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Di Liberto JF, Griffith SC, Hall CJ, Mendelsohn AS, Swaddle JP. Exposure to Sublethal Concentrations of Lead (Pb) Affects Ecologically Relevant Behaviors in House Sparrows (Passer domesticus). ARCHIVES OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION AND TOXICOLOGY 2024; 86:199-216. [PMID: 38598146 PMCID: PMC11032286 DOI: 10.1007/s00244-024-01062-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/11/2024]
Abstract
Global contamination of environments with lead (Pb) poses threats to many ecosystems and populations. While exposure to Pb is toxic at high concentrations, recent literature has shown that lower concentrations can also cause sublethal, deleterious effects. However, there remains relatively little causal investigation of how exposure to lower concentrations of environmental Pb affects ecologically important behaviors. Behaviors often represent first-line responses of an organism and its internal physiological, molecular, and genetic responses to a changing environment. Hence, better understanding how behaviors are influenced by pollutants such as Pb generates crucial information on how species are coping with the effects of pollution more broadly. To better understand the effects of sublethal Pb on behavior, we chronically exposed adult wild-caught, captive house sparrows (Passer domesticus) to Pb-exposed drinking water and quantified a suite of behavioral outcomes: takeoff flight performance, activity in a novel environment, and in-hand struggling and breathing rate while being handled by an experimenter. Compared to controls (un-exposed drinking water), sparrows exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of Pb exhibited decreases in takeoff flight performance and reduced movements in a novel environment following 9-10 weeks of exposure. We interpret this suite of results to be consistent with Pb influencing fundamental neuro-muscular abilities, making it more difficult for exposed birds to mount faster movements and activities. It is likely that suppression of takeoff flight and reduced movements would increase the predation risk of similar birds in the wild; hence, we also conclude that the effects we observed could influence fitness outcomes for individuals and populations altering ecological interactions within more naturalistic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph F Di Liberto
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
- Department of Biology, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA.
| | - Simon C Griffith
- School of Natural Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Cara J Hall
- Department of Biology, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
| | | | - John P Swaddle
- Department of Biology, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
- Institute for Integrative Conservation, William & Mary, Williamsburg, VA, USA
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2
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Jing CL, Lou YQ, Liu H, Song K, Fang Y, Höglund J, Halvarsson P, Sun YH. Avian malaria parasite infections do not affect personality in the chestnut thrush ( Turdus rubrocanus) on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Heliyon 2023; 9:e20082. [PMID: 37809652 PMCID: PMC10559808 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20082] [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: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/06/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality traits, the consistent individual behavioral differences, are currently gaining much attention in studies of natural bird populations. However, associations between personality traits and parasite infections are not often investigated. Even less attention has been given to studies of birds in the high-elevation region such as the Tibetan plateau. This research aims to examine the relationship between avian malaria parasites and two personality traits in a population of the Chestnut Thrush (Turdus rubrocanus) breed in the Tibetan plateau. Our results revealed no evidence of sex bias in malaria parasite prevalence. Furthermore, we found no effect of infection status on two personality scores: activity and boldness. Additionally, no effects on the activity level or boldness were observed for different parasite lineages of Haemoproteus, Leucocytozoon, the sex of the birds, or their interactions. Similarly, we did not find any relationship between activity level and boldness with nestling numbers, sex, or their interactions. Notably, individuals with a larger number of offspring tended to display greater boldness. Our findings indicate that blood parasite infections are common in this population but do not significantly impact the personality of the birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-lei Jing
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Ying-Qiang Lou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Huan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Kai Song
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Yun Fang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
| | - Jacob Höglund
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18D, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Peter Halvarsson
- Unit of Parasitology, Department of Biomedical Science and Veterinary Public Health, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, PO Box 7036, 75007, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - Yue-Hua Sun
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China
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3
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Lou Y, Zhao Q, Hu Y, Chen L, Liu P, Fang Y, Lloyd H, Sun Y. Personality-dependent nest site selection and nest success during incubation in wild chestnut thrushes. iScience 2023; 26:107419. [PMID: 37575181 PMCID: PMC10415915 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107419] [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: 04/28/2023] [Revised: 06/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/14/2023] [Indexed: 08/15/2023] Open
Abstract
In birds, little is known about how individuals choose nest sites based on their personality traits. Here, we investigate whether a female's personality (activity and breathing rate) can affect patterns of nest site selection at different spatial scales in a wild population of chestnut thrush (Turdus rubrocanus) and determine whether nest site characteristics and female personality traits affect clutch size and nest success during incubation. We found that neither activity nor breathing rate were associated with large-scale nesting habitat variables. At the fine-scale level, more active females chose nest sites with greater nest lateral concealment. Females with higher breathing rates laid smaller clutch sizes than individuals with lower breathing rates. Nests of females with lower breathing rate had higher nest success during incubation. This work highlights the relationships between personality and nest site selection in birds, and the important role of female personality traits in reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingqiang Lou
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Qingshan Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Urban and Regional Ecology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, China
| | - Yunbiao Hu
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Lijun Chen
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Pengfei Liu
