1
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Jablonszky M, Canal D, Hegyi G, Herényi M, Laczi M, Lao O, Markó G, Nagy G, Rosivall B, Szász E, Török J, Zsebõk S, Garamszegi LZ. Estimating heritability of song considering within-individual variance in a wild songbird: The collared flycatcher. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.975687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Heritable genetic variation is a prerequisite for adaptive evolution; however, our knowledge about the heritability of plastic traits, such as behaviors, is scarce, especially in wild populations. In this study, we investigated the heritability of song traits in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a small oscine passerine with complex songs involved in sexual selection. We recorded the songs of 81 males in a natural population and obtained various measures describing the frequency, temporal organization, and complexity of each song. As we had multiple songs from each individual, we were able to statistically account for the first time for the effect of within-individual variance on the heritability of song. Heritability was calculated from the variance estimates of animal models relying on a genetic similarity matrix based on Single Nucleotide Polymorphism screening. Overall, we found small additive genetic variance and heritability values in all song traits, highlighting the role of environmental factors in shaping bird song.
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2
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Intrinsic individual variation in daily activity onset and plastic responses on temporal but not spatial scales in female great tits. Sci Rep 2022; 12:18022. [PMID: 36289438 PMCID: PMC9605954 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-22935-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
In a variety of species, individuals appear to be consistent in the daily timing of their activity onset. Such consistent among-individual differences can result from both intrinsic factors, as individuals may e.g. differ genetically, and extrinsic factors, as the environment may vary on spatial and temporal scales. However, previous studies typically did not differentiate between their respective contributions on individual variation in the timing of activities. Here, we repeatedly measured the onset of activity in female great tits (Parus major) on consecutive days during the egg laying phase of the breeding season in four consecutive years. Subsequently, we used a variance partitioning analysis in order to determine which part of the total variation could be attributed to intrinsic (female identity) and extrinsic (nest box identity) factors. Overall, 27% of the total variation could be attributed to female identity. In addition, we found temporal variation in the activity onset, indicating that individuals can plastically adjust their timing. Yet despite their general ability to change the timing of activities over time, spatial environmental factors did not contribute significantly to the observed variation. Individuals may choose a habitat that matches the preferred timing of activities, or might not benefit from adjusting their timing to environmental factors that might vary on spatial scales.
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3
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No reproductive fitness benefits of dear enemy behaviour in a territorial songbird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03199-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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4
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Lopez‐Serna S, Gonzalez‐Quevedo C, Rivera‐Gutierrez HF. Beyond illness: Variation in haemosporidian load explains differences in vocal performance in a songbird. Ecol Evol 2021; 11:18552-18561. [PMID: 35003692 PMCID: PMC8717280 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.8455] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/12/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In animal communication, signals are expected to evolve to be honest, so that receivers avoid being manipulated by signalers. One way that signals can evolve to be honest is for them to be costly, with only high-quality individuals being able to bear the costs of signal expression. It has been proposed that parasites can introduce costs that affect the expression of sexually selected traits, and there is evidence to support the role of parasitism in modulating animal behavior. If host infection status or intensity is found to relate to differences in signal expression, it may indicate a fitness cost that mediates honesty of signals. Birdsong is a good model for testing this, and physically challenging songs representing complex motor patterns provide a good example of sexually selected traits indicating individual condition. We performed a field study to evaluate the relationship between song performance and avian malaria infection in a common songbird. Previous work on this subject has almost always evaluated avian malaria in terms of binary infection status; however, parasitemia-infection intensity-is rarely assessed, even though differences in parasite load may have profound physiological consequences. We estimated parasitemia levels by using real-time PCR. We found that birds with higher parasitemia displayed lower vocal performance, providing evidence that this song trait is an honest signal of parasitic load of haemosporidian parasites. To our knowledge, this study links parasite load and the expression of a sexually selected trait in a way that has not been addressed in the past. Studies using song performance traits and parasitemia offer an important perspective for understanding evolution of characters via sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Salome Lopez‐Serna
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
| | - Catalina Gonzalez‐Quevedo
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
| | - Hector Fabio Rivera‐Gutierrez
- Instituto de BiologíaFacultad de Ciencias Exactas y NaturalesGrupo de Ecología y Evolución de VertebradosUniversidad de AntioquiaMedellínColombia
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5
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Individuality, as well as genetic background, affects syntactical features of courtship songs in male mice. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
