1
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Dongre P, Lanté G, Cantat M, Canteloup C, van de Waal E. Role of immigrant males and muzzle contacts in the uptake of a novel food by wild vervet monkeys. eLife 2024; 13:e76486. [PMID: 38192204 PMCID: PMC10776085 DOI: 10.7554/elife.76486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
The entry into and uptake of information in social groups is critical for behavioral adaptation by long-lived species in rapidly changing environments. We exposed five groups of wild vervet monkeys to a novel food to investigate the innovation of processing and consuming it. We report that immigrant males innovated in two groups, and an infant innovated in one group. In two other groups, immigrant males imported the innovation from their previous groups. We compared uptake between groups with respect to the initial innovator to examine the extent to which dispersing males could introduce an innovation into groups. Uptake of the novel food was faster in groups where immigrant males ate first rather than the infants. Younger individuals were more likely overall, and faster, to subsequently acquire the novel food. We also investigated the role of muzzle contact behavior in information seeking around the novel food. Muzzle contacts decreased in frequency over repeated exposures to the novel food. Muzzle contacts were initiated the most by naïve individuals, high rankers, and juveniles; and were targeted most towards knowledgeable individuals and high rankers, and the least towards infants. We highlight the potential importance of dispersers in rapidly exploiting novel resources among populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pooja Dongre
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game ReserveKwaZulu NatalSouth Africa
| | - Gaëlle Lanté
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
- University of PoitiersPoitiersFrance
| | - Mathieu Cantat
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game ReserveKwaZulu NatalSouth Africa
| | - Charlotte Canteloup
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game ReserveKwaZulu NatalSouth Africa
- Laboratory of Cognitive & Adaptive Neurosciences, CNRS - UMR 7364, University of StrasbourgStrasbourgFrance
| | - Erica van de Waal
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of LausanneLausanneSwitzerland
- Inkawu Vervet Project, Mawana Game ReserveKwaZulu NatalSouth Africa
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2
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Caicoya AL, Schaffer A, Holland R, von Fersen L, Colell M, Amici F. Innovation across 13 ungulate species: problem solvers are less integrated in the social group and less neophobic. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222384. [PMID: 37015274 PMCID: PMC10072937 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/13/2023] [Indexed: 04/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Innovation is the ability to solve new problems or find novel solutions to familiar problems, and it is known to provide animals with crucial fitness benefits. Although this ability has been extensively studied in some taxa, the factors that predict innovation within and across species are still largely unclear. In this study, we used a novel foraging task to test 111 individuals belonging to 13 ungulate species-a still understudied taxon. To solve the task, individuals had to open transparent and opaque cups with food rewards, by removing their cover. We assessed whether individual factors (neophobia, social integration, sex, age, rank) and socio-ecological factors (dietary breadth, fission-fusion dynamics, domestication, group size) predicted participation and performance in the task. Using a phylogenetic approach, we showed that success was higher for less neophobic and socially less integrated individuals. Moreover, less neophobic individuals, individuals of domesticated species and having higher fission-fusion dynamics were more likely to participate in the task. These results are in line with recent literature suggesting a central role of sociality and personality traits to successfully deal with novel challenges, and confirm ungulates as a promising taxon to test evolutionary theories with a comparative approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro L. Caicoya
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, 08007 Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, 08021 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Alina Schaffer
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Zoo Leipzig, 04015 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ruben Holland
- Research Group Human Biology and Primate Cognition, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Lorenzo von Fersen
- Department of Comparative Cultural Psychology, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Montserrat Colell
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, 08021 Barcelona, Spain
- Behavioral Ecology Research Group, Institute of Biology, University of Leipzig, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Federica Amici
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
- Nuremberg Zoo, 90480 Nuremberg, Germany
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3
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Pritchard AJ, Carter AJ, Palombit RA. Individual differences in coping styles and associations with social structure in wild baboons (Papio anubis). Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2023]
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4
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No Evidence Against the Greater Male Variability Hypothesis: A Commentary on Harrison et al.’s (2022) Meta-Analysis of Animal Personality. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-023-00358-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
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5
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Haux LM, Engelmann JM, Arslan RC, Hertwig R, Herrmann E. Chimpanzee and Human Risk Preferences Show Key Similarities. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:358-369. [PMID: 36595467 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221140326] [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
Risk preference impacts how people make key life decisions related to health, wealth, and well-being. Systematic variations in risk-taking behavior can be the result of differences in fitness expectations, as predicted by life-history theory. Yet the evolutionary roots of human risk-taking behavior remain poorly understood. Here, we studied risk preferences of chimpanzees (86 Pan troglodytes; 47 females; age = 2-40 years) using a multimethod approach that combined observer ratings with behavioral choice experiments. We found that chimpanzees' willingness to take risks shared structural similarities with that of humans. First, chimpanzees' risk preference manifested as a traitlike preference that was consistent across domains and measurements. Second, chimpanzees were ambiguity averse. Third, males were more risk prone than females. Fourth, the appetite for risk showed an inverted-U-shaped relation to age and peaked in young adulthood. Our findings suggest that key dimensions of risk preference appear to emerge independently of the influence of human cultural evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lou M Haux
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Jan M Engelmann
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
| | - Ruben C Arslan
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development
| | - Esther Herrmann
- Centre for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Portsmouth
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6
