals' fitness. In particular, we considered affiliative behaviours towards opposite-sex and same-sex conspecifics separately. We found that social traits were repeatable and covaried with each other similarly for both sexes. More notably, we found that male reproductive success was positively correlated with the number of female associates and the proportion of time spent with females, while females' reproductive success was not correlated with any of the measured social behaviour metrics. Overall, these findings suggest that selection may be acting differently on social behaviour of male and female eastern water dragons.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Delmé
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - N. Jackson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - B. Class
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - K. Strickland
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - D. A. Potvin
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - C. H. Frère
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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5
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Behavioural syndrome between boldness and aggressiveness and link with reproductive success in a wild bird population. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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6
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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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7
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Velasco AC, Ferrer ES, Sanz JJ. Intersexual differences in the exploratory behaviour of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10171] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Breeding performance and survival are mechanisms through which animal personality affects fitness. Exploration behaviour (EB) is an easily obtainable personality trait that correlates to multiple life-history traits, thus it has been widely used in animal personality studies. Through in situ Novel Environment exploration tests, we assessed the exploration behaviour of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) during two breeding seasons. A principal component analysis revealed two behavioural axes regarding the exploration behaviour: slow-fast and timid-daring. We found that male blue tits are significantly slower explorers than female blue tits, suggesting that evolutionary processes act unequally across sexes in our study area. To investigate these processes, we assessed the relationship between exploration behaviour and two fitness aspects: reproduction and survival. Slower-exploring males bred in nests with significantly shorter incubation periods, and timid males had higher local return ratios. Interactions between male and female EB revealed that disassortative pairs were more successful breeders than assortative ones. Further research should explore potential evolutionary implications of intersexual EB differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adara C. Velasco
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN-CSIC; Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva), Calle de José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Esperanza S. Ferrer
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN-CSIC; Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva), Calle de José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
| | - Juan José Sanz
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Spanish National Research Council (MNCN-CSIC; Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva), Calle de José Gutiérrez Abascal 2, Madrid, Spain
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8
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Sonnenberg BR, Branch CL, Pitera AM, Benedict LM, Heinen VK, Pravosudov VV. Food-hoarding and nest-building propensities are associated in a cavity-nesting bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03114-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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9
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Harrison LM, Noble DWA, Jennions MD. A meta-analysis of sex differences in animal personality: no evidence for the greater male variability hypothesis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:679-707. [PMID: 34908228 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The notion that men are more variable than women has become embedded into scientific thinking. For mental traits like personality, greater male variability has been partly attributed to biology, underpinned by claims that there is generally greater variation among males than females in non-human animals due to stronger sexual selection on males. However, evidence for greater male variability is limited to morphological traits, and there is little information regarding sex differences in personality-like behaviours for non-human animals. Here, we meta-analysed sex differences in means and variances for over 2100 effects (204 studies) from 220 species (covering five broad taxonomic groups) across five personality traits: boldness, aggression, activity, sociality and exploration. We also tested if sexual size dimorphism, a proxy for sex-specific sexual selection, explains variation in the magnitude of sex differences in personality. We found no significant differences in personality between the sexes. In addition, sexual size dimorphism did not explain variation in the magnitude of the observed sex differences in the mean or variance in personality for any taxonomic group. In sum, we find no evidence for widespread sex differences in variability in non-human animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Harrison
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
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10
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Thys B, Pinxten R, Eens M. Long-term repeatability and age-related plasticity of female behaviour in a free-living passerine. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.11.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
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11