- School of Life Sciences and Technology, Longdong University, Qingyang 745000, China
| | - Yun Fang
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Huw Lloyd
- Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University. Manchester M15GD, UK
| | - Yuehua Sun
- Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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4
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Bilby J, Colombelli-Négrel D, Katsis AC, Kleindorfer S. When aggressiveness could be too risky: linking personality traits and predator response in superb fairy-wrens. PeerJ 2022; 10:e14011. [PMID: 36193436 PMCID: PMC9526405 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 08/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality syndromes in animals may have adaptive benefits for survival. For example, while engaging in predator deterrence, reactive individuals tend to prioritise their own survival, while proactive individuals engage in riskier behaviours. Studies linking animal personality measured in captivity with individual fitness or behaviours in the wild are sparse, which is a gap in knowledge this study aims to address. We used playback experiments in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), a common Australian songbird with a cooperative breeding system, to assess whether three personality traits measured during short-term captivity correlated with behavioural responses in the wild to a perceived nest and adult predator, the grey currawong (Strepera versicolor). We used three standard measures of personality in birds: struggle responses to human handling (boldness), exploration during a novel environment test, and aggressiveness during a mirror presentation. Superb fairy-wrens showed a significantly stronger response to the predator playback than to the control (willie wagtail, Rhipidura leucophrys) playback, suggesting that they recognised the predator playback as a threat without any accompanying visual stimulus. Birds that attacked their mirror image during the mirror presentation and those that spent a moderate amount of time close to the mirror responded more strongly to predator playback (by approaching the speaker faster and closer, spending more time near the speaker, and being more likely to alarm call) compared to those with low aggressiveness or those that spent very short or long durations close to the mirror. Neither boldness nor exploration in the novel environment test predicted playback response. Our results align with a growing number of studies across species showing the importance of animal personalities as factors for fitness and survival.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack Bilby
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Diane Colombelli-Négrel
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Andrew C. Katsis
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia
| | - Sonia Kleindorfer
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia,Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition & Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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5
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Kluen E, Rönkä K, Thorogood R. Prior experience of captivity affects behavioural responses to 'novel' environments. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13905. [PMID: 36061744 PMCID: PMC9438767 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13905] [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: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Information ecology theory predicts that prior experience influences current behaviour, even if the information is acquired under a different context. However, when individuals are tested to quantify personality, cognition, or stress, we usually assume that the novelty of the test is consistent among individuals. Surprisingly, this 'gambit of prior experience' has rarely been explored. Therefore, here we make use of a wild population of great tits (Parus major) to test if prior experience of handling and captivity influences common measures of exploration (open field tests in two novel contexts: room and cage arenas), social response (simulated using a mirror), and behavioural stress (breathing rate). We found that birds with prior experience of captivity (caught previously for unrelated learning and foraging experiments) were more exploratory, but this depended on age: exploration and captivity experience (in terms of both absolute binary experience and the length of time spent in captivity) were associated more strongly in young (first-winter) birds than in adults. However, there was no association of prior experience of captivity with social response and breathing rate, and nor did the measures of exploration correlate. Together our results suggest that re-testing of individuals requires careful consideration, particularly for younger birds, and previous experiences can carry over and affect behaviours differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Kluen
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katja Rönkä
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Rose Thorogood
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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6
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Galluccio E, Lymbery RA, Wilson A, Evans JP. Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022. [PMID: 35706668 DOI: 10.5061/dryad.00000005n] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Galluccio
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rowan A Lymbery
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Alastair Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Jonathan P Evans
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
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Galluccio E, Lymbery RA, Wilson A, Evans JP. Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022. [PMID: 35706668 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6002280] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Galluccio
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rowan A Lymbery
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Alastair Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Jonathan P Evans
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
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8
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Galluccio E, Lymbery RA, Wilson A, Evans JP. Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220269. [PMID: 35706668 PMCID: PMC9156929 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Galluccio
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Rowan A. Lymbery
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
| | - Alastair Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Evolution, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK
| | - Jonathan P. Evans
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, 6009 Western Australia, Australia
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9
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10
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Colombelli-Négrel D, Katsis AC. Little penguins are more aggressive on islands that experience greater unregulated human disturbance. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.10.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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11