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Morrow CR, Downey BC, Tucker CB. Response to novel feed in dairy calves is affected by prior hay provision and presentation method. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0284889. [PMID: 37134106 PMCID: PMC10155978 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Animals raised in environments that prevent natural foraging opportunities may have difficulty adapting to novelty, such as feeding and management changes. Our objective was to evaluate how early provision and presentation of forage in dairy calves affected response to novel TMR (total mixed ration; grain and alfalfa) at weaning. Holstein heifer calves were housed individually in a covered outdoor hutch with an attached uncovered wire-fenced pen on sand bedding. Calves were fed a diet of starter grain and milk replacer (5.7-8.4L/d step-up) via a bottle (Control, n = 9) or given additional access to mountaingrass hay presented either in a bucket (Bucket, n = 9), or PVC pipe feeder (Pipe, n = 9). Treatments were applied from birth through 50 d of age, when step-down weaning began. All calves had 3 buckets and a pipe feeder provided in their uncovered pen area. On d 50, each calf was briefly blocked inside their hutch. TMR was put in the 3rd bucket that previously contained hay (Bucket) or was empty (Control, Pipe). The calf was released from the hutch and video-recorded for 30 min. Neophobia towards TMR was affected by prior experience with presentation: Bucket calves began eating TMR faster than Pipe and Control (P≤0.012) and showed the fewest number of startle responses (P = 0.004). Intake was similar across groups (P = 0.978), suggesting this apparent neophobia was transient, but Control calves took longer to eat than Bucket (P<0.001) and Pipe (P = 0.070) calves and were less likely to give up on eating to lie down instead. These results suggest that previous experience with hay improves processing ability when presented with novel TMR. Overall, response to a novel feed is affected by both early life experience, such as opportunities to process forage, and the presentation of the feed itself. Calves also appear motivated to access forage, evidenced by transient neophobia, high intake, and persistence in feeding by naïve calves.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsea R Morrow
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Blair C Downey
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
- Animal Behavior Graduate Group, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
| | - Cassandra B Tucker
- Center for Animal Welfare, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States of America
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7
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Weiss A, Feldblum JT, Altschul DM, Collins DA, Kamenya S, Mjungu D, Foerster S, Gilby IC, Wilson ML, Pusey AE. Personality traits, rank attainment, and siring success throughout the lives of male chimpanzees of Gombe National Park. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15083. [PMID: 37123001 PMCID: PMC10135409 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality traits in many taxa correlate with fitness. Several models have been developed to try to explain how variation in these traits is maintained. One model proposes that variation persists because it is linked to trade-offs between current and future adaptive benefits. Tests of this model's predictions, however, are scant in long-lived species. To test this model, we studied male chimpanzees living in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. We operationalized six personality traits using ratings on 19 items. We used 37 years of behavioral and genetic data to assemble (1) daily rank scores generated from submissive vocalizations and (2) records of male siring success. We tested whether the association between two personality traits, Dominance and Conscientiousness, and either rank or reproductive success, varied over the life course. Higher Dominance and lower Conscientiousness were associated with higher rank, but the size and direction of these relationships did not vary over the life course. In addition, independent of rank at the time of siring, higher Dominance and lower Conscientiousness were related to higher siring success. Again, the size and direction of these relationships did not vary over the life course. The trade-off model, therefore, may not hold in long-lived and/or slowly reproducing species. These findings also demonstrate that ratings are a valid way to measure animal personality; they are related to rank and reproductive success. These traits could therefore be used to test alternative models, including one that posits that personality variation is maintained by environmental heterogeneity, in studies of multiple chimpanzee communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Weiss
- National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC, United States of America
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Scottish Primate Research Group, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph T. Feldblum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Society of Fellows, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Drew M. Altschul
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Scottish Primate Research Group, United Kingdom
- Mental Health Data Science, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Shadrack Kamenya
- Gombe Stream Research Centre, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Deus Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Centre, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Steffen Foerster
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Ian C. Gilby
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
| | - Michael L. Wilson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Anne E. Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
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8
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Aikawa E, Saito MU. Effects of intensive agricultural landscapes on farmland use by medium and large mammals in Japan. ECOSCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/11956860.2022.2151554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Eiki Aikawa
- Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, 1-23 Wakaba-machi, 9978555 Tsuruoka Japan
| | - Masayuki U. Saito
- Faculty of Agriculture, Yamagata University, 1-23 Wakaba-machi, 9978555 Tsuruoka Japan
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9
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Kluen E, Rönkä K, Thorogood R. Prior experience of captivity affects behavioural responses to 'novel' environments. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13905. [PMID: 36061744 PMCID: PMC9438767 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13905] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Information ecology theory predicts that prior experience influences current behaviour, even if the information is acquired under a different context. However, when individuals are tested to quantify personality, cognition, or stress, we usually assume that the novelty of the test is consistent among individuals. Surprisingly, this 'gambit of prior experience' has rarely been explored. Therefore, here we make use of a wild population of great tits (Parus major) to test if prior experience of handling and captivity influences common measures of exploration (open field tests in two novel contexts: room and cage arenas), social response (simulated using a mirror), and behavioural stress (breathing rate). We found that birds with prior experience of captivity (caught previously for unrelated learning and foraging experiments) were more exploratory, but this depended on age: exploration and captivity experience (in terms of both absolute binary experience and the length of time spent in captivity) were associated more strongly in young (first-winter) birds than in adults. However, there was no association of prior experience of captivity with social response and breathing rate, and nor did the measures of exploration correlate. Together our results suggest that re-testing of individuals requires careful consideration, particularly for younger birds, and previous experiences can carry over and affect behaviours differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Kluen
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Katja Rönkä
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Rose Thorogood
