1
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Behavioural syndrome between boldness and aggressiveness and link with reproductive success in a wild bird population. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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2
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Toupin LP, Ratz T, Montiglio PO. Effects of resource availability on the web structure of female western black widows: is the web structure constrained by physiological trade-offs? Behav Ecol 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
A major challenge of biological research is to understand what generates and maintains consistent behavioral variation among animals. Time and energy trade-offs, where expressing one behavior is achieved at the expense of another, are often suggested to favor the maintenance of behavioral differences between individuals. However, few studies have investigated how individuals adjust their allocation to different functions over time and depending on resource abundance. Black widow spiders of the genus Latrodectus build persistent webs that include structural threads which protect against predators and sticky trap threads to capture prey. Web structure consistently differs among individuals in the number of trap and structural threads. To quantify the intensity of a trade-off, we assessed the relationship between the number of structural and trap threads and tested whether varying food abundance affected individual differences in web structure. We further quantified how these individual differences change over time and with food abundance. We subjected spiders to three different levels of prey abundance and monitored the structure of their webs every twelve hours. We found no evidence for a trade-off between trap and structural threads. Instead, spiders that produced more structural threads also produced more trap threads, showing that spiders invested equally in both types of threads. Interestingly, the magnitude of individual differences in web structure was greatest when spiders were fed ad libitum and at the beginning of web construction. We suggest that variation in web structure between spiders could be the result of stable developmental differences in morphology or genetic differences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis-Philippe Toupin
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal , CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P , Canada
| | - Tom Ratz
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal , CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P , Canada
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich (LMU) , Planegg-Martinsried , Germany
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal , CP-8888 Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, QC, H3C 3P , Canada
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3
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De Meester G, Pafilis P, Vasilakis G, Van Damme R. Exploration and spatial cognition show long-term repeatability but no heritability in the Aegean wall lizard. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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4
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Nicolaus M, Wang X, Lamers KP, Ubels R, Both C. Unravelling the causes and consequences of dispersal syndromes in a wild passerine. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20220068. [PMID: 35506227 PMCID: PMC9065973 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Evidence accumulates that dispersal is correlated with individual behavioural phenotype (dispersal syndrome). The evolutionary causes and consequences of such covariation depend on the degree of plasticity versus inheritance of the traits, which requires challenging experiments to implement in mobile organisms. Here, we combine a forced dispersal experiment, natural colonization and longitudinal data to establish if dispersal and aggression levels are integrated and to test their adaptive nature in pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca). We found that (forced) dispersers behaved more aggressively in their first breeding year after dispersal and decreased their aggression in following years. Strength of dispersal syndrome and direction of fecundity selection on aggression in newly colonized areas varied between years. We propose that the net benefits of aggression for dispersers increase under harsh conditions (e.g. low food abundance). This hypothesis now warrants further testing. Overall, this study provides unprecedented experimental evidence that dispersal syndromes can be remodelled via adaptive plasticity depending on the individuals' local breeding experience and/or year-specific ecological conditions. It highlights the importance of individual behavioural variation in population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Nicolaus
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Xuelai Wang
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Koosje P. Lamers
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Richard Ubels
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Christiaan Both
- Conservation Ecology Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences (GELIFES), University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC Groningen, The Netherlands
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5
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Male and female identity and environmental contexts influence courtship behaviour in a songbird. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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6
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Novelty at second glance: a critical appraisal of the novel object paradigm based on meta-analysis. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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7
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Male aggressiveness and risk-taking during reproduction are repeatable but not correlated in a wild bird population. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03044-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The existence of among-individual variation in behaviour within populations is poorly understood. Recent theory suggests that fine-scale individual differences in investment into current versus future reproduction may lead to a ‘slow-fast’-pace-of-life continuum, also referred to as the ‘pace-of-life-syndrome’ (POLS) hypothesis. According to this idea, individuals are predicted to differ in their level of risk-taking, which may drive among-individual variation and covariation of behaviours. Consistent individual differences in aggression, an ecologically relevant and potentially risky behaviour, have been reported across the animal kingdom. Here we test whether such individual differences in aggression are a manifestation of underlying differences in risk-taking. In a wild blue tit (Cyanistes caeruleus) population, we used standard behavioural tests to investigate if male territorial aggressiveness and risk-taking during breeding are positively related. At the start of breeding, we simulated conspecific territorial intrusions to obtain repeated measures of male aggressiveness. Subsequently, we measured male risk-taking as their latency to resume brood provisioning after presenting two different predators at their nest: human and sparrowhawk, a common predator of adult songbirds. First, we found substantial repeatability for male aggressiveness (R = 0.56 ± 0.08 SE). Second, while males took longer to resume provisioning after presentation of a sparrowhawk mount as compared to a human observer, risk-taking was repeatable across these two predator contexts (R = 0.51 ± 0.13 SE). Finally, we found no evidence for a correlation between male aggressiveness and risk-taking, thereby providing little support to a main prediction of the POLS hypothesis.
