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Gan L, Tian S, Wang D, Liu W. Boldness suppresses hoarding behavior in food hoarding season and reduces over-wintering survival in a social rodent. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11252. [PMID: 38601856 PMCID: PMC11004661 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11252] [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: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The "pace-of-life" syndrome (POLS) framework can encompass multiple personality axes that drive important functional behaviors (e.g., foraging behavior) and that co-vary with multiple life history traits. Food hoarding is an adaptive behavior important for an animal's ability to adapt to seasonal fluctuations in food availability. However, the empirical evidence for the relationships between animal personality and hoarding behavior remains unclear, including its fitness consequences in the POLS framework. In this study, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), a social rodent, was used as a model system to investigate how boldness or shyness is associated with food hoarding strategies during the food hoarding season and their impact on over-winter survival and reproduction at both individual and group levels. The results of this study showed that, compared with shy gerbils, bold gerbils had a lower effort foraging strategy during the food hoarding season and exhibited lower over-winter survival rates. However, bold-shy personality differences had no effect on over-winter reproduction. These findings suggest that the personality is a crucial factor influencing the foraging strategy during the food hoarding season in Mongolian gerbils. Personality may be related to energy states or the reaction to environmental changes (e.g., predation risk and food availability) in bold or shy social animals. These results reflect animal life history trade-offs between current versus future reproduction and reproduction versus self-maintenance, thereby helping Mongolian gerbils in adapting to seasonal fluctuations in their habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Gan
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life SciencesNanjing Normal UniversityNanjingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Shuang‐Jie Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic InteractionsUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - De‐Hua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- School of Life SciencesShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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2
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Hunt A, Merola GP, Carpenter T, Jaeggi AV. Evolutionary perspectives on substance and behavioural addictions: Distinct and shared pathways to understanding, prediction and prevention. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105603. [PMID: 38402919 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2023] [Revised: 01/31/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
Addiction poses significant social, health, and criminal issues. Its moderate heritability and early-life impact, affecting reproductive success, poses an evolutionary paradox: why are humans predisposed to addictive behaviours? This paper reviews biological and psychological mechanisms of substance and behavioural addictions, exploring evolutionary explanations for the origin and function of relevant systems. Ancestrally, addiction-related systems promoted fitness through reward-seeking, and possibly self-medication. Today, psychoactive substances disrupt these systems, leading individuals to neglect essential life goals for immediate satisfaction. Behavioural addictions (e.g. video games, social media) often emulate ancestrally beneficial behaviours, making them appealing yet often irrelevant to contemporary success. Evolutionary insights have implications for how addiction is criminalised and stigmatised, propose novel avenues for interventions, anticipate new sources of addiction from emerging technologies such as AI. The emerging potential of glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) agonists targeting obesity suggest the satiation system may be a natural counter to overactivation of the reward system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Hunt
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
| | | | - Tom Carpenter
- College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Adrian V Jaeggi
- Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
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3
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Sepers B, Verhoeven KJF, van Oers K. Early developmental carry-over effects on exploratory behaviour and DNA methylation in wild great tits ( Parus major). Evol Appl 2024; 17:e13664. [PMID: 38487391 PMCID: PMC10937296 DOI: 10.1111/eva.13664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/04/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 03/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Adverse, postnatal conditions experienced during development are known to induce lingering effects on morphology, behaviour, reproduction and survival. Despite the importance of early developmental stress for shaping the adult phenotype, it is largely unknown which molecular mechanisms allow for the induction and maintenance of such phenotypic effects once the early environmental conditions are released. Here we aimed to investigate whether lasting early developmental phenotypic changes are associated with post-developmental DNA methylation changes. We used a cross-foster and brood size experiment in great tit (Parus major) nestlings, which induced post-fledging effects on biometric measures and exploratory behaviour, a validated personality trait. We investigated whether these post-fledging effects are associated with DNA methylation levels of CpG sites in erythrocyte DNA. Individuals raised in enlarged broods caught up on their developmental delay after reaching independence and became more explorative as days since fledging passed, while the exploratory scores of individuals that were raised in reduced broods remained stable. Although we previously found that brood enlargement hardly affected the pre-fledging methylation levels, we found 420 CpG sites that were differentially methylated between fledged individuals that were raised in small versus large sized broods. A considerable number of the affected CpG sites were located in or near genes involved in metabolism, growth, behaviour and cognition. Since the biological functions of these genes line up with the observed post-fledging phenotypic effects of brood size, our results suggest that DNA methylation provides organisms the opportunity to modulate their condition once the environmental conditions allow it. In conclusion, this study shows that nutritional stress imposed by enlarged brood size during early development associates with variation in DNA methylation later in life. We propose that treatment-associated DNA methylation differences may arise in relation to pre- or post-fledging phenotypic changes, rather than that they are directly induced by the environment during early development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bernice Sepers
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
- Behavioural Ecology GroupWageningen University & Research (WUR)WageningenThe Netherlands
- Department of Animal BehaviourBielefeld UniversityBielefeldGermany
| | - Koen J. F. Verhoeven
- Department of Terrestrial EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
- Behavioural Ecology GroupWageningen University & Research (WUR)WageningenThe Netherlands
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4
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Beck KB, Farine DR, Firth JA, Sheldon BC. Variation in local population size predicts social network structure in wild songbirds. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:2348-2362. [PMID: 37837224 PMCID: PMC10952437 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14015] [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: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/19/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023]
Abstract
The structure of animal societies is a key determinant of many ecological and evolutionary processes. Yet, we know relatively little about the factors and mechanisms that underpin detailed social structure. Among other factors, social structure can be influenced by habitat configuration. By shaping animal movement decisions, heterogeneity in habitat features, such as vegetation and the availability of resources, can influence the spatiotemporal distribution of individuals and subsequently key socioecological properties such as the local population size and density. Differences in local population size and density can impact opportunities for social associations and may thus drive substantial variation in local social structure. Here, we investigated spatiotemporal variation in population size at 65 distinct locations in a small songbird, the great tit (Parus major) and its effect on social network structure. We first explored the within-location consistency of population size from weekly samples and whether the observed variation in local population size was predicted by the underlying habitat configuration. Next, we created social networks from the birds' foraging associations at each location for each week and examined if local population size affected social structure. We show that population size is highly repeatable within locations across weeks and years and that some of the observed variation in local population size was predicted by the underlying habitat, with locations closer to the forest edge having on average larger population sizes. Furthermore, we show that local population size affected social structure inferred by four global network metrics. Using simple simulations, we then reveal that much of the observed social structure is shaped by social processes. Across different population sizes, the birds' social structure was largely explained by their preference to forage in flocks. In addition, over and above effects of social foraging, social preferences between birds (i.e. social relationships) shaped certain network features such as the extent of realized social connections. Our findings thus suggest that individual social decisions substantially contribute to shaping certain social network features over and above effects of population size alone.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina B. Beck
- Department of Biology, Edward Grey InstituteUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Damien R. Farine
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental StudiesUniversity of ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityCanberraAustralian Capital TerritoryAustralia
- Department of Collective BehaviourMax Planck Institute of Animal BehaviourKonstanzGermany
| | - Josh A. Firth
- Department of Biology, Edward Grey InstituteUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | - Ben C. Sheldon
- Department of Biology, Edward Grey InstituteUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
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5
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Wojczulanis-Jakubas K, Araya-Salas M. Foraging, Fear and Behavioral Variation in a Traplining Hummingbird. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1997. [PMID: 37370506 DOI: 10.3390/ani13121997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, foraging behavior has been explained as the response to a trade-off between energetic gain from feeding resources and potential costs from concomitant risks. However, an increasing number of studies has shown that this view fails to explain an important fraction of the variation in foraging across a variety of taxa. One potential mechanism that may account for this variation is that various behavioral traits associated with foraging may have different fitness consequences, which may depend on the environmental context. Here, we explored this mechanism by evaluating the foraging efficiency of long-billed hermit hummingbirds (Phaethornis longirostris) with regard to three behavioral traits: (a) exploration (number of feeders used during the foraging visit), (b) risk avoidance (latency to start feeding) and (c) arousal (amount of movements during the foraging visit) in conditions at two different levels of perceived risk (low-control and high-experimental, with a threatening bullet ant model). Foraging efficiency decreased in response to threatening conditions. However, behavioral traits explained additional variation in foraging efficiency in a condition-dependent manner. More exploration was associated with a higher foraging efficiency under control conditions, but this was reversed when exposed to a threat. Regardless of the conditions, arousal was positively associated with foraging efficiency, while risk avoidance was negatively related. Importantly, exploratory behavior and risk avoidance were quite repeatable behaviors, suggesting that they may be related to the intrinsic traits of individuals. Our findings highlight the importance of taking into account additional behavioral dimensions to better understand the foraging strategies of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcelo Araya-Salas