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Science, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland,Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
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10
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Beukeboom R, Morel A, Phillips JS, Ólafsdóttir GÁ, Benhaïm D. Activity vs exploration: Locomotion in a known and unknown environment differs in Atlantic cod juveniles (Gadus morhua). Behav Processes 2022; 202:104736. [PMID: 36028060 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2022.104736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2022] [Revised: 07/19/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Individuals within a population often behave differently and these differences can be consistent over time and/or context, also termed "animal personality". Animal personality has been commonly classified into five axes with studies aiming to validate these axes. One subject that has surprisingly not received full attention yet is the difference between the two personality axes "activity" and "exploration-avoidance", i.e. behaviour in a known vs an unknown environment. Despite this clear difference in definition, many studies measure activity in an unknown environment and term it activity, while underlying motivations between the two environments are different. This study aimed to detect the two personality traits "activity" and "exploration" in Atlantic cod juveniles, and to investigate whether they support the distinctive definitions proposed by previous authors. This study showed significant consistency in locomotion variation in both environments, i.e. personality. In addition, the two environments clearly elicited different behaviours; Atlantic cod juvenile behaviour was more repeatable and they moved more in the known vs the unknown environment, and no correlation of the proportional locomotion between the two was found. This demonstrates that locomotion in both environments, i.e. the personality axes "activity" and "exploration", should not be confused nor treated as if they reflect the same personality trait.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rosanne Beukeboom
- University of Iceland, Research Centre of the Westfjords, Bolungarvik, Iceland; Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Saudárkrókur, Iceland.
| | - Antoine Morel
- University of Iceland, Research Centre of the Westfjords, Bolungarvik, Iceland
| | - Joseph S Phillips
- Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Saudárkrókur, Iceland
| | | | - David Benhaïm
- Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Saudárkrókur, Iceland
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11
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Pritchard AJ, Palombit RA. Survey-rated personality traits and experimentally measured coping style and stress reactivity, in wild baboons. Am J Primatol 2022; 84:e23429. [PMID: 35996313 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2022] [Revised: 06/26/2022] [Accepted: 07/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The coping style and stress reactivity framework for individual differences in the stress response has been of increasing utility within primatological research. Such differences are often quantified using an experimental approach, but many primatological studies have historically been reliant on a personality-like framework. The personality-like research is derived from human personality literature using survey ratings, while approaches focused on coping styles are often used to interpret differences in small rodents and birds. Experimental approaches benefit from a constrained situation that facilitates control, but sacrifice utility via the generalizability afforded via ratings. Resolving how these two theoretical and methodological approaches intersect is paramount to establishing a biological synthesis between two robust fields of research on individual differences. We applied these frameworks to adult wild olive baboons (Papio anubis) at a field site in Laikipia, Kenya. We quantified coping style and stress reactivity using individually targeted field experiments. We quantified personality trait differences using observer ratings of the monkeys. We isolated three personality trait factors: Neuroticism, Assertiveness, and Friendliness. Personality trait differences showed little association with coping style, but Neuroticism was predicted by stress reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander J Pritchard
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Human Evolutionary Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.,Center for Human Evolutionary Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.,National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Ryne A Palombit
- Department of Anthropology, Program in Human Evolutionary Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.,Center for Human Evolutionary Sciences, Rutgers-The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA
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12
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Kluiver CE, de Jong JA, Massen JJM, Bhattacharjee D. Personality as a Predictor of Time-Activity Budget in Lion-Tailed Macaques (Macaca silenus). Animals (Basel) 2022; 12:ani12121495. [PMID: 35739832 PMCID: PMC9219468 DOI: 10.3390/ani12121495] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2022] [Revised: 05/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary Time-activity budgets describe how animals divide their day into various behaviours and activities, e.g., time spent foraging or resting. Activity budgets can serve as crucial indicators of energy intake and expenditure, providing better knowledge of a species’ lifestyle. The conventional trend has been to explore group-level time-activity budgets; however, individuals may also vary in their time-activity budgets (e.g., one individual foraging more than another), with the influencing mechanisms still poorly understood. We propose that animal personality, a behavioural and cognitive profile that makes one individual different from another, may explain why individuals vary in their time-activity budgets. We used a multi-method approach comprised of behavioural observations and experiments to assess the personality traits of lion-tailed macaques. The observed traits were used to predict individual time-activity budgets, broadly categorised into food-related, active, and resting behaviours. We then discuss the significance of this novel approach in light of lion-tailed macaque ecology, conservation, and welfare. Abstract Time-activity budget, i.e., how a population or an individual divides their day into various behaviours and activities, is an important ecological aspect. Existing research primarily focused on group-level time-activity budgets, while individual variations have only been reported recently. However, little is known about how consistent inter-individual differences or personalities influence time-activity budgets. We examined the personalities of lion-tailed macaques (Macaca silenus) and investigated their influence on individual time-activity budgets. The resulting personality traits, namely persistence, sociability, affiliation, and anxiety, were used to predict the three broad categories of the time-activity budget—food-related, active, and resting behaviours. We found that persistence and sociability positively predicted the time spent being active. Food-related behaviours were positively predicted by persistence, while anxiety was found to influence them negatively. The time spent resting was negatively predicted by persistence. We did not find an effect of affiliation on the time-activity budgets. We discuss these findings in light of the ecology of lion-tailed macaques. Our study highlights the importance of a novel approach that uses animal personality traits as predictors of individual time-activity budgets and offers insights regarding the use of personality assessments in conservation and welfare activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte E. Kluiver
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands; (C.E.K.); (J.J.M.M.)