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de Jong ME, Nicolaus M, Fokkema RW, Loonen MJJE. State dependence explains individual variation in nest defence behaviour in a long-lived bird. J Anim Ecol 2021; 90:809-819. [PMID: 33340107 PMCID: PMC8048547 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13411] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2020] [Accepted: 11/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Parental care, such as nest or offspring defence, is crucial for offspring survival in many species. Yet, despite its obvious fitness benefits, the level of defence can consistently vary between individuals of the same species. One prominent adaptive explanation for consistent individual differences in behaviours involves state dependency: relatively stable differences in individual state should lead to the emergence of repeatable behavioural variation whereas changes in state should lead to a readjustment of behaviour. Therefore, empirical testing of adaptive state dependence requires longitudinal data where behaviour and state of individuals of the same population are repeatedly measured. Here, we test if variation in states predicts nest defence behaviour (a ‘risky’ behaviour) in a long‐lived species, the barnacle goose Branta leucopsis. Adaptive models have predicted that an individual's residual reproductive value or ‘asset’ is an important state variable underlying variation in risk‐taking behaviour. Hence, we investigate how nest defence varies as a function of time of the season and individual age, two state variables that can vary between and within individuals and determine asset. Repeated measures of nest defence towards a human intruder (flight initiation distance or FID) of females of known age were collected during 15 breeding seasons. Increasing values of FID represent increasing shyness. We found that females strongly and consistently differed in FID within‐ and between‐years. As predicted by theory, females adjusted their behaviour to state by decreasing their FID with season and age. Decomposing these population patterns into within‐ and between‐individual effects showed that the state‐dependent change in FID was driven by individual plasticity in FID and that bolder females were more plastic than shyer females. This study shows that nest defence behaviour differs consistently among individuals and is adjusted to individual state in a direction predicted by adaptive personality theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margje E de Jong
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.,Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Marion Nicolaus
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Science (GELIFES), University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Rienk W Fokkema
- Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
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12
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Goulet CT, Hart W, Phillips BL, Llewelyn J, Wong BBM, Chapple DG. No behavioral syndromes or sex‐specific personality differences in the southern rainforest sunskink (
Lampropholis similis
). Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13103] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Celine T. Goulet
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Vic. Australia
| | - Wes Hart
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Vic. Australia
| | - Ben L. Phillips
- School of Biosciences University of Melbourne Parkville Vic. Australia
- Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
| | - John Llewelyn
- Centre for Tropical Biodiversity and Climate James Cook University Townsville Qld Australia
- Global Ecology Lab College of Science and Engineering Flinders University Adelaide SA Australia
| | - Bob B. M. Wong
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Vic. Australia
| | - David G. Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences Monash University Clayton Vic. Australia
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13
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Huang P, St.Mary CM, Kimball RT. Habitat urbanization and stress response are primary predictors of personality variation in northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). JOURNAL OF URBAN ECOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jue/juaa015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Behavioral traits that vary consistently among individuals across different contexts are often termed as ‘personality traits,’ while the correlated suite formed by those traits is called a ‘behavioral syndrome’. Both personality trait and behavioral syndrome are potentially responsive to animal ‘states’, defined as strategically relevant individual features affecting the cost-and-benefit trade-offs of behavioral actions. Both extrinsic ‘states’ (e.g. urban versus rural habitats), and intrinsic ‘states’ (e.g. sex), may shape among-individual variation in personality traits, as well as behavioral syndromes. Here, we used northern cardinals sampled from four locations to examine the effect of habitat type (urban versus rural, an extrinsic state), stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) parameters, body weight and sex (intrinsic states) on personality traits and behavioral syndrome variation. We used behavioral trials to measure five personality traits. Using principal component analysis to quantify personality traits first, followed by general linear mixed models, we found that habitat type, CORT at capture and 2-day CORT response affected some personality traits, while body weight and sex did not. Cardinals inhabiting more urbanized areas had lower CORT metabolite levels at capture and were more neophilic, less neophobic and also less aggressive than their rural conspecifics. Using structural equation modeling to construct behavioral syndromes formed by our selected personality traits, we found that urban and rural cardinals varied in the models representing syndrome structure. When utilizing the shared syndrome structural model to examine the effects of states, habitat type and 2-day CORT response appear to affect syndrome variation in a coordinated, not hierarchical, manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Huang
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
| | - Colette M St.Mary
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
| | - Rebecca T Kimball
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
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14