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, University of Costa Rica, San José 11501-2060, Costa Rica
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6
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Salazar SM, Hlebowicz K, Komdeur J, Korsten P. Repeatable parental risk taking across manipulated levels of predation threat: no individual variation in plasticity. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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7
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Regan CE, Beck KB, McMahon K, Crofts S, Firth JA, Sheldon BC. Social phenotype-dependent selection of social environment in wild great and blue tits: an experimental study. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20221602. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.1602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
There is growing evidence that individuals actively assess the match between their phenotype and their environment when making habitat choice decisions (so-called matching habitat choice). However, to our knowledge, no studies have considered how the social environment may interact with social phenotype in determining habitat choice, despite habitat choice being an inherently social process and growing evidence for individual variation in sociability. We conducted an experiment using wild great and blue tits to understand how birds integrate their social phenotype and social environment when choosing where and how to feed. We used programmable feeders to (i) record social interactions and estimate social phenotype, and (ii) experimentally manipulate the local density experienced by birds of differing social phenotype. By tracking feeder usage, we estimated how social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder choice and feeding behaviour. Both social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder usage, but a bird's decision to remain in a particular social environment did not depend on their social phenotype. By contrast, for feeding behaviour, responses to the social environment depended on social phenotype. Our results provide rare evidence of matching habitat choice and shed light on the dependence of habitat choice on between-individual differences in social phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte E. Regan
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Kristina B. Beck
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Keith McMahon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Sam Crofts
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Josh A. Firth
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
| | - Ben C. Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, 11a Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3RT, UK
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8
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Rohwäder M, Jeltsch F. Foraging personalities modify effects of habitat fragmentation on biodiversity. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Florian Jeltsch
- Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
- Berlin‐Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Altensteinstr. 34, 14195 Berlin Germany
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9
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Dubois F, Binning SA. Predation and parasitism as determinants of animal personalities. J Anim Ecol 2022; 91:1918-1928. [PMID: 35856175 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Within the same population, proactive (i.e. bolder, more exploratory, active and aggressive) and reactive (i.e. more timid, less exploratory, less active and more passive) individuals could be hypothetically maintained due a trade-off between foraging and vigilance behaviours, provided that both phenotypes differ in their state (e.g. metabolic rates, body condition or energetic needs). Yet, recent findings indicate that among-individual variation in intrinsic state can explain only a small proportion of variation in behaviour, meaning that other mechanisms, such as the presence of trophically transmitted parasites, might contribute to maintaining inter-individual behavioural differences. Empirical evidence, indeed, suggests strong relationships between certain animal personality traits and parasitic load within host populations. However, the direction of causation between these traits remains unclear: are different behaviours in infected hosts in contrast to uninfected ones the result of manipulation by parasites to increase host predation, or are some personalities inherently more susceptible to infection than others? To better understand the role of parasites in shaping behavioural differences within host populations and examine to what extent parasite manipulation and/or intrinsic differences in parasite susceptibility contribute to maintaining behavioural differences, we used a simulation approach and analyzed the change in the frequencies of proactive and reactive individuals over time under different predation and starvation scenarios, when individual phenotype either affected a host's risk of infection or not. We found that in the absence of parasites, predation pressure strongly affected the expression of host personality, but the trade-off between foraging and vigilance behaviours alone could not explain the maintenance of inter-individual behavioural differences without temporal variation in predation pressure. By contrast, in the presence of parasites, the two host phenotypes could coexist within populations even when individuals experienced no temporal variations in predation risk, but only when proactive and reactive hosts were equally susceptible to parasitism. Our findings thus indicate that parasites can play an important role in maintaining genetic diversity in their host populations in addition to generating behavioural differences though manipulation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sandra A Binning
- Département de sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, Canada
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10
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Individual differences in spatial learning are correlated across tasks but not with stress response behaviour in guppies. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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11
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Sadoul B, Alfonso S, Goold C, Pratlong M, Rialle S, Geffroy B, Bégout ML. Transcriptomic profiles of consistent risk-taking behaviour across time and contexts in European sea bass. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220399. [PMID: 35582798 PMCID: PMC9114976 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0399] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Bolder individuals have greater access to food sources and reproductive partners but are also at increased risk of predation. Boldness is believed to be consistent across time and contexts, but few studies have investigated the stability of this trait across variable environments, such as varying stress loads or long periods of time. Moreover, the underlying molecular components of boldness are poorly studied. Here, we report that boldness of 1154 European sea bass, evaluated using group risk-taking tests, is consistent over seven months and for individuals subjected to multiple environments, including a chronically stressful environment. Differences in risk-taking behaviour were further supported by differences observed in the responses to a novel environment test: shy individuals displayed more group dispersion, more thigmotaxic behaviour and lower activity levels. Transcriptomic analyses performed on extreme phenotypes revealed that bold individuals display greater expression for genes involved in social and exploration behaviours, and memory in the pituitary, and genes involved in immunity and responses to stimuli in the head kidney. This study demonstrates that personality traits come with an underpinning molecular signature, especially in organs involved in the endocrine and immune systems. As such, our results help to depict state-behaviour feedback mechanisms, previously proposed as key in shaping animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Sadoul
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France,DECOD, Ecosystem Dynamics and Sustainability, Institut Agro, Ifremer, INRAE, Rennes, France
| | - Sébastien Alfonso
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France,COISPA Technology and Research, Experimental Station for the Study of Sea Resources, Bari, Italy
| | - Conor Goold
- Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
| | - Marine Pratlong
- MGX-Montpellier GenomiX, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
| | - Stéphanie Rialle
- MGX-Montpellier GenomiX, University of Montpellier, CNRS, INSERM, Montpellier, France
| | - Benjamin Geffroy
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
| | - Marie-Laure Bégout
- MARBEC, University of Montpellier, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
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12
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Dammhahn M, Lange P, Eccard JA. The landscape of fear has individual layers: an experimental test of among‐individual differences in perceived predation risk during foraging. OIKOS 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.09124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Dammhahn
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Pauline Lange
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
| | - Jana A. Eccard
- Animal Ecology, Inst. for Biochemistry and Biology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Univ. of Potsdam Potsdam Germany
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13
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Asakura M, Matsumura K, Ishihara R, Miyatake T. Freezing or death feigning? Beetles selected for long death feigning showed different tactics against different predators. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e8533. [PMID: 35154646 PMCID: PMC8820118 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2021] [Revised: 12/14/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Prey evolve antipredator strategies against multiple enemies in nature. We examined how a prey species adopts different predation avoidance tactics against pursuit or sit-and-wait predators. As prey, we used three strains of Tribolium beetles artificially selected for short (short strain) or long (long strain) duration of death feigning, and a stock culture (base population). Death feigning is known to be effective for evading a jumping spider in the case of the long strains, while the present study showed that the long-strain beetles used freezing against a sit-and-wait type predator, Amphibolus venator, in this study. The short- strain beetles were more easily oriented toward predators. The time to predation was also shorter in the short strains compared to the long strains. The results showed that, as prey, the short strains displayed the same behavior, escaping, against both types of predators. Traditionally, death feigning has been thought to be the last resort in a series of antipredator avoidance behaviors. However, our results showed that freezing and death feigning were not parts of a series of behaviors, but independent strategies against different predators, at least for long-strain beetles. We also examined the relationship between a predator's starvation level and its predatory behavior. In addition, the orientation behavior toward and predation rate on the prey were observed to determine how often the predatory insect attacked the beetles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Masaya Asakura
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life ScienceOkayama UniversityOkayamaJapan
| | | | - Ryo Ishihara
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life ScienceOkayama UniversityOkayamaJapan
| | - Takahisa Miyatake
- Graduate School of Environmental and Life ScienceOkayama UniversityOkayamaJapan