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Chen J, Chen L, Yan C, Yu Z, Zou Y, Sun YH. Are cognition and personality related in budgerigars? Curr Zool 2021; 68:315-323. [PMID: 35592343 PMCID: PMC9113357 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoab069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, researchers have been attempting to relate differences in personality (e.g., boldness, aggressiveness, exploration tendency) to variation in cognition (performances in tasks that require learning, reasoning, attention, or memory, etc.) both theoretically and empirically. However, it is unclear on what basis personality and cognition might be associated with each other. Previous theory suggests a connection between fast–slow personality types and cognitive speed–accuracy tradeoffs. In this study, we tested this hypothesis in budgerigars and found that, in their 1st associative learning, birds with fast personality (less fearful of handling stress) were fast learners in the beginning, while slow personality individuals improved faster, but both types of birds did not differ in accuracy. However, these relationships were context-dependent. No significant relationship was found in subsequent learning tasks (reversal learning and a 2nd associative learning) in the familiar context (task setup and apparatus similar to the 1st associative learning). We then conducted a problem-solving experiment with novel setup and apparatus to test 1 possible explanation that the association between personality and cognition in the 1st associative learning might be caused by noncognitive constraint, such as fearfulness when facing novel task setup and apparatus. We found that fast individuals interacted more with the problem box and solved it, whereas the slow birds were not. We suggest that personalities can influence cognitive performances and trigger a cognitive speed-improvement tradeoff under the novel context. However, there are no consistent cognitive styles that co-varied with different personalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiani Chen
- Institute of Innovation Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Lu Chen
- College of Life Science, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
| | - Chuan Yan
- Institute of Innovation Ecology, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China
| | - Zibo Yu
- School of Natural Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
| | - Yuqi Zou
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
| | - Yue-Hua Sun
- Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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12
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Linking personality and health to use of space in the gray partridge: perspectives for management. EUR J WILDLIFE RES 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10344-021-01526-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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13
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Katsis AC, Colombelli-Négrel D, Common LK, O’connor JA, Dudaniec RY, García-Loor J, Kleindorfer S. Nestling behaviour predicts naris deformation in Darwin’s finches parasitized by the avian vampire fly. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab092] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Although in-nest parasitism can reduce the fitness of avian hosts, the severity of these effects may vary with host physiology and behaviour. If certain nestling behaviours are beneficial for resisting parasitism, then selection may favour some behavioural phenotypes over others. Here, we tested whether differences in nestling behaviour mediate the negative effects of parasitism, using small ground finches (Geospiza fuliginosa), on Floreana Island, that had been parasitized by the invasive avian vampire fly (Philornis downsi). We first established, using 4 years of breeding data (2005, 2006, 2010 and 2020), that nestlings exposed to more parasites had larger nares and, among older nestlings only, lower body mass. We then examined, using data from the 2020 season, whether each nestling’s behaviour (specifically, its response to human handling) predicted the severity of its naris deformation. When faced with high-intensity parasitism, more responsive nestlings (i.e. those that struggled more during handling) had larger nares compared to more docile nestlings. This suggests that more responsive nestlings suffer greater fitness costs due to parasitism, although we also discuss alternative explanations. Future work should consider the stability and heritability of these nestling behavioural differences and whether parasite-induced selection shapes behavioural variation at the population level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew C Katsis
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Diane Colombelli-Négrel
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Lauren K Common
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Jody A O’connor
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Department for Environment and Water, Government of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Rachael Y Dudaniec
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Sonia Kleindorfer
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
- Konrad Lorenz Research Centre for Behaviour and Cognition and Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
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15
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Golobinek R, Gregorič M, Kralj-Fišer S. Body Size, Not Personality, Explains Both Male Mating Success and Sexual Cannibalism in a Widow Spider. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:189. [PMID: 33802370 PMCID: PMC7998861 DOI: 10.3390/biology10030189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Theory suggests that consistent individual variation in behavior relates to fitness, but few studies have empirically examined the role of personalities in mate choice, male-male competition and reproductive success. We observed the Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, in the individual and mating context, to test how body size measures and two functionally important aggressive behaviors, i.e., male aggression towards rivals and female voracity towards prey, affect mating behaviors, mating success and sexual cannibalism. We specifically selected voracity towards prey in females to test the "aggressive spillover hypothesis", suggesting that more voracious females are more sexually cannibalistic. Both females and males exhibit consistent individual differences in the examined aggressive behaviors. While larger males win contests more often and achieve more copulations, neither male nor female size measures correlate to aggression. Female voracity does not correlate with aggression towards mates and sexual cannibalism, rejecting the "spillover hypothesis". However, occurrence of sexual cannibalism positively relates to longer insertion duration. Furthermore, the smaller the ratio between male and female body length the more likely a female attacked and cannibalized a mate. We show that individual variation in aggression levels plays no direct role in the mating behavior of the Mediterranean black widow. Instead, body size affects male mating success and occurrences of sexual cannibalism in females.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Simona Kralj-Fišer
- Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (R.G.); (M.G.)