| | - Jolanda A. de Jong
- Department of Applied Biology, Aeres University of Applied Sciences, Arboretum West 98, 1325 WB Almere, The Netherlands;
| | - Jorg J. M. Massen
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands; (C.E.K.); (J.J.M.M.)
| | - Debottam Bhattacharjee
- Animal Behaviour and Cognition, Department of Biology, Utrecht University, Padualaan 8, 3584 CH Utrecht, The Netherlands; (C.E.K.); (J.J.M.M.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +31-30-253-2550
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13
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Forss S, Willems E. The curious case of great ape curiosity and how it is shaped by sociality. Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Forss
- Collegium Helveticum, The joint Institute for Advanced Studies (IAS) of the ETH Zurich The University of Zurich, and The Zurich University of the Arts Zurich Switzerland
| | - Erik Willems
- Department of Anthropology University of Zurich Zurich Switzerland
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14
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Allan ATL, White AF, Hill RA. Intolerant baboons avoid observer proximity, creating biased inter-individual association patterns. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8077. [PMID: 35577907 PMCID: PMC9110335 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12312-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2022] [Accepted: 05/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Social network analysis is an increasingly popular tool for behavioural ecologists exploring the social organisation of animal populations. Such analyses require data on inter-individual association patterns, which in wild populations are often collected using direct observations of habituated animals. This assumes observers have no influence on animal behaviour; however, our previous work showed that individuals in a habituated group of chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) displayed consistent and individually distinct responses to observer approaches. We explored the implications of our previous findings by measuring the inter-individual association patterns of the same group of chacma baboons at different observer distances. We found a strong positive association between individual tolerance levels (towards observers) and how often an animal appeared as a neighbour to focal animals when observers were nearer, and a neutral relationship between the same variables when the observer was further away. Additionally, association matrices constructed from different observation distances were not comparable within any proximity buffer, and neither were the individual network metrics generated from these matrices. This appears to be the first empirical evidence that observer presence and behaviour can influence the association patterns of habituated animals and thus have potentially significant impacts on measured social networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T L Allan
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa.
| | - Amy F White
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa
| | - Russell A Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt, 0920, South Africa
- Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou, 0950, South Africa
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15
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Parsons MA, Garcia A, Young JK. Scavenging vs hunting affects behavioral traits of an opportunistic carnivore. PeerJ 2022; 10:e13366. [PMID: 35529483 PMCID: PMC9070321 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.13366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Human-induced changes to ecosystems transform the availability of resources to predators, including altering prey populations and increasing access to anthropogenic foods. Opportunistic predators are likely to respond to altered food resources by changing the proportion of food they hunt versus scavenge. These shifts in foraging behavior will affect species interactions through multiple pathways, including by changing other aspects of predator behavior such as boldness, innovation, and social structure. Methods To understand how foraging behavior impacts predator behavior, we conducted a controlled experiment to simulate hunting by introducing a prey model to captive coyotes (Canis latrans) and compared their behavior to coyotes that continued to scavenge over one year. We used focal observations to construct behavioral budgets, and conducted novel object, puzzle box, and conspecific tests to evaluate boldness, innovation, and response to conspecifics. Results We documented increased time spent resting by hunting coyotes paired with decreased time spent active. Hunting coyotes increased boldness and persistence but there were no changes in innovation. Our results illustrate how foraging behavior can impact other aspects of behavior, with potential ecological consequences to predator ecology, predator-prey dynamics, and human-wildlife conflict; however, the captive nature of our study limits specific conclusions related to wild predators. We conclude that human-induced behavioral changes could have cascading ecological implications that are not fully understood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mitchell A. Parsons
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States of America,National Wildlife Research Center - Predator Research Facility, USDA, Millville, UT, USA
| | - Andrew Garcia
- National Wildlife Research Center - Predator Research Facility, USDA, Millville, UT, USA
| | - Julie K. Young
- Department of Wildland Resources, Utah State University, Logan, UT, United States of America,National Wildlife Research Center - Predator Research Facility, USDA, Millville, UT, USA
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Measuring behavioral coping style and stress reactivity experimentally in wild olive baboons. Behav Processes 2021; 195:104564. [PMID: 34915059 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
Many nonhuman animals have been used as subjects to elucidate intra-individual variation in the stress response - understood via coping styles and stress reactivity. Given the evidence and theory supporting evolutionary trade-offs associated with such differences, it is surprising, then, how few studies have used wild nonhuman primates to develop this theoretical framework. In the current study, we evaluated this framework using a combination of behaviours from focal follows and an experimental method, novel to the field - collected during a 17 month project on olive baboons (Papio anubis) in Laikipia, Kenya. Our experimental design simultaneously introduces a risk with an incentive: a model snake with a real chicken egg, respectively. Such an approach facilitates multiple solutions to a stressor, a key element of coping style theory. General behavioral tendencies did not associate with the experimental measures of coping style and stress reactivity. These results, however, demonstrated the utility and validity of this experimental approach for measuring coping style and stress reactivity in wild nonhumans. Fear grimaces represented stress reactivity. A factor solution represented coping style - summarizing decision making under stress. The treatment experiment, with a snake and egg, elicited a behavioral stress response, relative to control trials with just an egg.