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14
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Stuber EF, Carlson BS, Jesmer BR. Spatial personalities: a meta-analysis of consistent individual differences in spatial behavior. Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Individual variation in behavior, particularly consistent among-individual differences (i.e., personality), has important ecological and evolutionary implications for population and community dynamics, trait divergence, and patterns of speciation. Nevertheless, individual variation in spatial behaviors, such as home range behavior, movement characteristics, or habitat use has yet to be incorporated into the concepts or methodologies of ecology and evolutionary biology. To evaluate evidence for the existence of consistent among-individual differences in spatial behavior – which we refer to as “spatial personality” – we performed a meta-analysis of 200 repeatability estimates of home range size, movement metrics, and habitat use. We found that the existence of spatial personality is a general phenomenon, with consistently high repeatability (r) across classes of spatial behavior (r = 0.67–0.82), taxa (r = 0.31–0.79), and time between repeated measurements (r = 0.54–0.74). These results suggest: 1) repeatable spatial behavior may either be a cause or consequence of the environment experienced and lead to spatial personalities that may limit the ability of individuals to behaviorally adapt to changing landscapes; 2) interactions between spatial phenotypes and environmental conditions could result in differential reproduction, survival, and dispersal, suggesting that among-individual variation may facilitate population-level adaptation; 3) spatial patterns of species' distributions and spatial population dynamics may be better understood by shifting from a mean field analytical approach towards methods that account for spatial personalities and their associated fitness and ecological dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erica F Stuber
- U.S. Geological Survey Utah Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Department of Wildland Resources, 5230 Old Main Hill, Utah State University, Logan, Utah, USA
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Ben S Carlson
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Brett R Jesmer
- Center for Biodiversity and Global Change, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Yale University, 165 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech, 310 West Campus Drive, Blacksburg, VA, USA
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15
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Coomes JR, Davidson GL, Reichert MS, Kulahci IG, Troisi CA, Quinn JL. Inhibitory control, exploration behaviour and manipulated ecological context are associated with foraging flexibility in the great tit. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:320-333. [PMID: 34693529 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Organisms are constantly under selection to respond effectively to diverse, sometimes rapid, changes in their environment, but not all individuals are equally plastic in their behaviour. Although cognitive processes and personality are expected to influence individual behavioural plasticity, the effects reported are highly inconsistent, which we hypothesise is because ecological context is usually not considered. We explored how one type of behavioural plasticity, foraging flexibility, was associated with inhibitory control (assayed using a detour-reaching task) and exploration behaviour in a novel environment (a trait closely linked to the fast-slow personality axis). We investigated how these effects varied across two experimentally manipulated ecological contexts-food value and predation risk. In the first phase of the experiment, we trained great tits Parus major to retrieve high value (preferred) food that was hidden in sand so that this became the familiar food source. In the second phase, we offered them the same familiar hidden food at the same time as a new alternative option that was visible on the surface, which was either high or low value, and under either high or low perceived predation risk. Foraging flexibility was defined as the proportion of choices made during 4-min trials that were for the new alternative food source. Our assays captured consistent differences among individuals in foraging flexibility. Inhibitory control was associated with foraging flexibility-birds with high inhibitory control were more flexible when the alternative food was of high value, suggesting they inhibited the urge to select the familiar food and instead selected the new food option. Exploration behaviour also predicted flexibility-fast explorers were more flexible, supporting the information-gathering hypothesis. This tendency was especially strong under high predation risk, suggesting risk aversion also influenced the observed flexibility because fast explorers are risk prone and the new unfamiliar food was perceived to be the risky option. Thus, both behaviours predicted flexibility, and these links were at least partly dependent on ecological conditions. Our results demonstrate that an executive cognitive function (inhibitory control) and a behavioural assay of a well-known personality axis are both associated with individual variation in the plasticity of a key functional behaviour. That their effects on foraging flexibility were primarily observed as interactions with food value or predation risk treatments also suggest that the population-level consequences of some behavioural mechanisms may only be revealed across key ecological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny R Coomes
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Gabrielle L Davidson
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael S Reichert
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Ipek G Kulahci
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Galvin Life Science Centre, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Camille A Troisi
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - John L Quinn
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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16
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Heterogeneous selection on exploration behavior within and among West European populations of a passerine bird. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2021; 118:2024994118. [PMID: 34234017 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2024994118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Heterogeneous selection is often proposed as a key mechanism maintaining repeatable behavioral variation ("animal personality") in wild populations. Previous studies largely focused on temporal variation in selection within single populations. The relative importance of spatial versus temporal variation remains unexplored, despite these processes having distinct effects on local adaptation. Using data from >3,500 great tits (Parus major) and 35 nest box plots situated within five West-European populations monitored over 4 to 18 y, we show that selection on exploration behavior varies primarily spatially, across populations, and study plots within populations. Exploration was, simultaneously, selectively neutral in the average population and year. These findings imply that spatial variation in selection may represent a primary mechanism maintaining animal personalities, likely promoting the evolution of local adaptation, phenotype-dependent dispersal, and nonrandom settlement. Selection also varied within populations among years, which may counteract local adaptation. Our study underlines the importance of combining multiple spatiotemporal scales in the study of behavioral adaptation.
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17
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Zhang J, Santema P, Li J, Yang L, Deng W, Kempenaers B. Host personality predicts cuckoo egg rejection in Daurian redstarts Phoenicurus auroreus. Proc Biol Sci 2021; 288:20210228. [PMID: 34130501 PMCID: PMC8206684 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.0228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
In species that are subject to brood parasitism, individuals often vary in their responses to parasitic eggs, with some rejecting the eggs while others do not. While some factors, such as host age (breeding experience), the degree of egg matching and the level of perceived risk of brood parasitism have been shown to influence host decisions, much of the variation remains unexplained. The host personality hypothesis suggests that personality traits of the host influence its response to parasitic eggs, but few studies have tested this. We investigated the relationship between two personality traits (exploration and neophobia) and a physiological trait (breathing rate) of the host, and egg-rejection behaviour in a population of Daurian redstarts Phoenicurus auroreus in northeast China. We first show that exploratory behaviour and the response to a novel object are repeatable for individual females and strongly covary, indicating distinct personality types. We then show that fast-exploring and less neophobic hosts were more likely to reject parasitic eggs than slow-exploring and more neophobic hosts. Variation in breathing rate-a measure of the stress-response-did not affect rejection behaviour. Our results demonstrate that host personality, along the bold-shy continuum, predicts the responses to parasitic eggs in Daurian redstarts, with bold hosts being more likely to reject parasitic eggs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinggang Zhang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China.,Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Peter Santema
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Jianqiang Li
- School of Ecology and Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Lixing Yang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenhong Deng
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Biodiversity Sciences and Ecological Engineering, College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
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18
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Antonová K, Veselý P, Fuchs R. Untrained birds' ability to recognise predators with changed body size and colouration in a field experiment. BMC Ecol Evol 2021; 21:74. [PMID: 33932984 PMCID: PMC8088688 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-021-01807-8] [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: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 04/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND During recognition process, multiple parameters of the encountered stimulus may play a role. Previous studies with wild birds identified the importance of several salient features (e.g., eyes, beak, prominent elements of colouration) which birds use to recognise other bird species, such as predators or nest parasites. In the present study, we observed the responses of passerines visiting winter feeders to stimuli in the form of dummies of Eurasian sparrowhawk which were modified in body size and/or colouration but always carried the salient features of raptors (hooked beak, talons) and one species-specific feature of the sparrowhawk (yellow eyes). In the vicinity of a feeder, we placed a dummy of an unmodified sparrowhawk, life-sized sparrowhawk with pigeon, great tit, or robin colouration, a small, great tit-sized sparrowhawk dummy with unmodified or pigeon colouration, or an unmodified pigeon dummy, which functioned as a harmless control. Then we measured how it affected the number of visits. RESULTS We found that birds were less afraid of small dummies regardless of their colouration than they were of life-sized raptor dummies or even the pigeon dummy. This contrasts with the results of a previous laboratory experiment where great tits' reaction to small dummies was comparably fearful to their response to life-size dummies. In our experiment, birds were also not afraid of life-sized dummies with modified colouration except for a robin-coloured dummy, which caused an equally significant fear reaction as an unmodified sparrowhawk dummy. It is likely that this dummy resembled the colouration of a male sparrowhawk closely enough to cause this effect. CONCLUSIONS Based on our observations, we conclude that birds use contextual features to evaluate the size of other birds. Distance and familiar reference points seem to play an important part in this process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kateřina Antonová
- Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Albertov 6, 12800, Praha 2, Czech Republic.