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Class B, Brommer JE. Shared environmental effects bias phenotypic estimates of assortative mating in a wild bird. Biol Lett 2019; 14:rsbl.2018.0106. [PMID: 29997185 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Assortative mating is pervasive in wild populations and commonly described as a positive correlation between the phenotypes of males and females across mated pairs. This correlation is often assumed to reflect non-random mate choice based on phenotypic similarity. However, phenotypic resemblance between mates can also arise when their traits respond plastically to a shared environmental effect creating a (within-pair) residual correlation in traits. Using long-term data collected in pairs of wild blue tits and a covariance partitioning approach, we empirically demonstrate that such residual covariance indeed exists and can generate phenotypic correlations (or mask assortative mating) in behavioural and morphometric traits. These findings (i) imply that residual covariance is likely to be common and bias phenotypic estimates of assortative mating, which can have consequences for evolutionary predictions, (ii) call for the use of rigorous statistical approaches in the study of assortative mating, and (iii) show the applicability of one of these approaches in a common study system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Class
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, 20014 Turku, Finland
| | - Jon E Brommer
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, 20014 Turku, Finland.,NOVIA University of Applied Sciences, Campus Raseborg, 10600 Ekenäs, Finland
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15
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Pittet F, Tyson C, Herrington JA, Houdelier C, Lumineau S. Postnatal care generates phenotypic behavioural correlations in the Japanese quail. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2735-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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16
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Thys B, Lambreghts Y, Pinxten R, Eens M. Nest defence behavioural reaction norms: testing life-history and parental investment theory predictions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:182180. [PMID: 31183140 PMCID: PMC6502369 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.182180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 03/12/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Predation is the primary source of reproductive failure in many avian taxa and nest defence behaviour against predators is hence an important aspect of parental investment. Nest defence is a complex trait that might consistently differ among individuals (personality), while simultaneously vary within individuals (plasticity) according to the reproductive value of the offspring. Both complementary aspects of individual variation can influence fitness, but the causality of links with reproductive success remains poorly understood. We repeatedly tested free-living female great tits (Parus major) for nest defence (hissing) behaviour across the nesting cycle, by presenting them with a model predator. Hissing behaviour was highly repeatable but, despite population-level plasticity, we found no support for individual differences in plasticity. Path analysis revealed that repeatable differences in hissing behaviour had no direct effect on nest success or fledgling number. However, our best supported path-model showed that more fiercely hissing females laid smaller clutches, with clutch size in turn positively influencing fledgling number, suggesting that females are most likely facing a trade-off between investment in nest defence and reproduction. Strong stabilizing selection for optimal plasticity, in combination with life-history trade-offs, might explain the high repeatability of nest defence and its link with reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bert Thys
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Yorick Lambreghts
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
- Faculty of Social Sciences, Antwerp School of Education, University of Antwerp, Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, Wilrijk, Belgium
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17
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Seltmann MW, Helle S, Htut W, Lahdenperä M. Males have more aggressive and less sociable personalities than females in semi-captive Asian elephants. Sci Rep 2019; 9:2668. [PMID: 30804421 PMCID: PMC6390182 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39915-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2018] [Accepted: 02/01/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Personality, i.e. consistent between-individual differences in behaviour, has been documented in many species. Yet little is known about how males and females of long-lived, highly social species differ in their measures of personality structure. We investigated sex differences in the mean, variance, and covariance of three previously reported personality traits (Attentiveness, Sociability, Aggressiveness) in 150 female and 107 male Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) from a semi-captive population in Myanmar. These three personality traits were obtained by performing exploratory factor analysis on 28 behavioural items that had been rated by experienced elephant handlers. We found that males scored significantly higher on Aggressiveness and tended to score lower on Sociability than females. However, no sex difference was found in the mean scores of Attentiveness. Variances for the three personality traits did not differ between the sexes, suggesting that male and female elephants share the same range of personality variation. Likewise, trait covariances were similar between the sexes. While both sexes show complex sociality in the wild, female Asian elephants typically live in highly social family units, whereas male elephants' social bonds are weaker. Males usually form dominance ranks by aggressive interactions, especially during musth. Our results on a large sample of individuals living in their natural environment are thus in agreement with elephant life-histories and parallel the findings of sex differences in other long-lived highly social species with similar life-histories.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Samuli Helle
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Win Htut
- Myanma Timber Enterprise, Department of Timber Extraction, MOECAF, Yangoon, Myanmar
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Rangel-Patiño C, García-Morales C, Mastachi-Loza C, Carmen-Cristóbal JM, Ruiz-Gómez MDL. Personality and its variation between sexes in the black-bellied bunchgrass lizard Sceloporus aeneus
during the breeding season. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Rangel-Patiño
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Conducta, Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; Toluca Estado de México México
| | - Carla García-Morales
- Laboratorio de Biología Molecular y del Desarrollo, Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; Toluca Estado de México México
| | - Carlos Mastachi-Loza
- Centro Interamericano de Recursos del Agua, Facultad de Ingeniería; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; Toluca Estado de México México