Significance statement
Consistent, and often correlated, individual differences in basal behaviours, such as aggression, exploration and sociability, are found across the animal kingdom. Why individuals consistently differ in their behaviour is poorly understood, as behavioural traits would seem inherently flexible. The ‘pace-of-life syndrome’ (POLS) hypothesis proposes observed behavioural variation to reflect differences in risk-taking associated with individual reproductive strategies. We tested this idea in a wild blue tit population by investigating whether individual males that were more aggressive toward territorial intruders also took more risk when provisioning their nestlings under a threat of predation. While we found consistent individual differences in both aggressiveness and risk-taking, these behaviours were not significantly correlated. Therefore, our study demonstrates among-individual variation in ecologically relevant behaviours in wild blue tits but provides little support for the POLS hypothesis.
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8
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Burns SM, Bonier F. A comparison of sex, morphology, physiology and behavior of black-capped chickadees trapped using two common capture methods. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10037. [PMID: 33024645 PMCID: PMC7518160 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/03/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Many biological studies require the capture of individuals for sampling, for example for measurement of morphological or physiological traits, or for marking individuals for later observations. Capture methods employed often vary both within and between studies, and these differing methods could be more or less effective in capture of different individuals based on their morphology or behavior. If individuals that are prone to capture by the selected method differ with respect to traits of interest, such sampling bias could generate misleading or simply inaccurate results. The selection of capture methods could introduce two different forms of sampling bias, with the individuals that are sampled differing from the population at large or with individuals sampled via one method differing from individuals that could be sampled using a different method. We investigated this latter form of sampling bias by comparing individual birds sampled using two common capture techniques. We caught free-ranging black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) using walk-in traps baited with seed and mist nets paired with playback of an audio stimulus (conspecific mobbing calls). We measured 18 traits that we expect might vary among birds that are trappable by these differing methods—one that targets birds that are food motivated and potentially less neophobic and another that targets birds that respond readily to a perceived predation risk. We found no differences in the sex, morphology, initial and stress-induced corticosterone concentrations, behavioral response to a novel object, or behavioral response to a predator between individuals captured by these two methods. Individual variation in the behavioral response to a novel object was greater among birds caught by mist nets, suggesting this method might provide a sample that better reflects population-level individual variation. We do not know if the birds caught by these two methods provide a representative sample of the population at large, but can conclude that selection of either of these two common capture methods can similarly sample mean trait values of a population of interest. To accurately assess individual variation, particularly in behavior, mist nets might be preferable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara M Burns
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
| | - Frances Bonier
- Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, Canada
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9
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Guerra S, Gomes A, Cardoso G. Long-term consistency despite cross-seasonal changes in personality traits of common waxbills. BEHAVIOUR 2020. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Tests of long-term consistency in personality differences are not abundant. We studied personality in common waxbills (Estrilda astrild) from one Autumn to the next, and also from Autumn to a subsequent Spring, using a behavioural assay for their proactive-reactive personality axis (mirror test) and for tonic immobility. From one Autumn to the next, individual differences were consistent and the population median behaviours did not change, indicating long-term stability of personality differences. From Autumn to Spring, behavioural differences remained consistent, despite the population shifting to more proactive behaviour and individual differences being accentuated in the proactive-reactive personality axis. This increase in personality differences was not found between the two previous Autumns, suggesting a seasonal rather than longitudinal change, and a possible role for personality differences during the Spring breeding season. We conclude that waxbill personality differences are stable in the long term, despite changes in behaviour between Autumn and Spring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Soraia Guerra
- aCIBIO/InBIO — Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Ana Cristina R. Gomes
- aCIBIO/InBIO — Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo C. Cardoso
- aCIBIO/InBIO — Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
- bBehavioural Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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10