| | - Petr Veselý
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Fuchs
- Faculty of Science, Charles University in Prague, Albertov 6, 12800, Praha 2, Czech Republic.,Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branišovská 1760, 37005, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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19
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Arteaga-Torres JD, Wijmenga JJ, Mathot KJ. Visual cues of predation risk outweigh acoustic cues: a field experiment in black-capped chickadees. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20202002. [PMID: 33023412 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.2002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Foragers rely on various cues to assess predation risk. Information theory predicts that high certainty cues should be valued more than low certainty cues. We measured the latency of black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) to resume feeding during winter in response to cues that conferred different degrees of certainty about current predation risk: a high certainty visual cue (predator mount) and a lower certainty acoustic cue (conspecific mobbing calls), presented either alone or in combination. As predicted, chickadees took longer to resume feeding after the visual than the acoustic cue, and this effect was greatest under conditions of high starvation risk (i.e. low temperatures). Presenting both cues together produced the same foraging delay as the visual cue alone under low starvation risk, but surprisingly, resulted in lower responses under high starvation risk compared to the visual cue alone. We suggest that this may be due to prey using a form of information updating, whereby differences in the timing of perception of acoustic versus visual cues interacts with energetic constraint to shape perceived risk. Although the sequential perception of cues is likely in a range of decision-making contexts, studies manipulating the order in which cues are perceived are needed to test existing models of multimodal cue integration.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jan J Wijmenga
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
| | - Kimberley J Mathot
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3.,Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3'
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20
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Gaynor KM, Cherry MJ, Gilbert SL, Kohl MT, Larson CL, Newsome TM, Prugh LR, Suraci JP, Young JK, Smith JA. An applied ecology of fear framework: linking theory to conservation practice. Anim Conserv 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/acv.12629] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M. Gaynor
- National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis University of California, Santa Barbara Santa Barbara CA USA
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California, Berkeley Berkeley CA USA
| | - Michael J. Cherry
- Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute Texas A&M University‐Kingsville Kingsville Texas USA
| | - Sophie L. Gilbert
- Department of Fish and Wildlife Sciences University of Idaho Moscow Idaho USA
| | - Michel T. Kohl
- Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources University of Georgia Athens Georgia USA
| | | | - Thomas M. Newsome
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Sydney Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Laura R. Prugh
- School of Environmental and Forest Sciences University of Washington Seattle WA USA
| | - Justin P. Suraci
- Center for Integrated Spatial Research Environmental Studies Department University of California Santa Cruz CA USA
| | - Julie K. Young
- Predator Research Facility USDA‐National Wildlife Research Center Millville Utah USA
| | - Justine A. Smith
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management University of California, Berkeley Berkeley CA USA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology University of California, Davis Davis CA USA
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21
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Oosthuizen MK. Exploratory behaviour, memory and neurogenesis in the social Damaraland mole-rat ( Fukomys damarensis). J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb221093. [PMID: 32532860 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.221093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Both exploratory behaviour and spatial memory are important for survival in dispersing animals. Exploratory behaviour is triggered by novel environments and having a better spatial memory of the surroundings provides an adaptive advantage to the animals. Spatial challenges can also affect neurogenesis in the hippocampus by increasing cell proliferation and enhancing survival of young neurons. In social Damaraland mole-rat colonies, the social hierarchy is largely based on body size. Individuals with different social statuses in these colonies display different dispersal behaviours and as behavioural differences have been linked to dispersal behaviour, I investigated exploratory behaviour, memory and hippocampal neurogenesis in wild-captured Damaraland mole-rats. Dispersal behaviour gives rise to differential exploratory behaviour in Damaraland mole-rats; they readily explored in a novel environment but resident, worker mole-rats explored more slowly. In the Y-maze, animals entered the escape hole significantly faster by the second day; however, they did not make fewer wrong turns with successive days of the experiment. Female dispersers did not show any improvement in time to reach the escape hole or the number of wrong turns over the 4 day experimental period. Damaraland male and female dispersers employ different dispersal strategies, and this is evident in their approach to the learning task. Females are less motivated to complete the task, leading to a difference in behaviour, and this has important survival implications for the different sexes. Finally, in the context of memory, adult neurogenesis does not seem to be a good marker in mole-rats as it is generally low and has not been investigated thoroughly enough to determine which and how other factors can influence it in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria K Oosthuizen
- Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
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22
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Szopa-Comley AW, Donald WG, Ioannou CC. Predator personality and prey detection: inter-individual variation in responses to cryptic and conspicuous prey. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02854-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Limited attention constrains predators from engaging in cognitively demanding tasks such as searching for cryptic prey at the same time as remaining vigilant towards threats. Since finite attention can result in negative correlations between foraging and vigilance, the tendency of individual predators to focus attention on searching for cryptic prey may be correlated with other behavioural traits which reflect risk-reward trade-offs, such as consistent inter-individual variation in boldness (a personality trait describing risk-taking, defined in this study as the time taken to leave a refuge). We investigated the importance of personality in prey detection by comparing inter-individual variation in the response of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to conspicuous and cryptic prey. Fish were slower to attack cryptic prey than conspicuous prey, consistent with cryptic prey being harder to detect. Despite the greater challenge involved in detecting cryptic prey, inter-individual variation in the time taken to detect prey was similar in the cryptic and conspicuous prey treatments, and was uncorrelated with boldness, which was repeatable between individuals. We also observed a positive association between the rate of attack on conspicuous prey and whether individual fish attacked cryptic prey in other trials. Our findings suggest that boldness is not related to prey detection or attention in this context. Instead, consistent differences in motivation once exploration has begun between individual predators may explain inter-individual variation in the time taken to attack both prey cryptic and conspicuous prey.
Significance statement
Using an experimental approach to manipulate the conspicuousness of prey, we show that individual fish consistently differ in their rates of attacking prey. This demonstrates that fish show “personality variation” in predatory behaviour, but these inter-individual differences were not related to the boldness of each fish (their tendency to engage in risky behaviours).
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23
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Gharnit E, Bergeron P, Garant D, Réale D. Exploration profiles drive activity patterns and temporal niche specialization in a wild rodent. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Individual niche specialization can have important consequences for competition, fitness, and, ultimately, population dynamics and ecological speciation. The temporal window and the level of daily activity are niche components that may vary with sex, breeding season, food supply, population density, and predator’s circadian rhythm. More recently, ecologists emphasized that traits such as dispersal and space use could depend on personality differences. Boldness and exploration have been shown to correlate with variation in foraging patterns, habitat use, and home range. Here, we assessed the link between exploration, measured from repeated novel environment tests, activity patterns, and temporal niche specialization in wild eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). Intrinsic differences in exploration should drive daily activity patterns through differences in energy requirements, space use, or the speed to access resources. We used collar-mounted accelerometers to assess whether individual exploration profiles predicted: 1) daily overall dynamic body acceleration, reflecting overall activity levels; 2) mean activity duration and the rate of activity sequences, reflecting the structure of daily activity; and 3) patterns of dawn and dusk activity, reflecting temporal niche differentiation. Exploration and overall activity levels were weakly related. However, both dawn activity and rate of activity sequences increased with the speed of exploration. Overall, activity patterns varied according to temporal variability in food conditions. This study emphasizes the role of intrinsic behavioral differences in activity patterns in a wild animal population. Future studies will help us understand how yearly seasonality in reproduction, food abundance, and population density modulate personality-dependent foraging patterns and temporal niche specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elouana Gharnit
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Patrick Bergeron
- Department of Biological Sciences, Bishop’s University, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Dany Garant
- Département de Biologie, Université de Sherbooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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24
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Siekiera J, Siekiera A, Jankowiak Ł, Tryjanowski P. Sexual differences in daily foraging patterns among Great tits Parus major established by radio frequency identification (RFID) tags. ETHOL ECOL EVOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1080/03949370.2019.1671496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Łukasz Jankowiak
- Department of Vertebrate Zoology and Anthropology, Institute for Research on Biodiversity, University of Szczecin, Wąska 13, Szczecin, PL-71-415, Poland
| | - Piotr Tryjanowski
- Institute of Zoology, Poznań University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 71C, Poznań, PL-60-625, Poland
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25
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Chang C, Klomp DA, Norma‐Rashid Y, Li D. Consistency in boldness expression varies with ecological context in a jumping spider. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12925] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Chia‐chen Chang
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore
| | - Danielle A. Klomp
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore
| | - Yusoff Norma‐Rashid
- Institute of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur Malaysia
| | - Daiqin Li
- Department of Biological Sciences National University of Singapore Singapore
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26