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16
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Personality and behavioral syndromes in two Peromyscus species: presence, lack of state dependence, and lack of association with home range size. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02951-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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17
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Huang P, St.Mary CM, Kimball RT. Habitat urbanization and stress response are primary predictors of personality variation in northern cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis). JOURNAL OF URBAN ECOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/jue/juaa015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Behavioral traits that vary consistently among individuals across different contexts are often termed as ‘personality traits,’ while the correlated suite formed by those traits is called a ‘behavioral syndrome’. Both personality trait and behavioral syndrome are potentially responsive to animal ‘states’, defined as strategically relevant individual features affecting the cost-and-benefit trade-offs of behavioral actions. Both extrinsic ‘states’ (e.g. urban versus rural habitats), and intrinsic ‘states’ (e.g. sex), may shape among-individual variation in personality traits, as well as behavioral syndromes. Here, we used northern cardinals sampled from four locations to examine the effect of habitat type (urban versus rural, an extrinsic state), stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) parameters, body weight and sex (intrinsic states) on personality traits and behavioral syndrome variation. We used behavioral trials to measure five personality traits. Using principal component analysis to quantify personality traits first, followed by general linear mixed models, we found that habitat type, CORT at capture and 2-day CORT response affected some personality traits, while body weight and sex did not. Cardinals inhabiting more urbanized areas had lower CORT metabolite levels at capture and were more neophilic, less neophobic and also less aggressive than their rural conspecifics. Using structural equation modeling to construct behavioral syndromes formed by our selected personality traits, we found that urban and rural cardinals varied in the models representing syndrome structure. When utilizing the shared syndrome structural model to examine the effects of states, habitat type and 2-day CORT response appear to affect syndrome variation in a coordinated, not hierarchical, manner.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ping Huang
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
| | - Colette M St.Mary
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
| | - Rebecca T Kimball
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, 220 Bartram Hall, P. O. Box 118525, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA
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18
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Cornwell TO, McCarthy ID, Biro PA. Integration of physiology, behaviour and life history traits: personality and pace of life in a marine gastropod. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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19
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Bodey TW, Cleasby IR, Blount JD, McElwaine G, Vigfusdottir F, Bearhop S. Consistent measures of oxidative balance predict survival but not reproduction in a long‐distance migrant. J Anim Ecol 2020; 89:1872-1882. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W. Bodey
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn UK
- School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Ian R. Cleasby
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn UK
- Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Centre for Conservation Science Inverness UK
| | - Jonathan D. Blount
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn UK
| | | | - Freydis Vigfusdottir
- Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences and School of Social Sciences University of Iceland Reykjavik Iceland
| | - Stuart Bearhop
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation University of Exeter Penryn Campus Penryn UK
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20
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Proactive common waxbills make fewer mistakes in a cognitive assay, the detour-reaching task. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-2809-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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21
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Herdegen‐Radwan M. Does inbreeding affect personality traits? Ecol Evol 2019; 9:10929-10937. [PMID: 31641446 PMCID: PMC6802067 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Revised: 06/19/2019] [Accepted: 07/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
The question of why variation is maintained in personality traits is an evolutionary puzzle. According to the condition-dependence hypothesis, such traits depend on condition, which limits the behavioral choices available to individuals. Because condition is affected by many genes, it can effectively be manipulated by inbreeding, which exposes the effects of deleterious recessive mutations. Here, I compared two personality traits, boldness and tendency to explore, of male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) from first-generation inbred and outbred treatments. Boldness in guppies is associated with increased sexual attractiveness and is thus expected to affect fitness. Therefore, I hypothesized that the personality traits would be negatively affected by inbreeding. However, the results indicated that inbred guppies did not differ in either personality trait from their outbred counterparts. This finding suggests that mechanisms other than condition dependence are maintaining personality variation in the guppy.
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Abstract
Abstract
The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis considers an animal’s behavior, physiology, and life history as nonindependent components of a single integrated phenotype. However, frequent deviations from the expected correlations between POLS traits suggest that these relationships may be context, and potentially, sex dependent. To determine whether the sexes express distinct POLS trait covariance structures, we observed the behavior (mobility, latency to emerge from a shelter), physiology (mass-specific metabolic rate), and life history (life span, development time) of male and female Australian field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus). Path analysis modeling suggested that POLS trait covariation differed between the sexes. Although neither sex displayed the complete integration of traits predicted by the POLS hypothesis, females did display greater overall integration with a significant negative correlation between metabolic rate and risk-taking behavior but with life-history traits varying independently. In males, however, there was no clear association between traits. These results suggest that T. oceanicus do indeed display sex-specific trait covariance structures, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging sex in assessments of POLS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joe A Moschilla
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Joseph L Tomkins
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
| | - Leigh W Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences (M092), The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Australia
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23
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Ducatez S, Audet JN, Lefebvre L. Speed–accuracy trade-off, detour reaching and response to PHA in Carib grackles. Anim Cogn 2019; 22:625-633. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-019-01258-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2018] [Revised: 02/26/2019] [Accepted: 03/27/2019] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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24
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Trade-off between tolerance and resistance to infections: an experimental approach with malaria parasites in a passerine bird. Oecologia 2018; 188:1001-1010. [PMID: 30377770 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4290-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 10/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Avian malaria parasites are known to have negative effects on their hosts, including consequences for reproductive success and survival. However, the outcome of disease may vary greatly among individuals, due to their particular genetic background, their past history of exposure to infections, or the way they respond to infections at the physiological level. We experimentally reduced parasitemia in naturally infected birds to examine individual-level variation in physiological parameters involved in anti-parasite defense, focusing specifically on disease resistance and tolerance. As a measure of disease resistance, we used circulating levels of IgY, and as a measure of disease tolerance, we estimated haptoglobin concentrations. Our results show individual consistency in the physiological parameters studied during the experiment, that was statistically significant for body condition, and marginally significant for IgY levels, and a trade-off between physiological mechanisms involved in resistance and tolerance that seem to be mediated by parasitemia. The medication experiment with primaquine was successful in reducing parasite intensity, but was not sufficient to clear the infection, and there was a generalized improvement in body condition in all birds maintained in captivity during the experiment. We suggest that the observed changes in the association between resistance and tolerance estimates may be due to the decrease in parasitemia attained through medication, to the improved nutritional status observed during the experiment or to the combined effect of both. Our study adds to the understanding of how wild animals cope with the diseases they are exposed to in their natural environment, and ultimately the consequences of parasitism at the individual level.