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17
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Captivity and habituation to humans raise curiosity in vervet monkeys. Anim Cogn 2021; 25:671-682. [PMID: 34855018 PMCID: PMC9107434 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-021-01589-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 09/29/2021] [Accepted: 11/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
The cognitive mechanisms causing intraspecific behavioural differences between wild and captive animals remain poorly understood. Although diminished neophobia, resulting from a safer environment and more “free” time, has been proposed to underlie these differences among settings, less is known about how captivity influences exploration tendency. Here, we refer to the combination of reduced neophobia and increased interest in exploring novelty as “curiosity”, which we systematically compared across seven groups of captive and wild vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) by exposing them to a test battery of eight novel stimuli. In the wild sample, we included both monkeys habituated to human presence and unhabituated individuals filmed using motion-triggered cameras. Results revealed clear differences in number of approaches to novel stimuli among captive, wild-habituated and wild-unhabituated monkeys. As foraging pressure and predation risks are assumed to be equal for all wild monkeys, our results do not support a relationship between curiosity and safety or free time. Instead, we propose “the habituation hypothesis” as an explanation of why well-habituated and captive monkeys both approached and explored novelty more than unhabituated individuals. We conclude that varying levels of human and/or human artefact habituation, rather than the risks present in natural environments, better explain variation in curiosity in our sample of vervet monkeys.
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Norman M, Rowden LJ, Cowlishaw G. Potential applications of personality assessments to the management of non-human primates: a review of 10 years of study. PeerJ 2021; 9:e12044. [PMID: 34589296 PMCID: PMC8432321 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.12044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Studies of primate personality have become increasingly common over the past three decades. Recently, studies have begun to focus on the health, welfare and conservation implications of personality, and the potential applications of incorporating quantitative personality assessments into animal management programmes. However, this literature is dispersed across a multitude of settings and scientific disciplines. We conducted a review of nonhuman primate personality studies relevant to these issues published since 2010, following on from an earlier review. The databases ScienceDirect, PubMed and Web of Science were used to identify relevant articles. After eliminating irrelevant or duplicate papers, 69 studies were selected. Our review reveals that, while primate personality research is carried out on a range of species, there is strong taxonomic bias. While 28 species appeared within the reviewed literature, 52% of studies were carried out on just five species. Further, the most common research focus (43%) was validating new assessment methods or describing personality in different species, rather than exploring the links between personality and animal welfare using existing validated methods. However, among the remaining studies that did explore the role of animal personality in husbandry, health, and welfare, we identified progression towards integrating personality data into various aspects of animal management. Evidence suggests the assessment of personality may benefit social group management, enrichment practices, training protocols, health and welfare monitoring, and conservation planning for endangered species. We argue that further research which develops our understanding of primate personality and its influence in these areas will provide a valuable tool to inform animal management practices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Max Norman
- Royal Veterinary College, London, United Kingdom.,Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Guy Cowlishaw
- Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom
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Birnie‐Gauvin K, Koed A, Aarestrup K. Repeatability of migratory behaviour suggests trade‐off between size and survival in a wild iteroparous salmonid. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13917] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kim Birnie‐Gauvin
- Section for Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology National Institute of Aquatic ResourcesTechnical University of Denmark Silkeborg Denmark
| | - Anders Koed
- Section for Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology National Institute of Aquatic ResourcesTechnical University of Denmark Silkeborg Denmark
| | - Kim Aarestrup
- Section for Freshwater Fisheries and Ecology National Institute of Aquatic ResourcesTechnical University of Denmark Silkeborg Denmark
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20
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Caicoya AL, Colell M, Ensenyat C, Amici F. Problem solving in European bison ( Bison bonasus): two experimental approaches. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201901. [PMID: 34007461 PMCID: PMC8080012 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201901] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability to solve novel problems is crucial for individual fitness. However, studies on problem solving are usually done on few taxa, with species with low encephalization quotient being rarely tested. Here, we aimed to study problem solving in a non-domesticated ungulate species, European bison, with two experimental tasks. In the first task, five individuals were presented with a hanging barrel filled with food, which could either be directly accessed (control condition) or which could only be reached by pushing a tree stump in the enclosure below it and stepping on it (experimental condition). In the second task, five individuals were repeatedly fed by an experimenter using a novel bucket to retrieve food from a bag. Then, three identical buckets were placed in the enclosure, while the experimenter waited outside with the bag without feeding the bison, either with a bucket (control condition) or without it (experimental condition). In the first task, no bison moved the stump behind the barrel and/or stepped on it to reach the food. In the second task, two individuals solved the task by pushing the bucket within the experimenter's reach, twice in the experimental and twice in the control condition. We suggest that bison showed a limited ability to solve novel problems, and discuss the implications for their understanding of the functional aspects of the tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alvaro L. Caicoya
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Montserrat Colell
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Federica Amici
- Junior Research Group 'Primate Kin Selection', Institute of Biology, Faculty of Bioscience, Pharmacy and Psychology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Human Behavior, Ecology and Culture, Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig, Germany