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Mazza V, Jacob J, Dammhahn M, Zaccaroni M, Eccard JA. Individual variation in cognitive style reflects foraging and anti-predator strategies in a small mammal. Sci Rep 2019; 9:10157. [PMID: 31300696 PMCID: PMC6626059 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46582-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Balancing foraging gain and predation risk is a fundamental trade-off in the life of animals. Individual strategies to acquire, process, store and use information to solve cognitive tasks are likely to affect speed and flexibility of learning, and ecologically relevant decisions regarding foraging and predation risk. Theory suggests a functional link between individual variation in cognitive style and behaviour (animal personality) via speed-accuracy and risk-reward trade-offs. We tested whether cognitive style and personality affect risk-reward trade-off decisions posed by foraging and predation risk. We exposed 21 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) that were bold, fast learning and inflexible and 18 voles that were shy, slow learning and flexible to outdoor enclosures with different risk levels at two food patches. We quantified individual food patch exploitation, foraging and vigilance behaviour. Although both types responded to risk, fast animals increasingly exploited both food patches, gaining access to more food and spending less time searching and exercising vigilance. Slow animals progressively avoided high-risk areas, concentrating foraging effort in the low-risk one, and devoting >50% of visit to vigilance. These patterns indicate that individual differences in cognitive style/personality are reflected in foraging and anti-predator decisions that underlie the individual risk-reward bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Mazza
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany. .,Julius Kühn Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Vertebrate Research, Münster, Germany. .,Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
| | - Jens Jacob
- Julius Kühn Institute, Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Institute for Plant Protection in Horticulture and Forests, Vertebrate Research, Münster, Germany
| | - Melanie Dammhahn
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Marco Zaccaroni
- Department of Biology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
| | - Jana A Eccard
- Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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27
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Mutzel A, Olsen AL, Mathot KJ, Araya-Ajoy YG, Nicolaus M, Wijmenga JJ, Wright J, Kempenaers B, Dingemanse NJ. Effects of manipulated levels of predation threat on parental provisioning and nestling begging. Behav Ecol 2019; 30:1123-1135. [PMID: 31289429 PMCID: PMC6606999 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2018] [Revised: 03/19/2019] [Accepted: 04/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Parental provisioning behavior is a major determinant of offspring growth and survival, but high provisioning rates might come at the cost of increased predation threat. Parents should thus adjust provisioning activity according to current predation threat levels. Moreover, life-history theory predicts that response to predation threat should be correlated with investment in current reproduction. We experimentally manipulated perceived predation threat in free-living great tits (Parus major) by presenting parents with a nest predator model while monitoring different aspects of provisioning behavior and nestling begging. Experiments were conducted in 2 years differing greatly in ecological conditions, including food availability. We further quantified male territorial aggressiveness and male and female exploratory tendency. Parents adjusted provisioning according to current levels of threat in an apparently adaptive way. They delayed nest visits during periods of elevated perceived predation threat and subsequently compensated for lost feeding opportunities by increasing provisioning once the immediate threat had diminished. Nestling begging increased after elevated levels of predation threat, but returned to baseline levels by the end of the experiment, suggesting that parents had fully compensated for lost feeding opportunities. There was no evidence for a link between male exploration behavior or aggressiveness and provisioning behavior. In contrast, fast-exploring females provisioned at higher rates, but only in the year with poor environmental conditions, which might indicate a greater willingness to invest in current reproduction in general. Future work should assess whether these personality-related differences in delivery rates under harsher conditions came at a cost of reduced residual reproductive value.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ariane Mutzel
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Anne-Lise Olsen
- Department of Biology, Center for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kimberley J Mathot
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Yimen G Araya-Ajoy
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Biology, Center for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Marion Nicolaus
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Jan J Wijmenga
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Jonathan Wright
- Department of Biology, Center for Biodiversity Dynamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Research Group Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology, Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (LMU), Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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28
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Wassmer T, Refinetti R. Individual Daily and Seasonal Activity Patterns in Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger) Quantified by Temperature-Sensitive Data Loggers. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
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29
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Gaynor KM, Brown JS, Middleton AD, Power ME, Brashares JS. Landscapes of Fear: Spatial Patterns of Risk Perception and Response. Trends Ecol Evol 2019; 34:355-368. [PMID: 30745252 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 47.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Animals experience varying levels of predation risk as they navigate heterogeneous landscapes, and behavioral responses to perceived risk can structure ecosystems. The concept of the landscape of fear has recently become central to describing this spatial variation in risk, perception, and response. We present a framework linking the landscape of fear, defined as spatial variation in prey perception of risk, to the underlying physical landscape and predation risk, and to resulting patterns of prey distribution and antipredator behavior. By disambiguating the mechanisms through which prey perceive risk and incorporate fear into decision making, we can better quantify the nonlinear relationship between risk and response and evaluate the relative importance of the landscape of fear across taxa and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlyn M Gaynor
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA. https://twitter.com/@kaitlyngaynor%20
| | - Joel S Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, 845 West Taylor Street (MC 066), Chicago, IL 60607, USA; Department of Integrated Mathematical Oncology, Moffitt Cancer Center, 12902 Magnolia Dr., Tampa, FL 33612, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Arthur D Middleton
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Mary E Power
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California Berkeley, 3060 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Justin S Brashares
- Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management, University of California Berkeley, 130 Mulford Hall #3114, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA
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30
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Cornwell TO, McCarthy ID, Snyder CRA, Biro PA. The influence of environmental gradients on individual behaviour: Individual plasticity is consistent across risk and temperature gradients. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:511-520. [PMID: 30516829 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2018] [Accepted: 11/12/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The expression of individual behaviour as a function of environmental variation (behavioural plasticity) is recognized as a means for animals to modify their phenotypes in response to changing conditions. Plasticity has been studied extensively in recent years, leading to an accumulation of evidence for behavioural plasticity within natural populations. Despite the recent attention given to studying individual variation in behavioural plasticity, there is still a lack of consensus regarding its causes and constraints. One pressing question related to this is whether individual plasticity carries over across temporal and environmental gradients. That is, are some individuals more plastic (responsive) than others in general? Here, we examined the influence of temporal and environmental gradients on individual behavioural responses in a marine gastropod, Littoraria irrorata. We measured individual boldness repeatedly over time and in response to tidal cycle (high vs. low, an index of risk) and daily temperature fluctuations (known to affect metabolism), in a controlled field experiment. On average, boldness increased from high to low tide and with increasing temperature but decreased marginally over time. Individuals also differed in their responses to variation in tide and temperature, but not over time. Those which were relatively bold at high tide (when predation risk is greater) were similarly bold at low tide, whereas shy individuals became much more "bold" at low tide. Most notably, individuals that were more responsive to tide (and thus risk) were also more responsive to temperature changes, indicating that plasticity was correlated across contexts (r = 0.57) and that bolder individuals were least plastic overall. This study provides a rare and possibly first example of consistency of individual behavioural plasticity across contexts, suggesting underlying physiology as a common mechanism, and raises the possibility of correlational selection on plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomas O Cornwell
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, UK
| | - Ian D McCarthy
- School of Ocean Sciences, Bangor University, Menai Bridge, Anglesey, UK
| | - C Richard A Snyder
- Eastern Shore Laboratory, Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William & Mary, Wachapreague, Virginia
| | - Peter A Biro
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, Geelong, Victoria, Australia
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31
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Moiron M, Araya-Ajoy YG, Mathot KJ, Mouchet A, Dingemanse NJ. Functional relations between body mass and risk-taking behavior in wild great tits. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Moiron
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Großhaderner, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Evolutionary Ecology of Variation Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Yimen G Araya-Ajoy
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics (CBD), Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Kimberley J Mathot
- Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
| | - Alexia Mouchet
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Großhaderner, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Großhaderner, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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32
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Herczeg G, Urszán TJ, Orf S, Nagy G, Kotrschal A, Kolm N. Brain size predicts behavioural plasticity in guppies (Poecilia reticulata): An experiment. J Evol Biol 2018; 32:218-226. [PMID: 30474900 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2018] [Revised: 11/12/2018] [Accepted: 11/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Understanding how animal personality (consistent between-individual behavioural differences) arises has become a central topic in behavioural sciences. This endeavour is complicated by the fact that not only the mean behaviour of individuals (behavioural type) but also the strength of their reaction to environmental change (behavioural plasticity) varies consistently. Personality and cognitive abilities are linked, and we suggest that behavioural plasticity could also be explained by differences in brain size (a proxy for cognitive abilities), since accurate decisions are likely essential to make behavioural plasticity beneficial. We test this idea in guppies (Poecilia reticulata), artificially selected for large and small brain size, which show clear cognitive differences between selection lines. To test whether those lines differed in behavioural plasticity, we reared them in groups in structurally enriched environments and then placed adults individually into empty tanks, where we presented them daily with visual predator cues and monitored their behaviour for 20 days with video-aided motion tracking. We found that individuals differed consistently in activity and risk-taking, as well as in behavioural plasticity. In activity, only the large-brained lines demonstrated habituation (increased activity) to the new environment, whereas in risk-taking, we found sensitization (decreased risk-taking) in both brain size lines. We conclude that brain size, potentially via increasing cognitive abilities, may increase behavioural plasticity, which in turn can improve habituation to novel environments. However, the effects seem to be behaviour-specific. Our results suggest that brain size likely explains some of the variation in behavioural plasticity found at the intraspecific level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, EötvösLoránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Tamás J Urszán
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, EötvösLoránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Stephanie Orf