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25
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Unraveling behavioral and pace-of-life syndromes in a reduced parasite and predation pressure context: personality and survival of the Barbary ground squirrel. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2549-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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26
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Costanzo A, Romano A, Ambrosini R, Parolini M, Rubolini D, Caprioli M, Corti M, Canova L, Saino N. Barn swallow antipredator behavior covaries with melanic coloration and predicts survival. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Costanzo
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Andrea Romano
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, Building Biophore, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Ambrosini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Parolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Diego Rubolini
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Manuela Caprioli
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Margherita Corti
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
| | - Luca Canova
- Department of Chemistry, University of Pavia, Via Taramelli, Pavia, Italy
| | - Nicola Saino
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of Milan, via Celoria, Milan, Italy
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27
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Trnka A, Samaš P, Grim T. Stability of a behavioural syndrome vs. plasticity in individual behaviours over the breeding cycle: Ultimate and proximate explanations. Behav Processes 2018; 153:100-106. [PMID: 29870797 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/29/2018] [Accepted: 06/01/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Animals often show correlated suites of consistent behavioural traits, i.e., personality or behavioural syndromes. Does this conflict with potential phenotypic plasticity which should be adaptive for animals facing various contexts and situations? This fundamental question has been tested predominantly in studies which were done in non-breeding contexts and under laboratory conditions. Therefore, in the present study we examined the temporal stability of behavioural correlations in a breeding context and under natural conditions. We found that in the great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) females, the intensity of their nest defence formed a behavioural syndrome with two other traits: their aggression during handling (self-defence) and stress responses during handling (breath rate). This syndrome was stable across the nesting cycle: each of the three behavioural traits was highly statistically repeatable between egg and nestling stages and the traits were strongly correlated with each other during both the egg stage and the nestling stage. Despite this consistency (i.e., rank order between stages) the individual behaviours changed their absolute values significantly during the same period. This shows that stable behavioural syndromes might be based on behaviours that are themselves unstable. Thus, syndromes do not inevitably constrain phenotypic plasticity. We suggest that the observed behavioural syndrome is the product of interactions between behavioural and life history trade-offs and that crucial proximate mechanisms for the plasticity and correlations between individual behaviours are hormonally-regulated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfréd Trnka
- Department of Biology, University of Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia.
| | - Peter Samaš
- Institute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Grim
- Department of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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28
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Fisher DN, David M, Rodríguez-Muñoz R, Tregenza T. Lifespan and age, but not residual reproductive value or condition, are related to behaviour in wild field crickets. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- David N. Fisher
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Cornwall UK
- Department for Integrative Biology; University of Guelph; Guelph ON Canada
| | - Morgan David
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Cornwall UK
- Department of Biology-Ethology; Drie Eiken Campus; University of Antwerp; Wilrijk (Antwerpen) Belgium
- Drylaw House Gardens; Edinburgh UK
| | | | - Tom Tregenza
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation; University of Exeter; Cornwall UK
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29
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Unravelling the relationships between life history, behaviour and condition under the pace-of-life syndromes hypothesis using long-term data from a wild bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2461-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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30
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Niemelä PT, Dingemanse NJ. Meta-analysis reveals weak associations between intrinsic state and personality. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 285:20172823. [PMID: 29491175 PMCID: PMC5832713 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 64] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2017] [Accepted: 02/08/2018] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in behaviour characterize humans and animals alike. A hot field in behavioural ecology asks why this variation in 'personality' evolved. Theory posits that selection favours the integration of 'intrinsic state' and behaviour. Metabolism, hormones, energetic reserves and structural size have particularly been proposed as states covarying with behaviour among-individuals, either genetically or through plasticity integration. We conducted a meta-analysis estimating the amount of among-individual variation in behaviour attributable to variation in state. Our literature search showed that only 22% of the studies claiming to estimate individual-level associations between state and behaviour actually did so. Our meta-analysis revealed that relatively aggressive, bold, explorative and/or active individuals had relatively high metabolic rates, hormone levels, body weights and/or body sizes. The proportion of among-individual variation common to state and behaviour was nevertheless small (approx. 5%). This means that (i) adaptive explanations involving intrinsic states fail to explain much individual variation in behaviour, (ii) empiricists should consider nonlinear, additive or interactive effects of (multiple) intrinsic states, (iii) explanations not involving intrinsic states might be important, or (iv) empirical tests of state-dependent personality theory were inappropriate. Our meta-analysis highlights the importance of feedback between empiricists and theoreticians in the study of adaptive behavioural variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petri T Niemelä
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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31