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Horváth G, Jiménez‐Robles O, Martín J, López P, De la Riva I, Herczeg G. Linking behavioral thermoregulation, boldness, and individual state in male Carpetan rock lizards. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:10230-10241. [PMID: 33005378 PMCID: PMC7520217 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2020] [Revised: 07/22/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Mechanisms affecting consistent interindividual behavioral variation (i.e., animal personality) are of wide scientific interest. In poikilotherms, ambient temperature is one of the most important environmental factors with a direct link to a variety of fitness-related traits. Recent empirical evidence suggests that individual differences in boldness are linked to behavioral thermoregulation strategy in heliothermic species, as individuals are regularly exposed to predators during basking. Here, we tested for links between behavioral thermoregulation strategy, boldness, and individual state in adult males of the high-mountain Carpetan rock lizard (Iberolacerta cyreni). Principal component analysis revealed the following latent links in our data: (i) a positive relationship of activity with relative limb length and color brightness (PC1, 23% variation explained), (ii) a negative relationship of thermoregulatory precision with parasite load and risk-taking (PC2, 20.98% variation explained), and (iii) a negative relationship between preferred body temperature and relative limb length (PC3, 19.23% variation explained). We conclude that differences in boldness and behavioral thermoregulatory strategy could be explained by both stable and labile state variables. The moderate link between behavioral thermoregulatory strategy and risk-taking personality in our system is plausibly the result of differences in reproductive state of individuals or variation in ecological conditions during the breeding season.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
| | - Octavio Jiménez‐Robles
- Department of Ecology and EvolutionResearch School of BiologyAustralian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary BiologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - José Martín
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Pilar López
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Ignacio De la Riva
- Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary BiologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
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11
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Dammhahn M, Mazza V, Schirmer A, Göttsche C, Eccard JA. Of city and village mice: behavioural adjustments of striped field mice to urban environments. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13056. [PMID: 32747632 PMCID: PMC7400609 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69998-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2020] [Accepted: 07/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
A fundamental question of current ecological research concerns the drives and limits of species responses to human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). Behavioural responses to HIREC are a key component because behaviour links individual responses to population and community changes. Ongoing fast urbanization provides an ideal setting to test the functional role of behaviour for responses to HIREC. Consistent behavioural differences between conspecifics (animal personality) may be important determinants or constraints of animals’ adaptation to urban habitats. We tested whether urban and rural populations of small mammals differ in mean trait expression, flexibility and repeatability of behaviours associated to risk-taking and exploratory tendencies. Using a standardized behavioural test in the field, we quantified spatial exploration and boldness of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius, n = 96) from nine sub-populations, presenting different levels of urbanisation and anthropogenic disturbance. The level of urbanisation positively correlated with boldness, spatial exploration and behavioural flexibility, with urban dwellers being bolder, more explorative and more flexible in some traits than rural conspecifics. Thus, individuals seem to distribute in a non-random way in response to human disturbance based on their behavioural characteristics. Animal personality might therefore play a key role in successful coping with the challenges of HIREC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melanie Dammhahn
- Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Valeria Mazza
- Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Annika Schirmer
- Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Claudia Göttsche
- Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jana A Eccard
- Department of Animal Ecology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
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12
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Jablonszky M, Krenhardt K, Markó G, Szász E, Hegyi G, Herényi M, Kötél D, Laczi M, Nagy G, Rosivall B, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. A behavioural trait displayed in an artificial novel environment correlates with dispersal in a wild bird. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mónika Jablonszky
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Katalin Krenhardt
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Gábor Markó
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
- Department of Plant Pathology Szent István University Budapest Hungary
| | - Eszter Szász
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Gergely Hegyi
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Márton Herényi
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
- Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology Szent István University Gödöllő Hungary
| | - Dóra Kötél
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Balázs Rosivall
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- MTA‐ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group Institute of Physics Eötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology Estación Biológica de Doñana‐CSIC Seville Spain
- Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Hungarian Academy of Sciences Vácrátót Hungary
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13
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Dhellemmes F, Finger JS, Laskowski KL, Guttridge TL, Krause J. Comparing behavioural syndromes across time and ecological conditions in a free-ranging predator. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.01.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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14