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, EötvösLoránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, EötvösLoránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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33
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Bonnot NC, Goulard M, Hewison AM, Cargnelutti B, Lourtet B, Chaval Y, Morellet N. Boldness-mediated habitat use tactics and reproductive success in a wild large herbivore. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.09.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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34
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Firth JA, Cole EF, Ioannou CC, Quinn JL, Aplin LM, Culina A, McMahon K, Sheldon BC. Personality shapes pair bonding in a wild bird social system. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1696-1699. [PMID: 30275466 PMCID: PMC6217997 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0670-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Mated pair bonds are integral to many animal societies, yet how individual variation in behaviour influences their formation remains largely unknown. In a population of wild great tits (Parus major), we show that personality shapes pair bonding: proactive males formed stronger pre-breeding pair bonds by meeting their future partners sooner and increasing their relationship strength at a faster rate. As a result, proactive males sampled fewer potential mates. Thus, personality may have important implications for social relationship dynamics and emergent social structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josh A Firth
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Merton College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
| | - Ella F Cole
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - John L Quinn
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Radolfzell, Germany
| | - Antica Culina
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Keith McMahon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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35
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Ferreira VHB, Silva CPCD, Fonseca EDP, Chagas ACCSD, Pinheiro LGM, Almeida RND, Sousa MBCD, Silva HPAD, Galvão-Coelho NL, Ferreira RG. Hormonal correlates of behavioural profiles and coping strategies in captive capuchin monkeys (Sapajus libidinosus). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2018.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
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36
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Halsey LG. Keeping Slim When Food Is Abundant: What Energy Mechanisms Could Be at Play? Trends Ecol Evol 2018; 33:745-753. [PMID: 30241777 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2018.08.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/04/2018] [Revised: 07/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
The obesity epidemic in humans is juxtaposed by observations of passerine birds exhibiting fine-scale body mass regulation. The ecology literature is replete with research into why these animals regulate body weight, citing tradeoffs between competing pressures such as emaciation and predation. Yet studies on the underlying mechanisms of mass regulation in these animals are scarce. Maintaining or decreasing weight could obviously be achieved by limiting food intake. However, there are numerous reasons why an animal may not control ingestion, at least precisely. This Opinion article investigates the plausibility of possible behavioural and physiological mechanisms to adaptively maintain or decrease body mass in birds and other animals. Candidate behavioural mechanisms include exercising and fidgeting, while physiological mechanisms could include reducing digestive efficiency or mitochondrial efficiency.
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37
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Villegas-Ríos D, Réale D, Freitas C, Moland E, Olsen EM. Personalities influence spatial responses to environmental fluctuations in wild fish. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1309-1319. [PMID: 29888445 PMCID: PMC6175438 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2017] [Accepted: 05/13/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Although growing evidence supports the idea that animal personality can explain plasticity in response to changes in the social environment, it remains to be tested whether it can explain spatial responses of individuals in the face of natural environmental fluctuations. This is a major challenge in ecology and evolution as spatial dynamics link individual- and population-level processes. In this study, we investigated the potential of individual personalities to predict differences in fish behaviour in the wild. Specifically, our goal was to answer if individual differences in plasticity of space use to sea surface temperature could be explained by differences in personality along the reactive-proactive axis. To address this question, we first conducted repeated standard laboratory assays (i.e., open-field test, novel object test and mirror stimulation test) to assess the personality type of 76 wild-caught Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Next, we released the fish back into the sea and monitored their spatial behaviour over large temporal (16 months) and spatial (a whole fjord) scales, using high-resolution acoustic tracking. We demonstrate that (a) cod personality traits are structured into a proactive-reactive syndrome (proactive fish being more bold, exploratory and aggressive), (b) mean depth use of individuals is mainly driven by sea temperature and (c) personality is a significant predictor of home range changes in the wild, where reactive, but not proactive, individuals reduced their home range as sea temperature increased. These findings expand our understanding of the ecological consequences of animal personality and the mechanisms shaping spatial dynamics of animals in nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Villegas-Ríos
- Population Genetics and Ecology Group, Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen, His, Norway
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Carla Freitas
- Centre for Coastal Research (CCR), Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway.,Oceanic Observatory of Madeira, Agência Regional para o Desenvolvimento da Investigação Tecnologia e Inovação, Funchal, Portugal
| | - Even Moland
- Population Genetics and Ecology Group, Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen, His, Norway.,Centre for Coastal Research (CCR), Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
| | - Esben M Olsen
- Population Genetics and Ecology Group, Institute of Marine Research, Flødevigen, His, Norway.,Centre for Coastal Research (CCR), Department of Natural Sciences, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
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38
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Urszán TJ, Garamszegi LZ, Nagy G, Hettyey A, Török J, Herczeg G. Experience during development triggers between-individual variation in behavioural plasticity. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1264-1273. [PMID: 29752882 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12847] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2017] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural consistency within and across behaviours (animal personality and behavioural syndrome, respectively) has been vigorously studied in the last decade, leading to the emergence of "animal personality" research. It has been proposed recently that not only mean behaviour (behavioural type), but the environmentally induced behavioural change (behavioural plasticity) might also differ between individuals within populations. While case studies presenting between-individual variation in behavioural plasticity have started to accumulate, the mechanisms behind its emergence are virtually unknown. We have recently demonstrated that ecologically relevant environmental stimuli during ontogeny are necessary for the development of animal personality and behavioural syndromes. However, it is unknown whether between-individual variation in behavioural plasticity is hard-wired or induced. Here, we tested whether experience with predation during development affected predator-induced behavioural plasticity in Rana dalmatina tadpoles. We ran a common garden experiment with two ontogenetic predation treatments: tadpoles developed from hatching in either the presence or absence of olfactory predator stimuli. Then, we assayed all tadpoles repeatedly for activity and risk-taking both in the absence and presence of olfactory predator stimuli. We found that (a) between-individual variation in predator-induced behavioural plasticity was present only in the group that developed in the presence of olfactory stimuli from predators and (b) previous experience with predatory stimuli resulted in lower plastic response at the group level. The latter pattern resulted from increased between-individual variation and not from universally lower individual responses. We also found that experience with predation during development increased the predictability (i.e. decreased the within-individual variation unrelated to environmental change) of activity, but not risk-taking. In line with this, tadpoles developing under perceived predatory risk expressed their activity with higher repeatability. We suggest that ecologically relevant environmental stimuli are not only fundamental for the development of animal personality and behavioural syndromes, but also for individual variation in behavioural plasticity. Thus, experience is of central importance for the emergence of individual behavioural variation at many levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamás János Urszán
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estacion Biologica de Donana - CSIC, Seville, Spain.,MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Attila Hettyey
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, MTA ATK NÖVI, Budapest, Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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39
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Effect of the exploratory behaviour on a bird’s ability to categorize a predator. Behav Processes 2018; 151:89-95. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.03.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2017] [Revised: 03/16/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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40
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Edwards HA, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS, Komdeur J, Burke T. Extra-pair parentage and personality in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:37. [PMID: 29491549 PMCID: PMC5814466 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2448-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Revised: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Why so much variation in extra-pair parentage occurs within and among populations remains unclear. Often the fitness costs and benefits of extra-pair parentage are hypothesised to explain its occurrence; therefore, linking extra-pair parentage with traits such as personality (behavioural traits that can be heritable and affect reproductive behaviour) may help our understanding. Here, we investigate whether reproductive outcomes and success are associated with exploratory behaviour in a natural population of cooperatively breeding Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island. Exploratory behaviour correlates positively with traits such as risk-taking behaviour and activity in other wild bird species and might promote extra-pair mating by increasing the rate at which potential extra-pair partners are encountered. We therefore predicted that fast-exploring individuals would have more extra-pair offspring. There is also a potential trade-off between pursuing extra-pair parentage and mate guarding in males. We therefore also predicted that fast-exploring males would be more likely to pursue extra-pair parentage and that this would increase the propensity of their mate to gain extra-pair parentage. We found that neither the total number of offspring nor the number of extra-pair offspring were associated with a male's or female's exploratory behaviour. However, there was a small but significant propensity for females to have extra-pair fertilisations in pairs that were behaviourally disassortative. Overall, we conclude that, due to the small effect size, the association between exploratory behaviour and extra-pair paternity is unlikely to be biologically relevant. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT True genetic monogamy is rare, even in socially monogamous systems, and multiple factors, such as behaviour, social structure, morphology and physiology, determined by the biological system can cause variation in extra-pair parentage (EPP). Therefore, investigating the inherent differences in these factors among individuals could be informative. We investigated whether reproductive outcomes/success are associated with differences in the propensity to explore novel environments/objects in a promiscuous, island-dwelling cooperatively breeding bird, the Seychelles warbler. Our results showed that exploratory behaviour was not associated with the number of offspring produced by an individual, and thus the long-term fitness consequences of different exploratory tendencies did not differ. We also found that the propensity to engage in EPP in females was higher in dissimilar behavioural pairs, but due to the small effect size, we hesitate to conclude that there are personality-dependent mating outcomes in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah A Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- School of Biology, The Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