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Wanelik KM, Begon M, Birtles RJ, Bradley JE, Friberg IM, Jackson JA, Taylor CH, Thomason AG, Turner AK, Paterson S. A candidate tolerance gene identified in a natural population of field voles (Microtus agrestis). Mol Ecol 2018; 27:1044-1052. [PMID: 29290094 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2017] [Revised: 11/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/30/2017] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
The animal immune response has hitherto been viewed primarily in the context of resistance only. However, individuals can also employ a tolerance strategy to maintain good health in the face of ongoing infection. To shed light on the genetic and physiological basis of tolerance, we use a natural population of field voles, Microtus agrestis, to search for an association between the expression of the transcription factor Gata3, previously identified as a marker of tolerance in this system, and polymorphism in 84 immune and nonimmune genes. Our results show clear evidence for an association between Gata3 expression and polymorphism in the Fcer1a gene, with the explanatory power of this polymorphism being comparable to that of other nongenetic variables previously identified as important predictors of Gata3 expression. We also uncover the possible mechanism behind this association using an existing protein-protein interaction network for the mouse model rodent, Mus musculus, which we validate using our own expression network for M. agrestis. Our results suggest that the polymorphism in question may be working at the transcriptional level, leading to changes in the expression of the Th2-related genes, Tyrosine-protein kinase BTK and Tyrosine-protein kinase TXK, and hence potentially altering the strength of the Th2 response, of which Gata3 is a mediator. We believe our work has implications for both treatment and control of infectious disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Klara M Wanelik
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Michael Begon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Richard J Birtles
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | | | - Ida M Friberg
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | - Joseph A Jackson
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | | | - Anna G Thomason
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, UK
| | - Andrew K Turner
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Steve Paterson
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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32
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Newar SL, Careau V. The fast and the curious: locomotor performance and exploratory behaviour in eastern chipmunks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2445-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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33
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Senar JC, Garamszegi LZ, Tilgar V, Biard C, Moreno-Rueda G, Salmón P, Rivas JM, Sprau P, Dingemanse NJ, Charmantier A, Demeyrier V, Navalpotro H, Isaksson C. Urban Great Tits (Parus major) Show Higher Distress Calling and Pecking Rates than Rural Birds across Europe. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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34
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Arriero E, Wanelik KM, Birtles RJ, Bradley JE, Jackson JA, Paterson S, Begon M. From the animal house to the field: Are there consistent individual differences in immunological profile in wild populations of field voles (Microtus agrestis)? PLoS One 2017; 12:e0183450. [PMID: 28817724 PMCID: PMC5560671 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 08/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Inbred mouse strains, living in simple laboratory environments far removed from nature, have been shown to vary consistently in their immune response. However, wildlife populations are typically outbreeding and face a multiplicity of challenges, parasitological and otherwise. In this study we seek evidence of consistent difference in immunological profile amongst individuals in the wild. We apply a novel method in this context, using longitudinal (repeated capture) data from natural populations of field voles, Microtus agrestis, on a range of life history and infection metrics, and on gene expression levels. We focus on three immune genes, IFN-γ, Gata3, and IL-10, representing respectively the Th1, Th2 and regulatory elements of the immune response. Our results show that there was clear evidence of consistent differences between individuals in their typical level of expression of at least one immune gene, and at most all three immune genes, after other measured sources of variation had been taken into account. Furthermore, individuals that responded to changing circumstances by increasing expression levels of Gata3 had a correlated increase in expression levels of IFN-γ. Our work stresses the importance of acknowledging immunological variation amongst individuals in studies of parasitological and infectious disease risk in wildlife populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Arriero
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom.,Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology, University Complutense of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Klara M Wanelik
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Richard J Birtles
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom
| | - Janette E Bradley
- School of Life Sciences, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph A Jackson
- School of Environment and Life Sciences, University of Salford, Salford, United Kingdom
| | - Steve Paterson
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Mike Begon
- Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom
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35
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Goulet CT, Thompson MB, Michelangeli M, Wong BBM, Chapple DG. Thermal physiology: A new dimension of the pace-of-life syndrome. J Anim Ecol 2017. [PMID: 28626934 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Current syndrome research focuses primarily on behaviour with few incorporating components of physiology. One such syndrome is the pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) which describes covariation between behaviour, metabolism, immunity, hormonal response, and life-history traits. Despite the strong effect temperature has on behaviour, thermal physiology has yet to be considered within this syndrome framework. We proposed the POLS to be extended to include a new dimension, the cold-hot axis. Under this premise, it is predicted that thermal physiology and behaviour would covary, whereby individual positioning along the thermal continuum would coincide with that of the behavioural continuum. This hypothesis was tested by measuring thermal traits of delicate skinks (Lampropholis delicata) and linking it to their behaviour. Principal components analysis and structural equation modelling were used to determine if traits were structured within the POLS and to characterize the direction of their interactions. Model results supported the inclusion of the cold-hot axis into the POLS and indicated that thermal physiology was the driver of this relationship, in that thermal traits either constrained or promoted activity, exploration, boldness and social behaviour. This study highlights the need to integrate thermal physiology within a syndrome framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Celine T Goulet