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Horváth G, Rodríguez‐Ruiz G, Martín J, López P, Herczeg G. Maternal diet affects juvenile Carpetan rock lizard performance and personality. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:14476-14488. [PMID: 31938534 PMCID: PMC6953655 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 11/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in both stable and labile state variables are known to affect the emergence and maintenance of consistent interindividual behavioral variation (animal personality or behavioral syndrome), especially when experienced early in life. Variation in environmental conditions experienced by gestating mothers (viz. nongenetic maternal effects) is known to have significant impact on offspring condition and behavior; yet, their effect on behavioral consistency is not clear. Here, by applying an orthogonal experimental design, we aimed to study whether increased vitamin D3 content in maternal diet during gestation (vitamin-supplemented vs. vitamin control treatments) combined with corticosterone treatment (corticosterone-treated vs. corticosterone control treatments) applied on freshly hatched juveniles had an effect on individual state and behavioral consistency of juvenile Carpetan rock lizards (Iberolacerta cyreni). We tested the effect of our treatments on (a) climbing speed and the following levels of behavioral variation, (b) strength of animal personality (behavioral repeatability), (c) behavioral type (individual mean behavior), and (d) behavioral predictability (within-individual behavioral variation unrelated to environmental change). We found higher locomotor performance of juveniles from the vitamin-supplemented group (42.4% increase), irrespective of corticosterone treatment. While activity personality was present in all treatments, shelter use personality was present only in the vitamin-supplemented × corticosterone-treated treatment and risk-taking personality was present in corticosterone control treatments. Contrary to our expectations, behavioral type was not affected by our treatments, indicating that individual quality can affect behavioral strategies without affecting group-level mean behavior. Behavioral predictability decreased in individuals with low climbing speed, which could be interpreted as a form of antipredator strategy. Our results clearly demonstrate that maternal diet and corticosterone treatment have the potential to induce or hamper between-individual variation in different components of boldness, often in interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
| | | | - José Martín
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Pilar López
- Department of Evolutionary EcologyMuseo Nacional de Ciencias NaturalesCSICMadridSpain
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology GroupDepartment of Systematic Zoology and EcologyEötvös Loránd UniversityBudapestHungary
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15
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Ehlman SM, Halpin R, Jones C, Munson A, Pollack L, Sih A. Intermediate turbidity elicits the greatest antipredator response and generates repeatable behaviour in mosquitofish. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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16
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No evidence for behavioural syndrome and genetic basis for three personality traits in a wild bird population. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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17
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Segev U, Foitzik S. Ant personalities and behavioral plasticity along a climatic gradient. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2690-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
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18
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Szász E, Markó G, Hegyi G, Török J, Garamszegi LZ, Rosivall B. Nest-site defence aggression during courtship does not predict nestling provisioning in male collared flycatchers. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2672-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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19
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Male territorial aggression and fitness in collared flycatchers: a long-term study. Naturwissenschaften 2019; 106:11. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1606-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2018] [Revised: 12/14/2018] [Accepted: 02/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/20/2023]
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20
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Repeatability and reliability of exploratory behavior in proactive and reactive zebrafish, Danio rerio. Sci Rep 2018; 8:12114. [PMID: 30108258 PMCID: PMC6092368 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-30630-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral responses to novel situations often vary and can belong to a suite of correlated behaviors. Characteristic behaviors of different personality types (e.g. stress coping styles) are generally consistent across contexts and time. Here, we compare the repeatability and reliability of exploratory behaviors between zebrafish strains selectively bred to display contrasting behavioral responses to stressors that represent the proactive-reactive axis. Specifically, we measure exploratory behavior of individual fish in an open field test over five weeks. We quantified the stationary time, average swimming speed and time spent by a fish in the center area. We found a number of strain differences for each behavioral measure. Stationary time was the most repeatable and reliable measure for assessing proactive-reactive behavioral differences. Reactive zebrafish generally showed the highest reliability and repeatability of exploratory behavior compared to proactive zebrafish and a separate wild caught strain. Given the increased interest in the evolutionary consequences and proximate mechanisms of consistent individual differences, it will be important to continue to investigate how different selective pressures may influence expression of stress coping styles and their effects on the consistency of an animal’s behavior.