| | - Juan M. Carmen-Cristóbal
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Conducta, Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; Toluca Estado de México México
| | - María de Lourdes Ruiz-Gómez
- Laboratorio de Ecología y Conducta, Facultad de Ciencias; Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México; Toluca Estado de México México
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Costanzo A, Romano A, Ambrosini R, Parolini M, Rubolini D, Caprioli M, Corti M, Canova L, Saino N. Barn swallow antipredator behavior covaries with melanic coloration and predicts survival. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Costanzo
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Romano
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Building Biophore, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Ambrosini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Parolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Diego Rubolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Manuela Caprioli
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Margherita Corti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Canova
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli, Pavia, Italy
| | - Nicola Saino
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
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20
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Wischhoff U, Marques-Santos F, Manica LT, Roper JJ, Rodrigues M. Parenting styles in white-rumped swallows (Tachycineta leucorrhoa) show a trade-off between nest defense and chick feeding. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Uschi Wischhoff
- Pós-graduação em Ecologia; Conservação e Manejo de Vida Silvestre; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Belo Horizonte Brazil
| | - Fernando Marques-Santos
- Pós-graduação em Ecologia; Conservação e Manejo de Vida Silvestre; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Belo Horizonte Brazil
| | - Lilian T. Manica
- Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal do Paraná; Curitiba Brazil
| | - James J. Roper
- Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação; Universidade Federal do Paraná; Curitiba Brazil
| | - Marcos Rodrigues
- Departamento de Zoologia; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; Belo Horizonte Brazil
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21
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Trnka A, Samaš P, Grim T. Stability of a behavioural syndrome vs. plasticity in individual behaviours over the breeding cycle: Ultimate and proximate explanations. Behav Processes 2018; 153:100-106. [PMID: 29870797 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals often show correlated suites of consistent behavioural traits, i.e., personality or behavioural syndromes. Does this conflict with potential phenotypic plasticity which should be adaptive for animals facing various contexts and situations? This fundamental question has been tested predominantly in studies which were done in non-breeding contexts and under laboratory conditions. Therefore, in the present study we examined the temporal stability of behavioural correlations in a breeding context and under natural conditions. We found that in the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) females, the intensity of their nest defence formed a behavioural syndrome with two other traits: their aggression during handling (self-defence) and stress responses during handling (breath rate). This syndrome was stable across the nesting cycle: each of the three behavioural traits was highly statistically repeatable between egg and nestling stages and the traits were strongly correlated with each other during both the egg stage and the nestling stage. Despite this consistency (i.e., rank order between stages) the individual behaviours changed their absolute values significantly during the same period. This shows that stable behavioural syndromes might be based on behaviours that are themselves unstable. Thus, syndromes do not inevitably constrain phenotypic plasticity. We suggest that the observed behavioural syndrome is the product of interactions between behavioural and life history trade-offs and that crucial proximate mechanisms for the plasticity and correlations between individual behaviours are hormonally-regulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfréd Trnka
- Department of Biology, University of Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia.
| | - Peter Samaš
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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22
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Evolutionary genetics of personality in the Trinidadian guppy II: sexual dimorphism and genotype-by-sex interactions. Heredity (Edinb) 2018; 122:15-28. [PMID: 29795179 PMCID: PMC6288163 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-018-0083-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/29/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexual dimorphism in behaviour and personality has been identified in a number of species, but few studies have assessed the extent of shared genetic architecture across the sexes. Under sexually antagonistic selection, mechanisms are expected to evolve that reduce evolutionary conflict, resulting in genotype-by-sex (GxS) interactions. Here we assess the extent of sexual dimorphism in four risk-taking behaviour traits in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata, and apply a multivariate approach to test for GxS interactions. We also quantify the among-individual and genetic covariances between personality and size and growth, which are known a priori to differ between the sexes. We found significant sexual dimorphism in three of the four behaviours, although rmf between sex-specific homologous traits was significantly <+1 for only one behaviour. Using multivariate models, we then estimated sex-specific genetic (co)variance matrices (Gm and Gf) and tested for asymmetry of the cross-trait cross-sex genetic covariance structure (submatrix B). While Gm and Gf were not significantly different from each other overall, their respective leading eigenvectors were poorly aligned. Statistical support for asymmetry in B was found, but limited to a single trait pair for which the cross-sex covariances differed (i.e., COVA(m,f) ≠ COVA(f,m)). Thus, while single- and multi-trait perspectives evidence some GxS, the overall picture is one of similarity between the sexes in their genetic (co)variance structures. Our results suggest behavioural traits related to risk-taking may lack the sex-specific genetic architecture for further dimorphism to evolve under what is hypothesised to be antagonistic selection.