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21
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Martina C, Cowlishaw G, Carter AJ. Individual differences in task participation in wild chacma baboons. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.11.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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22
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Šlipogor V, Massen JJM, Schiel N, Souto A, Bugnyar T. Temporal consistency and ecological validity of personality structure in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): A unifying field and laboratory approach. Am J Primatol 2021; 83:e23229. [PMID: 33464603 PMCID: PMC7900989 DOI: 10.1002/ajp.23229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Personality in animals has been extensively researched in recent decades. Temporal consistency of behaviors is almost always part of the personality definition and is usually explored in several different testing sessions or observation periods. However, it is still unclear whether the obtained personality constructs are stable across several years, which might be especially important for long-living animals, such as primates. Further, little is known on whether the personality structures obtained in the laboratory reflect the structures obtained under ecologically relevant conditions in the wild. Therefore, we conducted a battery of personality tests on common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) (N = 27), compared it with a test battery conducted 4 years beforehand on a subset of animals in captivity (N = 13) and ran an adapted version under field conditions at Baracuhy Biological Field Station, Brazil (N = 18). Under captive conditions, we found a remarkably similar personality structure across 4 testing years. Further, we found high long-term temporal consistency in the first two personality components, Boldness and Exploration; however, monkeys that changed their social (i.e., breeding) status between the two testing periods showed a significant increase in Boldness scores. Under field conditions, we found a somewhat similar personality structure as compared to the laboratory, which to some extent corroborates ecological validity of our personality test design. Nevertheless, whether the structure in the wild is suppressed or expanded in comparison to captivity, and in which way the social setting influences personality structure, should be further explored. Taken together, our results contribute to the discussion about the reliability and ecological validity of personality structures in nonhuman primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vedrana Šlipogor
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
- Department of BiologyFederal Rural University of PernambucoRecifeBrazil
- Department of ZoologyFederal University of PernambucoRecifeBrazil
| | - Jorg J. M. Massen
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
- Animal Ecology Group, Institute of Environmental Biology, Department of BiologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Nicola Schiel
- Department of BiologyFederal Rural University of PernambucoRecifeBrazil
| | - Antonio Souto
- Department of ZoologyFederal University of PernambucoRecifeBrazil
| | - Thomas Bugnyar
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive BiologyUniversity of ViennaViennaAustria
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23
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Yang S, Zhang T, Li Y, Xu S, Zhang M, Hu X, Liu S, Hu D, Wronski T. Identifying personality traits and their potential application to the management of captive forest musk deer (Moschus berezovskii). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105168] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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24
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25
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Moran NP, Sánchez‐Tójar A, Schielzeth H, Reinhold K. Poor nutritional condition promotes high‐risk behaviours: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2020; 96:269-288. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12655] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2020] [Revised: 09/09/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas P. Moran
- Evolutionary Biology Bielefeld University Morgenbreede 45 Bielefeld 33615 Germany
- Centre for Ocean Life DTU‐Aqua Technical University of Denmark Building 201, Kemitorvet Kgs. Lyngby 2800 Denmark
| | | | - Holger Schielzeth
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Friedrich Schiller University Jena Dornburger Straße 159 Jena 07743 Germany
| | - Klaus Reinhold
- Evolutionary Biology Bielefeld University Morgenbreede 45 Bielefeld 33615 Germany
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26
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Jensen AJ, Finstad B, Fiske P, Diserud OH, Thorstad EB. Repeatable individual variation in migration timing in two anadromous salmonids and ecological consequences. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:11727-11738. [PMID: 33144996 PMCID: PMC7593174 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2019] [Revised: 08/19/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Consistent individual differences in behavior have been demonstrated for many animals, but there are few studies of consequences of such repeated behavior in the wild. We tested consistency in migration timing to and from the sea among anadromous Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) and brown trout (Salmo trutta), using data from a study period of about 25 years, including more than 27,000 uniquely Carlin-tagged individuals that migrated to sea for feeding in the spring and returned to the river in late summer for up to 13 successive years. Consistency was found between individuals across time in timing of the seaward migration. Individuals migrating early during their first migration tended to migrate early the following years, and late migrants tended to migrate late. The same pattern was found also at ascent to freshwater. Hence, this study demonstrated that individual fish in nature can differ in behavior related to migration timing and that these differences can be consistent during their lifetime. Early migrants increased their mass more than late migrants and had a higher specific growth rate. Early migrating Arctic char, but not brown trout, experienced a longer life after the first migration to sea than late migrants. In both species, maturity occurred earlier in individuals that migrated early. For brown trout, but not for Arctic char, fecundity was significantly correlated to the timing of smolt migration. Hence, the repeatable individual variation in migration timing seemed to have ecological and fitness consequences in terms of growth, longevity, timing of maturity, and lifetime fecundity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bengt Finstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
- Department of BiologyNorwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)TrondheimNorway
| | - Peder Fiske
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
| | - Ola H. Diserud
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
| | - Eva B. Thorstad
- Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA)TrondheimNorway