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6
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Mason D, Zajitschek S, Anwer H, O'Dea RE, Hesselson D, Nakagawa S. Low repeatability of aversive learning in zebrafish (Danio rerio). J Exp Biol 2021; 224:269009. [PMID: 34087936 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.240846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Aversive learning - avoiding certain situations based on negative experiences - can profoundly increase fitness in animal species, yet no studies have systematically quantified its repeatability. Therefore, we assessed the repeatability of aversive learning by conditioning approximately 100 zebrafish (Danio rerio) to avoid a colour cue associated with a mild electric shock. Across eight different colour conditions, zebrafish did not show consistent individual differences in aversive learning (R=0.04). Within conditions, when zebrafish were conditioned to the same colour, blue conditioning was more repeatable than green conditioning (R=0.15 and R=0.02). Overall, aversive learning responses of zebrafish were weak and variable. We speculate that the effect of aversive learning might have been too weak to quantify consistent individual differences, or directional selection might have eroded additive genetic variance. We also discuss how confounded repeatability assays and publication bias could have inflated estimates of repeatability in the literature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dominic Mason
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Susanne Zajitschek
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.,School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK
| | - Hamza Anwer
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Rose E O'Dea
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
| | - Daniel Hesselson
- Diabetes and Metabolism Division, Garvan Institute of Medical Research, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia.,St Vincent's Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2010, Australia
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, School of Biological and Environmental Sciences , University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia
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7
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Jablonszky M, Zsebők S, Laczi M, Nagy G, Vaskuti É, Garamszegi LZ. The effect of social environment on bird song: listener-specific expression of a sexual signal. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:395-406. [PMID: 34899049 PMCID: PMC8653761 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2020] [Revised: 09/28/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal signals should consistently differ among individuals to convey distinguishable information about the signalers. However, behavioral display signals, such as bird song are also loaded with considerable within-individual variance with mostly unknown function. We hypothesized that the immediate social environment may play a role in mediating such variance component, and investigated in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis) if the identity and quality of listeners could affect song production in signalers. After presenting territorial males with either a female or male social stimulus, we found in the subsequent song recordings that the among-stimulus effects corresponded to non-zero variance components in several acoustic traits indicating that singing males are able to plastically adjust their songs according to stimulus identity. Male and female stimuli elicited different responses as the identity of the female stimuli affected song complexity only, while the identity of male stimuli altered also song length, maximum frequency, and song rate. The stimulus-specific effect on song in some cases decreased with time, being particularly detectable right after the removal of the stimulus and ceasing later, but this pattern varied across the sex of the stimulus and the song traits. We were able to identify factors that can explain the among-stimulus effects (e.g., size and quality of the stimuli) with roles that also varied among song traits. Our results confirm that the variable social environment can raise considerable variation in song performance, highlighting that within-individual plasticity of bird song can play important roles in sexual signaling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónika Jablonszky
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sándor Zsebők
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- The Barn Owl Foundation, Temesvári út 8,
8744 Orosztony, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and
Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University,
Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany, Centre for Ecological
Research, Alkotmány u. 2–4, 2163
Vácrátót, Hungary
- MTA-ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group,
Institute of Physics, Eötvös Loránd
University, Pázmány Péter
sétány 1/A, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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8
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Zsebők S, Schmera D, Laczi M, Nagy G, Vaskuti É, Török J, Zsolt Garamszegi L. A practical approach to measuring the acoustic diversity by community ecology methods. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sándor Zsebők
- Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Dénes Schmera
- Balaton Limnological InstituteCentre for Ecological Research Tihany Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
- The Barn Owl Foundation Orosztony Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
- Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Budapest Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Institute of Ecology and Botany Centre for Ecological Research Vácrátót Hungary
- MTA‐ELTE Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology ELTEEötvös Loránd University Budapest Hungary
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9
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Paul N, Thompson MJ, Foote JR. Characterising the flight song: repeatable individual variation of Ovenbird song features. BIOACOUSTICS 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/09524622.2020.1718552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nadine Paul