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Schell CJ, Young JK, Lonsdorf EV, Mateo JM, Santymire RM. It takes two: Evidence for reduced sexual conflict over parental care in a biparental canid. J Mammal 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/jmammal/gyx150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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25
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Roy T, Bhat A. Population, sex and body size: determinants of behavioural variations and behavioural correlations among wild zebrafish Danio rerio. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:170978. [PMID: 29410809 PMCID: PMC5792886 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2017] [Accepted: 12/06/2017] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
This study (1) investigated variation among populations and the effects of sex and body size on boldness, activity and shoal-association tendency among wild zebrafish, and (2) tested for existence of correlations between behaviours, controlling for sex and body size. Individuals across four natural populations were tested for general activity in a novel situation, number of predator inspections undertaken and tendency to associate with a conspecific shoal in the presence of predators. Results showed a significant effect of population on boldness with a population from high-predation habitat being bolder than populations from low-predation habitats. Males showed significantly higher tendencies than females to associate with a conspecific shoal in the presence of predators. Further, a negative relationship was found between activity and boldness only within two low-predation populations. Individual body size had a strong effect on the activity-boldness relationship within the low-predation population from flowing water habitat. Smaller fish were bolder and less active while larger fish were more cautious and active. Overall, the results indicated that while population-level behavioural responses might be shaped by predation pressure, state-dependent factors could determine behavioural correlations among individuals within populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anuradha Bhat
- Department of Biological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Kolkata, Mohanpur 741246, West Bengal, India
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26
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Trnka A, Samaš P, Grim T. Consistent individual and sex-specific differences in behaviour of common cuckoo chicks: is there a potential impact on host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics? BEHAVIOUR 2018. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Research on brood parasitism has focused primarily on specific host anti-parasite behaviours and parasite counter-adaptations, and little is known about other aspects of their behaviours such as consistent behavioural differences between individuals. Therefore, we examined consistency in behaviour of nestlings of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) raised by great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). Cuckoo chicks showed high repeatability of both aggressive behaviour and breath rate, and both traits were strongly correlated with each other. This represents the first evidence for consistent differences in behaviour among avian brood parasites. Males were consistently more aggressive and less stressed than females. Nestlings of both sexes that hatched later in the season exhibited higher levels of aggression and lower stress responses than nestlings hatched earlier. This suggests that rearing conditions (e.g., food availability and quality) may modulate stress and aggressive phenotypes of brood parasites. We discuss potential effects of the observed patterns on host-parasite dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfréd Trnka
- aDepartment of Biology, University of Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia
| | - Peter Samaš
- bInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Grim
- cDepartment of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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27
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Amy M, Ung D, Béguin N, Leboucher G. Personality traits and behavioural profiles in the domestic canary are affected by sex and photoperiod. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Amy
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Davy Ung
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Nathalie Béguin
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Gérard Leboucher
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
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28
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Effects of captivity on house mice behaviour in a novel environment: Implications for conservation practices. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2017.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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29
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Brommer JE, Class B. Phenotypic correlations capture between-individual correlations underlying behavioral syndromes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2278-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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30
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Dubuc-Messier G, Réale D, Perret P, Charmantier A. Environmental heterogeneity and population differences in blue tits personality traits. Behav Ecol 2016; 28:448-459. [PMID: 29622919 PMCID: PMC5873839 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity can result in spatial variation in selection pressures that can produce local adaptations. The pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis predicts that habitat-specific selective pressures will favor the coevolution of personality, physiological, and life-history phenotypes. Few studies so far have compared these traits simultaneously across different ecological conditions. In this study, we compared 3 personality traits (handling aggression, exploration speed in a novel environment, and nest defense behavior) and 1 physiological trait (heart rate during manual restraint) across 3 Corsican blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) populations. These populations are located in contrasting habitats (evergreen vs. deciduous) and are situated in 2 different valleys 25 km apart. Birds from these populations are known to differ in life-history characteristics, with birds from the evergreen habitat displaying a slow pace-of-life, and birds from the deciduous habitat a comparatively faster pace-of-life. We expected personality to differ across populations, in line with the differences in pace-of-life documented for life-history traits. As expected, we found behavioral differences among populations. Despite considerable temporal variation, birds exhibited lower handling aggression in the evergreen populations. Exploration speed and male heart rate also differed across populations, although our results for exploration speed were more consistent with a phenotypic difference between the 2 valleys than between habitats. There were no clear differences in nest defense intensity among populations. Our study emphasizes the role of environmental heterogeneity in shaping population divergence in personality traits at a small spatial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Dubuc-Messier