- Behavioural Ecology and Physiological Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 cc Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ UK
- Nature Seychelles, PO BOX 1310, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural Ecology and Physiological Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 cc Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK
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41
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Davidson GL, Reichert MS, Crane JMS, O'Shea W, Quinn JL. Repeatable aversion across threat types is linked with life-history traits but is dependent on how aversion is measured. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:172218. [PMID: 29515906 PMCID: PMC5830795 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.172218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2017] [Accepted: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Personality research suggests that individual differences in risk aversion may be explained by links with life-history variation. However, few empirical studies examine whether repeatable differences in risk avoidance behaviour covary with life-history traits among individuals in natural populations, or how these links vary depending on the context and the way risk aversion is measured. We measured two different risk avoidance behaviours (latency to enter the nest and inspection time) in wild great tits (Parus major) in two different contexts-response to a novel object and to a predator cue placed at the nest-box during incubation---and related these behaviours to female reproductive success and condition. Females responded equally strongly to both stimuli, and although both behaviours were repeatable, they did not correlate. Latency to enter was negatively related to body condition and the number of offspring fledged. By contrast, inspection time was directly explained by whether incubating females had been flushed from the nest before the trial began. Thus, our inferences on the relationship between risk aversion and fitness depend on how risk aversion was measured. Our results highlight the limitations of drawing conclusions about the relevance of single measures of a personality trait such as risk aversion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle L. Davidson
- Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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42
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Houslay TM, Vierbuchen M, Grimmer AJ, Young AJ, Wilson AJ, Moore I. Testing the stability of behavioural coping style across stress contexts in the Trinidadian guppy. Funct Ecol 2018; 32:424-438. [PMID: 29540957 PMCID: PMC5836853 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12981] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Within populations, individuals can vary in stress response, a multivariate phenomenon comprising neuroendocrine, physiological and behavioural traits.Verbal models of individual stress "coping style" have proposed that the behavioural component of this variation can be described as a single axis, with each individual's coping style being consistent across time and stress contexts.Focusing on this behavioural component of stress response and combining repeated measures of multiple traits with a novel multivariate modelling framework, we test for the existence of coping style variation and assess its stability across contexts in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata).Specifically, we test the following hypotheses: (1) there exists repeatable among-individual behavioural (co)variation ("personality") within a mild stress context consistent with a risk-averse-risk-prone continuum of behavioural coping style, (2) there is population-level plasticity in behaviour as a function of stressor severity, (3) there is among-individual variation in plasticity (i.e. IxE), and (4) the presence of IxE reduces cross-context stability of behavioural coping style.We found significant repeatable among-individual behavioural (co)variation in the mild stress context (open field trial), represented as an I matrix. However, I was not readily described by a simple risk-averse-risk-prone continuum as posited by the original coping style model. We also found strong evidence for population-level changes in mean behaviour with increasing stressor severity (simulated avian and piscine predation risks).Single-trait analyses did show the presence of individual-by-environment interactions (IxE), as among-individual cross-context correlations were significantly less than +1. However, multitrait analysis revealed the consequences of this plasticity variation were minimal. Specifically, we found little evidence for changes in the structure of I between mild and moderate stress contexts overall, and only minor changes between the two moderate contexts (avian vs. piscine predator).We show that a multivariate approach to assessing changes in among-individual (co)variance across contexts can prevent the over-interpretation of statistically significant, but small, individual-by-environment effects. While behavioural flexibility enables populations (and individuals) to respond rapidly to changes in the environment, multivariate personality structure can be conserved strongly across such contexts. A plain language summary is available for this article.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M. Houslay
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynCornwallUK
| | | | - Andrew J. Grimmer
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynCornwallUK
- School of Biological & Marine SciencesPlymouth UniversityDevonUK
| | - Andrew J. Young
- Centre for Ecology and ConservationUniversity of ExeterPenrynCornwallUK
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43
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Fischer S, Bohn L, Oberhummer E, Nyman C, Taborsky B. Divergence of developmental trajectories is triggered interactively by early social and ecological experience in a cooperative breeder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017; 114:E9300-E9307. [PMID: 29078289 PMCID: PMC5676887 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1705934114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperative breeders feature the highest level of social complexity among vertebrates. Environmental constraints foster the evolution of this form of social organization, selecting for both well-developed social and ecological competences. Cooperative breeders pursue one of two alternative social trajectories: delaying reproduction to care for the offspring of dominant breeders or dispersing early to breed independently. It is yet unclear which ecological and social triggers determine the choice between these alternatives and whether diverging developmental trajectories exist in cooperative vertebrates predisposing them to dispersal or philopatry. Here we experimentally reared juveniles of cooperatively breeding cichlid fish by varying the social environment and simulated predation threat in a two-by-two factorial long-term experiment. First, we show that individuals develop specialized behavioral competences, originating already in the early postnatal phase. Second, these specializations predisposed individuals to pursue different developmental trajectories and either to disperse early or to extend philopatry in adulthood. Thus, our results contrast with the proposition that social specializations in early ontogeny should be restricted to eusocial species. Importantly, social and ecological triggers were both required for the generation of divergent life histories. Our results thus confirm recent predictions from theoretical models that organisms should combine relevant information from different environmental cues to develop integrated phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefan Fischer
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland;
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
- Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Neston CH64 7TE, United Kingdom
| | - Lena Bohn
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Evelyne Oberhummer
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Cecilia Nyman
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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44
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Serrano-Davies E, O’Shea W, Quinn JL. Individual foraging preferences are linked to innovativeness and personality in the great tit. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2389-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
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45
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Demeyrier V, Charmantier A, Lambrechts MM, Grégoire A. Disentangling drivers of reproductive performance in urban great tits: a food supplementation experiment. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 220:4195-4203. [PMID: 28939562 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.161067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Accepted: 09/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Worldwide urban expansion induces degradation of the natural environment, resulting in new constraints in terms of breeding sites, anthropogenic disturbances as well as food resources. The alteration of resource abundance and type may induce non-adaptive investments in reproduction from urban dwellers. Food availability and quality have been identified as potential drivers of the decline in passerine body mass and fledging success in urbanized landscapes, particularly if birds misinterpret cues of food abundance used to adjust their reproductive investment. In a previous study, we demonstrated in urban great tits, Parus major, that highly preferred larger cavities have larger clutches with lower breeding success, leading to a maladaptive breeding investment. Previous studies also showed that urban great tits are smaller or thinner than rural ones, both at nestling and adult stages. Here, we present the results of a food-supplementation experiment to examine whether food resources mediate this maladaptive breeding investment and constrain the reproductive performance of this urban bird population. We predicted higher performance in food-supplemented broods, especially in larger cavities, and stronger effects of the supplementation in more artificialized territories. Surprisingly, we found that food-supplemented nestlings and their parents had lower body mass and condition, especially in areas with more pedestrians. Supplementation was also associated with lower nestling survival until fledging in places that presented lower levels of naturalness, independently of cavity size. This work highlights a lack of knowledge on avian feeding behaviour in cities, a key element for understanding how breeding performance is affected by human presence and habitat naturalness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Virginie Demeyrier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Marcel M Lambrechts
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Arnaud Grégoire
- Centre d'Ecologie Fonctionnelle et Evolutive, CEFE UMR 5175, Campus CNRS, Université de Montpellier, 1919 route de Mende, 34293 Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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The Female Perspective of Personality in a Wild Songbird: Repeatable Aggressiveness Relates to Exploration Behaviour. Sci Rep 2017; 7:7656. [PMID: 28794486 PMCID: PMC5550452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-08001-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Males often express traits that improve competitive ability, such as aggressiveness. Females also express such traits but our understanding about why is limited. Intraspecific aggression between females might be used to gain access to reproductive resources but simultaneously incurs costs in terms of energy and time available for reproductive activities, resulting in a trade-off. Although consistent individual differences in female behaviour (i.e. personality) like aggressiveness are likely to influence these reproductive trade-offs, little is known about the consistency of aggressiveness in females. To quantify aggression we presented a female decoy to free-living female great tits (Parus major) during the egg-laying period, and assessed whether they were consistent in their response towards this decoy. Moreover, we assessed whether female aggression related to consistent individual differences in exploration behaviour in a novel environment. We found that females consistently differed in aggressiveness, although first-year females were on average more aggressive than older females. Moreover, conform life history theory predictions, ‘fast’ exploring females were more aggressive towards the decoy than ‘slow’ exploring females. Given that personality traits are often heritable, and correlations between behaviours can constrain short term adaptive evolution, our findings highlight the importance of studying female aggression within a multivariate behavioural framework.