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Megan J. Thompson
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer R. Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, Canada
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10
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Zsebők S, Herczeg G, Laczi M, Nagy G, Vaskuti É, Hargitai R, Hegyi G, Herényi M, Markó G, Rosivall B, Szász E, Szöllősi E, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. Sequential organization of birdsong: relationships with individual quality and fitness. Behav Ecol 2020; 32:82-93. [PMID: 33708006 PMCID: PMC7937035 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa104] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2020] [Revised: 09/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Many vocalizing animals produce the discrete elements of their acoustic signals in a specific sequential order, but we know little about the biological relevance of this ordering. For that, we must characterize the degree by which individuals differ in how they organize their signals sequentially and relate these differences to variation in quality and fitness. In this study, we fulfilled these tasks in male collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). We characterized the sequential order of syllables with a network analysis approach and studied the consistency of network variables on distinct time scales (within day, between days, and between years), and assessed their relationship with such quality indicators like age, body condition, arrival date, and fitness related proxies like survival to the next year and pairing success. We found that the syllables were associated nonrandomly with one another and both the frequency differences of consecutive syllables and the number of motif types were higher in the original than in randomized syllable sequences. Average degree and small-worldness showed considerable among-individual differences and decreasing repeatability with increasing time scale. Furthermore, we found relationships between male age and average degree among and within individuals. Accordingly, older males produce syllable sequences by using common syllables less often than younger individuals. However, the network variables showed no relationship with fitness-related variables. In conclusion, the sequential organization of birdsong has the potential to encode individual-specific characteristics, which thus could be used as signal in social interactions and thus potentially could be subject to sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sándor Zsebők
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,The Barn Owl Foundation, Temesvári út 8., Orosztony, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary
| | - Rita Hargitai
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Hegyi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Márton Herényi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Szent István University, Páter Károly u. 1.,Gödöllő, Hungary
| | - Gábor Markó
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Plant Pathology, Szent István University, Villányi út 29-43, HBudapest, Hungary
| | - Balázs Rosivall
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szász
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szöllősi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
| | - János Török
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary.,Ecology Research Group of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C,, Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, Vácrátót, Hungary.,Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, Budapest, Hungary
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11
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Kraus S, Krüger O, Guenther A. Zebra finches bi-directionally selected for personality differ in repeatability of corticosterone and testosterone. Horm Behav 2020; 122:104747. [PMID: 32217065 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2020.104747] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2019] [Revised: 03/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
Consistent between-individual differences in behaviour have been documented across the animal kingdom. Such variation between individuals has been shown to be the basis for selection and to act as a pacemaker for evolutionary change. Recently, equivocal evidence suggests that such consistent between-individual variation is also present in hormones. This observation has sparked interest in understanding the mechanisms shaping individual differences, temporal consistency and heritability of hormonal phenotypes and to understand, if and to what extent hormonal mechanisms are involved in mediating consistent variation in behaviour between individuals. Here, we used zebra finches of the fourth generation of bi-directionally selected lines for three independent behaviours: aggression, exploration and fearlessness. We investigated how these behaviours responded to artificial selection and tested their repeatability. We further tested for repeatability of corticosterone and testosterone across and within lines. Moreover, we are presenting the decomposed variance components for within-individual variance (i.e. flexibility) and between-individual variance (i.e. more or less pronounced differences between individuals) and investigate their contribution to repeatability estimates. Both hormones as well as the exploration and fearlessness but not aggressiveness, were repeatable. However, variance components and hence repeatability differed between lines and were often lower than in unselected control animals, mainly because of a reduction in between-individual variance. Our data show that artificial selection (including active selection and genetic drift) can affect the mean and variance of traits. We stress the importance for understanding how variable a trait is both between and within individuals to assess the selective value of a trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Kraus
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Germany.
| | - Oliver Krüger
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Germany.
| | - Anja Guenther
- Department of Animal Behaviour, Bielefeld University, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany.