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and.,Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and
| | - Philippe Perret
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and.,Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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Legrand D, Larranaga N, Bertrand R, Ducatez S, Calvez O, Stevens VM, Baguette M. Evolution of a butterfly dispersal syndrome. Proc Biol Sci 2016; 283:20161533. [PMID: 27683371 PMCID: PMC5046905 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The existence of dispersal syndromes contrasting disperser from resident phenotypes within populations has been intensively documented across taxa. However, how such suites of phenotypic traits emerge and are maintained is largely unknown, although deciphering the processes shaping the evolution of dispersal phenotypes is a key in ecology and evolution. In this study, we created artificial populations of a butterfly, in which we controlled for individual phenotypes and measured experimentally the roles of selection and genetic constraints on the correlations between dispersal-related traits: flight performance and wing morphology. We demonstrate that (i) trait covariations are not due to genetic correlations, (ii) the effects of selection are sex-specific, and (iii) both divergent and stabilizing selection maintain specific flight performance phenotypes and wing morphologies. Interestingly, some trait combinations are also favoured, depending on sex and fitness components. Moreover, we provide evidence for the role of (dis)assortative mating in the evolution of these dispersal-related traits. Our results suggest that dispersal syndromes may have high evolutionary potential, but also that they may be easily disrupted under particular environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delphine Legrand
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Nicolas Larranaga
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Romain Bertrand
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France Centre for Biodiversity Theory and Modelling (CBTM), route du CNRS, 09200 Moulis, France
| | - Simon Ducatez
- Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Olivier Calvez
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Virginie M Stevens
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France
| | - Michel Baguette
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse III, SETE Station d'Ecologie Théorique et Expérimentale, UMR 5321, Moulis, France Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Institut de Systématique, Evolution et Biodiversité, UMR 7205, 57 rue Cuvier, 75005 Paris cedex 5, France
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Michelangeli M, Chapple DG, Wong BBM. Are behavioural syndromes sex specific? Personality in a widespread lizard species. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2197-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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Velasque M, Briffa M. The opposite effects of routine metabolic rate and metabolic rate during startle responses on variation in the predictability of behaviour in hermit crabs. BEHAVIOUR 2016. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003371] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Studies on animal behaviour have suggested a link between personality and energy expenditure. However, most models assume constant variation within individuals, even though individuals vary between observations. Such variation is called intraindividual variation in behaviour (IIV). We investigate if IIV in the duration of the startle response is associated with metabolic rates (MR) in the hermit crabPagurus bernhardus. We repeatedly measured startle response durations and MR during each observation. We used double hierarchical generalized linear models to ask whether among and IIV in behaviour was underpinned by MR. We found no association between the mean duration of the startle responses and either routine MR or MR during startle response. Nevertheless, we found that IIV increased with MR during startle responses and decreased with routine MR. These results indicate that crabs with higher MR during startle responses behave less predictably, and that predictability is reduced during exposure to elevated temperatures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mariana Velasque
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, 6th Floor, Davy Building, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Mark Briffa
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, 6th Floor, Davy Building, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK
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34
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Intimidating courtship and sex differences in predation risk lead to sex-specific behavioural syndromes. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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35
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Garamszegi LZ, Markó G, Szász E, Zsebők S, Azcárate M, Herczeg G, Török J. Among-year variation in the repeatability, within- and between-individual, and phenotypic correlations of behaviors in a natural population. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2015; 69:2005-2017. [PMID: 26586925 PMCID: PMC4642588 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-015-2012-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/26/2015] [Revised: 09/15/2015] [Accepted: 09/15/2015] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
When mean behaviors correlate among individuals, they form behavioral syndromes. One way to understand the evolution of such a group-level phenomenon is to compare horizontally patterns of correlations among populations (or species) or follow longitudinally the same population over years in the light of parallel differences in the environment. We applied the longitudinal approach to 8-year field data and analyzed phenotypic correlations, and their within- and between-individual components, among three behaviors (novelty avoidance, aggression, and risk-taking) in male collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, in a meta-analytic framework. The phenotypic correlation between novelty avoidance and aggression varied heterogeneously (it was positive in some years, while it was negative in other years), while the other pair-wise correlations were consistently positive over the study period. We investigated four potential socio-ecological factors, and found evidence that the among-year alterations in the demographic structure of the population (density, age composition) can be responsible for the heterogeneous effect sizes. Comparing within- and between-individual correlations across pairs of traits, we found that the correlation between aggression and risk-taking at the among-individual level was the strongest suggesting that this relationship has the highest potential to form a behavioral syndrome. Within-year repeatabilities varied among traits, but were systematically higher than between-year repeatabilities. Our study highlights on an empirical basis that there can be several biological and statistical reasons behind detecting a phenotypic correlation in a study, but only few of these imply that fixed behavioral syndromes are maintained in a natural population. In fact, some correlations seem to be shaped by environmental fluctuations.