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
| | - Mike B Thompson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
| | - David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Vic., Australia
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36
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Charmantier A, Demeyrier V, Lambrechts M, Perret S, Grégoire A. Urbanization Is Associated with Divergence in Pace-of-Life in Great Tits. Front Ecol Evol 2017. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2017.00053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 67] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
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37
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Monceau K, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX, Moreau J, Lucas C, Capoduro R, Motreuil S, Moret Y. Personality, immune response and reproductive success: an appraisal of the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:932-942. [PMID: 28425582 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12684] [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] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Accepted: 04/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis is an extended concept of the life-history theory that includes behavioural traits. The studies challenging the POLS hypothesis often focus on the relationships between a single personality trait and a physiological and/or life-history trait. While pathogens represent a major selective pressure, few studies have been interested in testing relationships between behavioural syndrome, and several fitness components including immunity. The aim of this study was to address this question in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a model species in immunity studies. The personality score was estimated from a multidimensional syndrome based of four repeatable behavioural traits. In a first experiment, we investigated its relationship with two measures of fitness (reproduction and survival) and three components of the innate immunity (haemocyte concentration, and levels of activity of the phenoloxidase including the total proenzyme and the naturally activated one) to challenge the POLS hypothesis in T. molitor. Overall, we found a relationship between behavioural syndrome and reproductive success in this species, thus supporting the POLS hypothesis. We also showed a sex-specific relationship between behavioural syndrome and basal immune parameters. In a second experiment, we tested whether this observed relationship with innate immunity could be confirmed in term of differential survival after challenging by entomopathogenic bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis. In this case, no significant relationship was evidenced. We recommend that future researchers on the POLS should control for differences in evolutionary trajectory between sexes and to pay attention to the choice of the proxy used, especially when looking at immune traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karine Monceau
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | | | - Jérôme Moreau
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Camille Lucas
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Rémi Capoduro
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Sébastien Motreuil
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
| | - Yannick Moret
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 bd Gabriel, 21000, Dijon, France
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38
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Houslay TM, Wilson AJ. Avoiding the misuse of BLUP in behavioural ecology. Behav Ecol 2017; 28:948-952. [PMID: 29622923 PMCID: PMC5873244 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Having recognized that variation around the population-level "Golden Mean" of labile traits contains biologically meaningful information, behavioural ecologists have focused increasingly on exploring the causes and consequences of individual variation in behaviour. These are exciting new directions for the field, assisted in no small part by the adoption of mixed-effects modelling techniques that enable the partitioning of among- and within-individual behavioural variation. It has become commonplace to extract predictions of individual random effects from such models for use in subsequent analyses (for example, between a personality trait and other individual traits such as cognition, physiology, or fitness-related measures). However, these predictions are made with large amounts of error that is not carried forward, rendering further tests susceptible to spurious P values from these individual-level point estimates. We briefly summarize the problems with such statistical methods that are used regularly by behavioural ecologists, and highlight the robust solutions that exist within the mixed model framework, providing tutorials to aid in their implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Houslay
- Centre of Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Conrwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre of Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Conrwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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39
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Brommer JE, Class B. Phenotypic correlations capture between-individual correlations underlying behavioral syndromes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2278-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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40
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Corti M, Bazzi G, Costanzo A, Podofillini S, Saino N, Rubolini D, Romano A. Behavioural stress response and melanin-based plumage colouration in barn swallow nestlings. BEHAVIOUR 2017. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003447] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Consistent and correlated inter-individual differences in behaviours, the so-called ‘personalities’, have been identified in many vertebrates. The ability to respond to stressful events is part of personalities and can have important fitness consequences, as it determines how individuals cope with environmental challenges. As a consequence of pleiotropic effects of genes involved in several functions, inter-individual differences in behavioural responses can be associated with phenotypic traits, like melanin-based plumage colouration in birds. We examined the association between three proxies of the behavioural stress response and breast plumage colouration in barn swallow (Hirundo rustica) nestlings. We found that nestling behavioural responses were consistent within individuals and similar among siblings, thus suggesting that these behaviours may contribute to define individual ‘personalities’. However, nestling behavioural stress response was not significantly predicted by variation in breast plumage colouration, indicating that in juveniles of this species melanin-based colouration does not convey to conspecifics reliable information on individual ability to cope with stressful events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margherita Corti
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Gaia Bazzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Alessandra Costanzo
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Stefano Podofillini