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Johnson KVA, Aplin LM, Cole EF, Farine DR, Firth JA, Patrick SC, Sheldon BC. Male great tits assort by personality during the breeding season. Anim Behav 2017; 128:21-32. [PMID: 28669996 PMCID: PMC5478380 DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.04.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
Abstract
Animal personalities can influence social interactions among individuals, and thus have major implications for population processes and structure. Few studies have investigated the significance of the social context of animal personalities, and such research has largely focused on the social organization of nonterritorial populations. Here we address the question of whether exploratory behaviour, a well-studied personality trait, is related to the social structure of a wild great tit, Parus major, population during the breeding season. We assayed the exploration behaviour of wild-caught great tits and then established the phenotypic spatial structure of the population over six consecutive breeding seasons. Network analyses of breeding proximity revealed that males, but not females, show positive assortment by behavioural phenotype, with males breeding closer to those of similar personalities. This assortment was detected when we used networks based on nearest neighbours, but not when we used the Thiessen polygon method where neighbours were defined from inferred territory boundaries. Further analysis found no relationship between personality assortment and local environmental conditions, suggesting that social processes may be more important than environmental variation in influencing male territory choice. This social organization during the breeding season has implications for the strength and direction of both natural and sexual selection on personality in wild animal populations. We assess whether a great tit breeding population is structured by personality. Network analyses were conducted on a 6-year data set from this wild bird population. Males show positive assortment, nesting nearer to similar personalities (bold/shy). This assortment was not found to be related to local environmental variation. We discuss implications for natural and sexual selection on personality in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katerina V-A Johnson
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K.,University of Oxford, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford, U.K
| | - Lucy M Aplin
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K
| | - Ella F Cole
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K
| | - Damien R Farine
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K.,University of Konstanz, Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Josh A Firth
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K
| | - Samantha C Patrick
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K.,University of Liverpool, Department of Earth, Ocean & Ecological Sciences, Liverpool, U.K
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Edward Grey Institute, Oxford, U.K
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Hewes ME, Delventhal K, Chaves-Campos J. Behavioral plasticity and consistency in the naked-footed mouse (Peromyscus nudipes) with habitat disturbance. J ETHOL 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-017-0517-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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Milligan ND, Radersma R, Cole EF, Sheldon BC. To graze or gorge: consistency and flexibility of individual foraging tactics in tits. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:826-836. [PMID: 28191628 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2016] [Accepted: 01/08/2017] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
An individual's foraging behaviour and time allocated to feeding have direct consequences for its fitness. Despite much research on population-level foraging decisions, few studies have investigated individual differences in fine-scale daily foraging patterns among wild animals. Here, we explore the consistency and plasticity of feeding tactics of individual great tits (Parus major) and blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus), using a grid of 65 automated feeding stations in a 385-ha woodland, during three winters. We use a principal component analysis to describe individual variation in six feeding parameters and examine how these differences covary with dominance-linked attributes (species, age and sex), the personality trait 'exploration behaviour', distance to territory and local competition intensity. Analysis of 933 086 feeder visits by 3134 individuals revealed that the majority of variation in the timing of feeding was explained by two principal components. PC1 ('binge-eating'), accounting for 38% of variation, captured temporal clustering of feeding, with high repeatability both within and between years (r range: 0·42-0·55). PC2 ('transience'), accounting for 27% of variance, described how much individuals used feeders and was also repeatable (r: 0·34-0·62). While exhibiting consistent individual differences, birds also showed flexibility in foraging patterns, binge-eating less and using feeders more when they experienced greater local competition. Individuals in behaviourally dominant states (great tits, males and adults) binged more than subordinate birds (blue tits, females and juveniles) when their territories were distant from feeding stations. Moreover, great tits and males used feeders more than blue tits and females respectively, while birds feeding further from their territory used feeders less than those feeding closer. 'Exploration behaviour' was unrelated to both measures of daily foraging behaviour. This study presents some of the first evidence that birds use consistent alternative foraging tactics at a fine temporal scale. Individuals are consistent in their tactics, and also adjust their foraging behaviour with changes in local competition. Hence, studies of foraging behaviour should consider the extent to which such individual-level variability in foraging behaviour is under selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole D Milligan
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Reinder Radersma
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK.,Department of Biology, Lund University, 22100, Lund, Sweden
| | - Ella F Cole
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Ben C Sheldon
- Edward Grey Institute, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK
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McKenzie DJ, Belão TC, Killen SS, Rantin FT. To boldly gulp: standard metabolic rate and boldness have context-dependent influences on risk-taking to breathe air in a catfish. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017; 218:3762-70. [PMID: 26632454 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.122903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
The African sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus has bimodal respiration, it has a suprabranchial air-breathing organ alongside substantial gills. We used automated bimodal respirometry to reveal that undisturbed juvenile catfish (N=29) breathed air continuously in normoxia, with a marked diurnal cycle. Air breathing and routine metabolic rate (RMR) increased in darkness when, in the wild, this nocturnal predator forages. Aquatic hypoxia (20% air saturation) greatly increased overall reliance on air breathing. We investigated whether two measures of risk taking to breathe air, namely absolute rates of aerial O2 uptake (ṀO2,air) and the percentage of RMR obtained from air (%ṀO2,air), were influenced by individual standard metabolic rate (SMR) and boldness. In particular, whether any influence varied with resource availability (normoxia versus hypoxia) or relative fear of predation (day versus night). Individual SMR, derived from respirometry, had an overall positive influence on ṀO2,air across all contexts but a positive influence on %ṀO2,air only in hypoxia. Thus, a pervasive effect of SMR on air breathing became most acute in hypoxia, when individuals with higher O2 demand took proportionally more risks. Boldness was estimated as time required to resume air breathing after a fearful stimulus in daylight normoxia (Tres). Although Tres had no overall influence on ṀO2,air or %ṀO2,air, there was a negative relationship between Tres and %ṀO2,air in daylight, in normoxia and hypoxia. There were two Tres response groups, 'bold' phenotypes with Tres below 75 min (N=13) which, in daylight, breathed proportionally more air than 'shy' phenotypes with Tres above 115 min (N=16). Therefore, individual boldness influenced air breathing when fear of predation was high. Thus, individual energy demand and personality did not have parallel influences on the emergent tendency to take risks to obtain a resource; their influences varied in strength with context.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J McKenzie
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos SP, Brazil UMR9190 Centre for Marine Biodiversity Exploitation and Conservation (Marbec), Place Eugène Bataillon, Université Montpellier, Montpellier cedex 5 34095, France
| | - Thiago C Belão
- Joint Graduate Program in Physiological Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos - UFSCar/São Paulo State University, UNESP Campus Araraquara, 14801-903, Araraquara SP, Brazil
| | - Shaun S Killen
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, UK
| | - F Tadeu Rantin
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Federal University of São Carlos, 13565-905, São Carlos SP, Brazil
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