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Allan ATL, Bailey AL, Hill RA. Habituation is not neutral or equal: Individual differences in tolerance suggest an overlooked personality trait. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2020; 6:eaaz0870. [PMID: 32685676 PMCID: PMC7343399 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aaz0870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2019] [Accepted: 05/14/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
In behavioral studies, observer effects can be substantial, even for habituated animals, but few studies account for potential observer-related phenomenon empirically. We used wild, habituated chacma baboons to explore two key assumptions of behavioral ecology (i) that observers become a "neutral" stimulus and (ii) that habituation is "equal" across group members. Using flight initiation distance (FID) methods within a personality paradigm, the behavioral responses of baboons suggested that observers were not perceived as neutral but instead viewed as a high-ranking social threat. Habituation was also not equal across group members, with repeatable individual differences more important than contextual factors (e.g., habitat) in determining the distance at which baboons visually oriented or displaced from observers. A strong correlation between individual visual tolerance and displacement tolerance (i.e., convergent validity) indicated a personality trait. We offer several suggestions for how to account for these factors and minimize potential bias in future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrew T. L. Allan
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt 0920, South Africa
| | - Annie L. Bailey
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt 0920, South Africa
| | - Russell A. Hill
- Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Dawson Building, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE, UK
- Primate and Predator Project, Lajuma Research Centre, PO Box 522, Louis Trichardt 0920, South Africa
- Department of Zoology, University of Venda, Private Bag X5050, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
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Hertel AG, Niemelä PT, Dingemanse NJ, Mueller T. A guide for studying among-individual behavioral variation from movement data in the wild. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2020; 8:30. [PMID: 32612837 PMCID: PMC7325061 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-020-00216-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Animal tracking and biologging devices record large amounts of data on individual movement behaviors in natural environments. In these data, movement ecologists often view unexplained variation around the mean as "noise" when studying patterns at the population level. In the field of behavioral ecology, however, focus has shifted from population means to the biological underpinnings of variation around means. Specifically, behavioral ecologists use repeated measures of individual behavior to partition behavioral variability into intrinsic among-individual variation and reversible behavioral plasticity and to quantify: a) individual variation in behavioral types (i.e. different average behavioral expression), b) individual variation in behavioral plasticity (i.e. different responsiveness of individuals to environmental gradients), c) individual variation in behavioral predictability (i.e. different residual within-individual variability of behavior around the mean), and d) correlations among these components and correlations in suites of behaviors, called 'behavioral syndromes'. We here suggest that partitioning behavioral variability in animal movements will further the integration of movement ecology with other fields of behavioral ecology. We provide a literature review illustrating that individual differences in movement behaviors are insightful for wildlife and conservation studies and give recommendations regarding the data required for addressing such questions. In the accompanying R tutorial we provide a guide to the statistical approaches quantifying the different aspects of among-individual variation. We use movement data from 35 African elephants and show that elephants differ in a) their average behavior for three common movement behaviors, b) the rate at which they adjusted movement over a temporal gradient, and c) their behavioral predictability (ranging from more to less predictable individuals). Finally, two of the three movement behaviors were correlated into a behavioral syndrome (d), with farther moving individuals having shorter mean residence times. Though not explicitly tested here, individual differences in movement and predictability can affect an individual's risk to be hunted or poached and could therefore open new avenues for conservation biologists to assess population viability. We hope that this review, tutorial, and worked example will encourage movement ecologists to examine the biology of individual variation in animal movements hidden behind the population mean.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne G. Hertel
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Natural Sciences and Environmental Health, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3800 Bø i Telemark, Norway
| | - Petri T. Niemelä
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Niels J. Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Thomas Mueller
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (SBiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Department of Biological Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 9, 60438 Frankfurt (Main), Germany
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Reactive stress-coping styles show more variable reproductive expenditure and fitness outcomes. Sci Rep 2020; 10:9550. [PMID: 32533041 PMCID: PMC7293313 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-66597-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2020] [Accepted: 05/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Stress-coping styles dictate how individuals react to stimuli and can be measured by the integrative physiological parameter of resting heart-rate variability (HRV); low resting HRV indicating proactive coping styles, while high resting HRV typifies reactive individuals. Over 5 successive breeding seasons we measured resting HRV of 57 lactating grey seals. Mothers showed consistent individual differences in resting HRV across years. We asked whether proactive and reactive mothers differed in their patterns of maternal expenditure and short-term fitness outcomes within seasons, using maternal daily mass loss rate to indicate expenditure, and pup daily mass gain to indicate within season fitness outcomes. We found no difference in average rates of maternal daily mass loss or pup daily mass gain between proactive and reactive mothers. However, reactive mothers deviated more from the sample mean for maternal daily mass and pup daily mass gain than proactive mothers. Thus, while proactive mothers exhibit average expenditure strategies with average outcomes, expenditure varies much more among reactive mothers with more variable outcomes. Overall, however, mean fitness was equal across coping styles, providing a mechanism for maintaining coping style diversity within populations. Variability in reactive mothers’ expenditures and success is likely a product of their attempts to match phenotype to prevailing environmental conditions, achieved with varying degrees of success.