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Affiliation(s)
- László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, c/Americo Vespucio s/n, 41092 Seville, Spain
| | - Gábor Markó
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology , Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary ; Department of Plant Pathology, Corvinus University of Budapest, Budapest Ménesi út 44, 1118 Budapest, Hungary ; MTA-ELTE-MTM Ecology Research Group, Biological Institute, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétany 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szász
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology , Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sándor Zsebők
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology , Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Manuel Azcárate
- Grupo Ecología Evolutiva y de la Conducta, Estación Experimental de Zonas Áridas-CSIC, Ctra. de Sacramento s/n, La Cañada de San Urbano, 04120 Almería, Spain
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology , Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology , Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány P. sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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36
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Briffa M, Sneddon LU, Wilson AJ. Animal personality as a cause and consequence of contest behaviour. Biol Lett 2015; 11:rsbl.2014.1007. [PMID: 25808004 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.1007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We review the evidence for a link between consistent among-individual variation in behaviour (animal personality) and the ability to win contests over limited resources. Explorative and bold behaviours often covary with contest behaviour and outcome, although there is evidence that the structure of these 'behavioural syndromes' can change across situations. Aggression itself is typically repeatable, but also subject to high within-individual variation as a consequence of plastic responses to previous fight outcomes and opponent traits. Common proximate mechanisms (gene expression, endocrine control and metabolic rates) may underpin variation in both contest behaviour and general personality traits. Given the theoretical links between the evolution of fighting and of personality, we suggest that longitudinal studies of contest behaviour, combining behavioural and physiological data, would be a useful context for the study of animal personalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Briffa
- Marine Biology and Ecology Research Centre, Plymouth University, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL3 8AA, UK
| | - Lynne U Sneddon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, BioScience Building, Liverpool L69 7ZB, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK
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Dosmann AJ, Brooks KC, Mateo JM. Within-individual correlations reveal link between a behavioral syndrome, condition and cortisol in free-ranging Belding's ground squirrels. Ethology 2015; 121:125-134. [PMID: 25598565 PMCID: PMC4295653 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animals often exhibit consistent individual differences in behavior (i.e. animal personality) and correlations between behaviors (i.e. behavioral syndromes), yet the causes of those patterns of behavioral variation remain insufficiently understood. Many authors hypothesize that state-dependent behavior produces animal personality and behavioral syndromes. However, empirical studies assessing patterns of covariation among behavioral traits and state variables have produced mixed results. New statistical methods that partition correlations into between-individual and residual within-individual correlations offer an opportunity to more sufficiently quantify relationships among behaviors and state variables to assess hypotheses of animal personality and behavioral syndromes. In a population of wild Belding's ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) we repeatedly measured activity, exploration, and response to restraint behaviors alongside glucocorticoids and nutritional condition. We used multivariate mixed models to determine whether between-individual or within-individual correlations drive phenotypic relationships among traits. Squirrels had consistent individual differences for all five traits. At the between-individual level, activity and exploration were positively correlated whereas both traits negatively correlated with response to restraint, demonstrating a behavioral syndrome. At the within-individual level, condition negatively correlated with cortisol, activity and exploration. Importantly, this indicates that although behavior is state-dependent, which may play a role in animal personality and behavioral syndromes, feedback mechanisms between condition and behavior appear not to produce consistent individual differences in behavior and correlations between them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy J. Dosmann
- Stanford University, Thinking Matters, Sweet Hall 219B, 590 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Katherine C. Brooks
- The University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 940 E. 57 St. Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Jill. M. Mateo
- The University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 940 E. 57 St. Chicago, IL 60637
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38
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Brommer JE, Karell P, Ahola K, Karstinen T. Residual correlations, and not individual properties, determine a nest defense boldness syndrome. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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