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12
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Thompson MJ, Pearse KA, Foote JR. Seasonal and diel plasticity of song type use in individual ovenbirds (
Seiurus aurocapilla). Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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13
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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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14
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Mitchell DJ, Dujon AM, Beckmann C, Biro PA. Temporal autocorrelation: a neglected factor in the study of behavioral repeatability and plasticity. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Quantifying individual variation in labile physiological or behavioral traits often involves repeated measures through time, so as to test for consistency of individual differences (often using repeatability, “R”) and/or individual differences in trendlines over time. Another form of temporal change in behavior is temporal autocorrelation, which predicts observations taken closely together in time to be correlated, leading to nonrandom residuals about individual temporal trendlines. Temporal autocorrelation may result from slowly changing internal states (e.g., hormone or energy levels), leading to slowly changing behavior. Autocorrelation is a well-known phenomenon, but has been largely neglected by those studying individual variation in behavior. Here, we provide two worked examples which show substantial temporal autocorrelation (r > 0.4) is present in spontaneous activity rates of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) and house mice (Mus domesticus) in stable laboratory conditions, even after accounting for temporal plasticity of individuals. Second, we show that ignoring autocorrelation does bias estimates of R and temporal reaction norm variances upwards, both in our worked examples and in separate simulations. This bias occurs due to the misestimation of individual-specific means and slopes. Given the increasing use of technologies that generate behavioral and physiological data at high sampling rates, we can now study among- and within-individual changes in behavior in more detailed ways, including autocorrelation, which we discuss from biological and methodological perspectives and provide recommendations and annotated R code to help researchers implement these models on their data.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Mitchell
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Geelong VIC 3216, Australia
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B. SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Antoine M Dujon
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Geelong VIC 3216, Australia
| | - Christa Beckmann
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Geelong VIC 3216, Australia
- School of Science, Western Sydney University, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, NSW, 2751, Australia
| | - Peter A Biro
- Centre for Integrative Ecology, School of Life & Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Geelong VIC 3216, Australia
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Naguib M, Diehl J, van Oers K, Snijders L. Repeatability of signalling traits in the avian dawn chorus. Front Zool 2019; 16:27. [PMID: 31333753 PMCID: PMC6617708 DOI: 10.1186/s12983-019-0328-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2019] [Accepted: 06/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Birdsong, a key model in animal communication studies, has been the focus of intensive research. Song traits are commonly considered to reflect differences in individual or territory quality. Yet, few studies have quantified the variability of song traits between versus within individuals (i.e. repeatability), and thus whether certain song traits indeed provide reliable individual-specific information. Here, we studied the dawn chorus of male great tits (Parus major) to determine if key song traits are repeatable over multiple days and during different breeding stages. Additionally, we examined whether repeatability was associated with exploration behaviour, a relevant personality trait. Finally, we tested if variation in song traits could be explained by breeding stage, lowest night temperature, and exploration behaviour. Results We show that the start time of an individual’s dawn song was indeed repeatable within and across breeding stages, and was more repeatable before, than during, their mate’s egg laying stage. Males started singing later when the preceding night was colder. Daily repertoire size was repeatable, though to a lesser extent than song start time, and no differences were observed between breeding stages. We did not find evidence for an association between exploration behaviour and variation in dawn song traits. Repertoire composition, and specifically the start song type, varied across days, but tended to differ less than expected by chance. Conclusions Our findings that individuals consistently differ in key song traits provides a better understanding of the information receivers can obtain when sampling songs of different males. Surprisingly, start time, despite being influenced by a highly variable environmental factor, appeared to be a more reliable signal of individual differences than repertoire size. Against expectation, singers were more repeatable before than during their mate’s egg laying stage, possibly because before egg laying, females are less constrained to move around unguarded and thus may then already sample (and compare) different singers. Combining repeated dawn song recordings with spatial tracking could reveal if the sampling strategies of receivers are indeed important drivers of repeatability of song traits. Such a complementary approach will further advance our insights into the dynamics and evolution of animal signalling systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marc Naguib
- 1Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, De Elst 1, 6708WD, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Joris Diehl