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Nicola Saino
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Diego Rubolini
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
| | - Andrea Romano
- Dipartimento di Scienze e Politiche Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via G. Celoria 26, 20133 Milano, Italy
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Dubuc-Messier G, Réale D, Perret P, Charmantier A. Environmental heterogeneity and population differences in blue tits personality traits. Behav Ecol 2016; 28:448-459. [PMID: 29622919 PMCID: PMC5873839 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/08/2016] [Revised: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Environmental heterogeneity can result in spatial variation in selection pressures that can produce local adaptations. The pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis predicts that habitat-specific selective pressures will favor the coevolution of personality, physiological, and life-history phenotypes. Few studies so far have compared these traits simultaneously across different ecological conditions. In this study, we compared 3 personality traits (handling aggression, exploration speed in a novel environment, and nest defense behavior) and 1 physiological trait (heart rate during manual restraint) across 3 Corsican blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) populations. These populations are located in contrasting habitats (evergreen vs. deciduous) and are situated in 2 different valleys 25 km apart. Birds from these populations are known to differ in life-history characteristics, with birds from the evergreen habitat displaying a slow pace-of-life, and birds from the deciduous habitat a comparatively faster pace-of-life. We expected personality to differ across populations, in line with the differences in pace-of-life documented for life-history traits. As expected, we found behavioral differences among populations. Despite considerable temporal variation, birds exhibited lower handling aggression in the evergreen populations. Exploration speed and male heart rate also differed across populations, although our results for exploration speed were more consistent with a phenotypic difference between the 2 valleys than between habitats. There were no clear differences in nest defense intensity among populations. Our study emphasizes the role of environmental heterogeneity in shaping population divergence in personality traits at a small spatial scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabrielle Dubuc-Messier
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and.,Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Denis Réale
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and
| | - Philippe Perret
- Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
| | - Anne Charmantier
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Québec, Canada and.,Centre d'Écologie Fonctionnelle et Évolutive, Unité Mixte de Recherche CNRS 5175, 1919 Route de Mende, Montpellier Cedex 5, France
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Finkemeier MA, Trillmich F, Guenther A. Match-Mismatch Experiments Using Photoperiod Expose Developmental Plasticity of Personality Traits. Ethology 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12448] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Fritz Trillmich
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Faculty of Biology; Bielefeld University; Bielefeld Germany
| | - Anja Guenther
- Department of Animal Behaviour; Faculty of Biology; Bielefeld University; Bielefeld Germany
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Evidence for a mechanism of phenotypic integration of behaviour and innate immunity in a wild rodent: implications for animal personality and ecological immunology. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
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Noguera JC, Metcalfe NB, Surai PF, Monaghan P. Are you what you eat? Micronutritional deficiencies during development influence adult personality-related traits. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2014.12.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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48
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Dosmann AJ, Brooks KC, Mateo JM. Within-individual correlations reveal link between a behavioral syndrome, condition and cortisol in free-ranging Belding's ground squirrels. Ethology 2015; 121:125-134. [PMID: 25598565 PMCID: PMC4295653 DOI: 10.1111/eth.12320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Animals often exhibit consistent individual differences in behavior (i.e. animal personality) and correlations between behaviors (i.e. behavioral syndromes), yet the causes of those patterns of behavioral variation remain insufficiently understood. Many authors hypothesize that state-dependent behavior produces animal personality and behavioral syndromes. However, empirical studies assessing patterns of covariation among behavioral traits and state variables have produced mixed results. New statistical methods that partition correlations into between-individual and residual within-individual correlations offer an opportunity to more sufficiently quantify relationships among behaviors and state variables to assess hypotheses of animal personality and behavioral syndromes. In a population of wild Belding's ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) we repeatedly measured activity, exploration, and response to restraint behaviors alongside glucocorticoids and nutritional condition. We used multivariate mixed models to determine whether between-individual or within-individual correlations drive phenotypic relationships among traits. Squirrels had consistent individual differences for all five traits. At the between-individual level, activity and exploration were positively correlated whereas both traits negatively correlated with response to restraint, demonstrating a behavioral syndrome. At the within-individual level, condition negatively correlated with cortisol, activity and exploration. Importantly, this indicates that although behavior is state-dependent, which may play a role in animal personality and behavioral syndromes, feedback mechanisms between condition and behavior appear not to produce consistent individual differences in behavior and correlations between them.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andy J. Dosmann
- Stanford University, Thinking Matters, Sweet Hall 219B, 590 Escondido Mall, Stanford, CA 94305
| | - Katherine C. Brooks
- The University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 940 E. 57 St. Chicago, IL 60637
| | - Jill. M. Mateo
- The University of Chicago, Committee on Evolutionary Biology, 940 E. 57 St. Chicago, IL 60637
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Careau V, Buttemer WA, Buchanan KL. Early-Developmental Stress, Repeatability, and Canalization in a Suite of Physiological and Behavioral Traits in Female Zebra Finches. Integr Comp Biol 2014; 54:539-54. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icu095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Brommer JE, Karell P, Ahola K, Karstinen T. Residual correlations, and not individual properties, determine a nest defense boldness syndrome. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
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