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21
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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: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [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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22
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Hardman SI, Dalesman S. Repeatability and degree of territorial aggression differs among urban and rural great tits (Parus major). Sci Rep 2018; 8:5042. [PMID: 29568056 PMCID: PMC5864914 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-23463-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals in urban habitats face many novel selection pressures such as increased human population densities and human disturbance. This is predicted to favour bolder and more aggressive individuals together with greater flexibility in behaviour. Previous work has focussed primarily on studying these traits in captive birds and has shown increased aggression and reduced consistency between traits (behavioural syndromes) in birds from urban populations. However, personality (consistency within a behavioural trait) has not been well studied in the wild. Here we tested whether urban free-living male great tits show greater territorial aggression than rural counterparts. We also tested predictions that both behavioural syndromes and personality would show lower consistency in urban populations. We found that urban populations were more aggressive than rural populations and urban birds appeared to show lower levels of individual behavioural repeatability (personality) as predicted. However, we found no effect of urbanisation on behavioural syndromes (correlations between multiple behavioural traits). Our results indicate that urban environments may favour individuals which exhibit increased territorial aggression and greater within-trait flexibility which may be essential to success in holding urban territories. Determining how urban environments impact key fitness traits will be important in predicting how animals cope with ongoing urbanisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel I Hardman
- The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK. .,Communication and Social Behaviour Group, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319, Seewiesen, Germany.
| | - Sarah Dalesman
- The Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences, Aberystwyth University, Aberystwyth, SY23 3DA, UK
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23
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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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24
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Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187657. [PMID: 29112964 PMCID: PMC5675404 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2017] [Accepted: 10/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is ‘anchored’ to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance) and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high) and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day) had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i) strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome), (ii) behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and (iii) behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation). Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (≈ age). Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be detected in the presence/absence patterns of animal personality and behavioural syndrome and the level of individual behavioural predictability, but not in behavioural type.
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25
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26
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Winney IS, Schroeder J, Nakagawa S, Hsu YH, Simons MJP, Sánchez-Tójar A, Mannarelli ME, Burke T. Heritability and social brood effects on personality in juvenile and adult life-history stages in a wild passerine. J Evol Biol 2017; 31:75-87. [PMID: 29044885 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
How has evolution led to the variation in behavioural phenotypes (personalities) in a population? Knowledge of whether personality is heritable, and to what degree it is influenced by the social environment, is crucial to understanding its evolutionary significance, yet few estimates are available from natural populations. We tracked three behavioural traits during different life-history stages in a pedigreed population of wild house sparrows. Using a quantitative genetic approach, we demonstrated heritability in adult exploration, and in nestling activity after accounting for fixed effects, but not in adult boldness. We did not detect maternal effects on any traits, but we did detect a social brood effect on nestling activity. Boldness, exploration and nestling activity in this population did not form a behavioural syndrome, suggesting that selection could act independently on these behavioural traits in this species, although we found no consistent support for phenotypic selection on these traits. Our work shows that repeatable behaviours can vary in their heritability and that social context influences personality traits. Future efforts could separate whether personality traits differ in heritability because they have served specific functional roles in the evolution of the phenotype or because our concept of personality and the stability of behaviour needs to be revised.