- 1Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, De Elst 1, 6708WD, Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Kees van Oers
- 1Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, De Elst 1, 6708WD, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,2Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO-KNAW), Wageningen, The Netherlands
| | - Lysanne Snijders
- 1Behavioural Ecology Group, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, De Elst 1, 6708WD, Wageningen, The Netherlands.,3Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, Berlin, Germany
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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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Garamszegi LZ, Zagalska-Neubauer M, Canal D, Blázi G, Laczi M, Nagy G, Szöllősi E, Vaskuti É, Török J, Zsebők S. MHC-mediated sexual selection on birdsong: Generic polymorphism, particular alleles and acoustic signals. Mol Ecol 2018; 27:2620-2633. [PMID: 29693314 DOI: 10.1111/mec.14703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 04/03/2018] [Accepted: 04/11/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Several hypotheses predict that the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) drives mating preference in females. Olfactory, colour or morphological traits are often found as reliable signals of the MHC profile, but the role of avian song mediating MHC-based female choice remains largely unexplored. We investigated the relationship between several MHC and acoustic features in the collared flycatcher (Ficedula albicollis), a European passerine with complex songs. We screened a fragment of the class IIB second exon of the MHC molecule, of which individuals harbour 4-15 alleles, while considerable sequence diversity is maintained at the population level. To make statistical inferences from a large number of comparisons, we adopted both null-hypothesis testing and effect size framework in combination with randomization procedures. After controlling for potential confounding factors, neither MHC allelic diversity nor the presence of particular alleles was associated remarkably with the investigated qualitative and quantitative song traits. Furthermore, genetic similarity among males based on MHC sequences was not reflected by the similarity in their song based on syllable content. Overall, these results suggest that the relationship between features of song and the allelic composition and diversity of MHC is not strong in the studied species. However, a biologically motivated analysis revealed that individuals that harbour an MHC allele that impairs survival perform songs with broader frequency range. This finding suggests that certain aspects of the song may bear reliable information concerning the MHC profile of the individuals, which can be used by females to optimize mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, Spain.,Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | | | - David Canal
- Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, Spain.,Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA-UNLPam) & Instituto de las Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa (INCITAP), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Santa Rosa, Argentina
| | - György Blázi
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Miklós Laczi
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gergely Nagy
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Eszter Szöllősi
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Éva Vaskuti
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - János Török
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary.,Ecology Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Sándor Zsebők
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Behavioural Ecology Group, Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
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Zsebők S, Herczeg G, Blázi G, Laczi M, Nagy G, Török J, Garamszegi LZ. Minimum spanning tree as a new, robust repertoire size comparison method: simulation and test on birdsong. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2467-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
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Wilson AJ. How should we interpret estimates of individual repeatability? Evol Lett 2018; 2:4-8. [PMID: 30283660 PMCID: PMC6121803 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.40] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 01/03/2018] [Accepted: 01/04/2018] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual repeatability (R), defined as the proportion of observed variance attributable to among-individual differences, is a widely used summary statistic in evolutionarily motivated studies of morphology, life history, physiology and, especially, behaviour. Although statistical methods to estimate R are well known and widely available, there is a growing tendency for researchers to interpret R in ways that are subtly, but importantly, different. Some view R as a property of a dataset and a statistic to be interpreted agnostically with respect to mechanism. Others wish to isolate the contributions of 'intrinsic' and/or 'permanent' individual differences, and draw a distinction between true (intrinsic) and pseudo-repeatability arising from uncontrolled extrinsic effects. This latter view proposes a narrower, more mechanistic interpretation, than the traditional concept of repeatability, but perhaps one that allows stronger evolutionary inference as a consequence (provided analytical pitfalls are successfully avoided). Neither perspective is incorrect, but if we are to avoid confusion and fruitless debate, there is a need for researchers to recognise this dichotomy, and to ensure clarity in relation to how, and why, a particular estimate of R is appropriate in any case.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alastair J Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter (Penryn Campus) Cornwall TR10 9FE United Kingdom
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