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Affiliation(s)
- I S Winney
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - J Schroeder
- Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - S Nakagawa
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Y-H Hsu
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - M J P Simons
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - A Sánchez-Tójar
- Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - M-E Mannarelli
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - T Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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27
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Amy M, Ung D, Béguin N, Leboucher G. Personality traits and behavioural profiles in the domestic canary are affected by sex and photoperiod. Ethology 2017. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12662] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Mathieu Amy
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Davy Ung
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Nathalie Béguin
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
| | - Gérard Leboucher
- Laboratoire Ethologie Cognition Développement, EA 3456; Université Paris Nanterre; Nanterre France
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28
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He R, Pagani-Núñez E, Chevallier C, Barnett CRA. To be so bold: boldness is repeatable and related to within individual behavioural variability in North Island robins. Behav Processes 2017; 140:144-149. [PMID: 28454917 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2016] [Revised: 04/05/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Behavioural research traditionally focusses on the mean responses of a group of individuals rather than variation in behaviour around the mean or among individuals. However, examining the variation in behaviour among and within individuals may also yield important insights into the evolution and maintenance of behaviour. Repeatability is the most commonly used measure of variability among individuals in behavioural research. However, there are other forms of variation within populations that have received less attention. One such measure is intraindividual variation in behaviour (IIV), which is a short-term fluctuation of within-individual behaviour. Such variation in behaviour might be important during interactions because it could decrease the ability of conspecific and heterospecific individuals to predict the behaviour of the subject, thus increasing the cost of the interaction. In this experiment, we made repeated measures of the latency of North Island robins to attack a prey in a novel situation (a form of boldness) and examined (i) repeatability of boldness (the propensity to take a risk), (ii) IIV of boldness, and (iii) whether there was a significant relationship between these two traits (a behavioural syndrome). We found that boldness was highly repeatable, that there were high levels of IIV in boldness, and that there was a negative relationship between boldness and IIV in boldness. This suggests that despite high levels of repeatability for this behaviour, there were also still significant differences in IIV among different individuals within the population. Moreover, bolder individuals had significantly less IIV in their boldness, which suggests that they were forming routines (which reduces behavioural variability) compared to shyer individuals. Our results definitively demonstrate that IIV itself varies across individuals and is linked with key behavioural traits, and we argue for the importance of future studies aimed at understanding its causes and consequences for behavioural interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruchuan He
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, People's Republic of China
| | - Emilio Pagani-Núñez
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, People's Republic of China; State Key Laboratory of Biocontrol, College of Ecology and Evolution/School of Life Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China
| | - Clément Chevallier
- Centre d'Étude Nordique, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Rimouski, Québec, Canada
| | - Craig R A Barnett
- College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, People's Republic of China; Department of Zoology, Graduate School of Science, University of Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan.
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29
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Garamszegi LZ, Møller AP. Partitioning within-species variance in behaviour to within- and between-population components for understanding evolution. Ecol Lett 2017; 20:599-608. [PMID: 28349624 DOI: 10.1111/ele.12758] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2016] [Revised: 01/09/2017] [Accepted: 02/15/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Abstract
Phenotypes vary at multiple hierarchical levels, of which the interspecific variance is the primary focus of phylogenetic comparative studies. However, the evolutionary role of particular within-species variance components (between-population, between- or within-individual variances) remains neglected. Here, we partition the variance in an anti-predator behaviour, flight initiation distance (FID), and assess how its within- and between-population variance are related to life history, distribution, dispersal and habitat ecology. Although the composition of within-species variance in FID depended on the phylogeny, most variance occurred within populations. When accounting for allometry, density-dependence, uncertainty in the phylogenetic hypothesis and heterogeneity in data quality, within-population variance was significantly associated with habitat diversity and population size. Between-population variance was a significant predictor of natal dispersal, senescence and habitat diversity. Accordingly, not only species-specific mean values of a behavioural trait, but also its variance within and among populations can shape the evolutionary ecology of species.
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Affiliation(s)
- László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, c/ Americo Vespucio, 26, 41092, Seville, Spain
| | - Anders Pape Møller
- Ecologie Systématique Evolution, Equipe Diversité, Ecologie et Evolution Microbiennes, Université Paris-Sud, CNRS, AgroParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405, Orsay Cedex, France
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30
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Escape ability and risk-taking behaviour in a Hungarian population of the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2276-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
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31
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Thys B, Eens M, Aerts S, Delory A, Iserbyt A, Pinxten R. Exploration and sociability in a highly gregarious bird are repeatable across seasons and in the long term but are unrelated. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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32
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Horváth G, Martín J, López P, Garamszegi LZ, Herczeg G. Food and vitamin D3 availability affects lizard personalities: an experiment. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2257-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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35
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Endocrine Flexibility: Optimizing Phenotypes in a Dynamic World? Trends Ecol Evol 2016; 31:476-488. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2016.03.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 120] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2015] [Revised: 02/25/2016] [Accepted: 03/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
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