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Goodchild CG, Schmidt LM, DuRant SE. Evidence for the ‘behavioural character’ hypothesis: does boldness programme disparate antipredator strategies? Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.04.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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31
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Costa JHC, Neave HW, Weary DM, von Keyserlingk MAG. Use of a food neophobia test to characterize personality traits of dairy calves. Sci Rep 2020; 10:7111. [PMID: 32346003 PMCID: PMC7188825 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-63930-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2019] [Accepted: 03/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Food neophobia, i.e. the avoidance of novel foods, is common in ruminants and may provide a biologically relevant and practical way to test individual responses to novelty or challenge. We aimed to determine if behavioural responses in a food neophobia test (exposure to a novel total mixed ration) reflected boldness and exploratory personality traits derived from 3 traditional tests (open field, novel human and novel object) in dairy calves. We performed two Principal Component Analyses, one using behaviours from 3 traditional tests (3 factors: 'Bold', 'Exploratory' and 'Active'), and one using behaviours from the food neophobia test (3 factors: 'Eating', 'Inspecting', and 'Avoidance'). A regression analysis determined if individual factor scores from the food neophobia test predicted factor scores from the traditional tests. Contrary to our expectations, 'Avoidance' (latencies to approach and eat the novel food) did not predict boldness trait, and the factors 'Inspecting' (time spent inspecting food and empty buckets) and 'Eating' (time spent eating food and total intake) did not predict exploration trait, but they did predict active trait. These results suggest that the food neophobia test in our study resulted in context-specific behaviours, or that behavioural responses to a novel food present different underlying personality traits. The application of food neophobia to assess specific or generalized personality traits of dairy calves deserves further work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joao H C Costa
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
- Dairy Science Program, Department of Animal and Food Sciences, University of Kentucky, 325 Cooper Dr., Lexington, 40546, USA
| | - Heather W Neave
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
- AgResearch Ltd., Ruakura Research Centre, 10 Bisley Rd, Hamilton, 3214, New Zealand
| | - Daniel M Weary
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Marina A G von Keyserlingk
- Animal Welfare Program, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, B.C., V6T 1Z4, Canada.
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32
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Martina C, Cowlishaw G, Carter AJ. Exploring individual variation in associative learning abilities through an operant conditioning task in wild baboons. PLoS One 2020; 15:e0230810. [PMID: 32251443 PMCID: PMC7135308 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Accepted: 03/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive abilities underpin many of the behavioural decisions of animals. However, we still have very little understanding of how and why cognitive abilities vary between individuals of the same species in wild populations. In this study, we assessed the associative learning abilities of wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) across two troops in Namibia with a simple operant conditioning task. We evaluated the ability of individuals to correctly associate a particular colour of corn kernels with a distasteful flavour through repeated presentations of two small piles of corn dyed different colours, one of which had been treated with a non-toxic bitter substance. We also assessed whether individual variation in learning ability was associated with particular phenotypic traits (sex, social rank and neophilia) and states (age and prior vigilance). We found no evidence of learning the association either within each trial or across trials, nor any variation based on individuals' phenotypes. This appeared to be due to a high tolerance for bitter foods leading to similar acceptance of both palatable and unpalatable kernels. Earlier avoidance of the bitter kernels during pilot trials suggests this higher tolerance may have been largely driven by a drought during the experiments. Overall, our findings highlight the potential influence of current environmental challenges associated with conducting cognitive tests of animals in the wild.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Martina
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
- The Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - Guy Cowlishaw
- The Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, England, United Kingdom
| | - Alecia J. Carter
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, England, United Kingdom
- The Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, England, United Kingdom
- ISEM, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
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Abstract
Innovation is the ability to solve novel problems or find novel solutions to familiar problems, and it is known to affect fitness in both human and non-human animals. In primates, innovation has been mostly studied in captivity, although differences in living conditions may affect individuals’ ability to innovate. Here, we tested innovation in a wild group of Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus). In four different conditions, we presented the group with several identical foraging boxes containing food. To understand which individual characteristics and behavioural strategies best predicted innovation rate, we measured the identity of the individuals manipulating the boxes and retrieving the food, and their behaviour during the task. Our results showed that success in the novel task was mainly affected by the experimental contingencies and the behavioural strategies used during the task. Individuals were more successful in the 1-step conditions, if they participated in more trials, showed little latency to approach the boxes and mainly manipulated functional parts of the box. In contrast, we found no effect of inhibition, social facilitation and individual characteristics like sex, age, rank, centrality, neophobia and reaction to humans, on the individuals’ ability to innovate.
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White SJ, Pascall DJ, Wilson AJ. Towards a comparative approach to the structure of animal personality variation. Behav Ecol 2020; 31:340-351. [PMID: 32210524 PMCID: PMC7083098 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2019] [Revised: 10/25/2019] [Accepted: 11/07/2019] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Latent personality traits underpinning observed behavioral variation have been studied in a great many species. However, a lack of standardized behavioral assays, coupled to a common reliance on inferring personality from a single, observed, behavioral trait makes it difficult to determine if, when, and how conclusions can be directly compared across taxa. Here, we estimate the among-individual (co)variance structure (ID) for a set of four behaviors expressed in an open field trial, putatively indicative of boldness, in seven species of small freshwater fish. We show that the ID matrices differ in terms of the total amount of variation present, and crucially the orientation, and as a consequence, biological interpretation of the first eigenvector. Specifically, loading of observed traits on the main axis of variation in ID matched a priori expectations for a shy-bold continuum in only three of the seven cases. Nonetheless, when the "shape" of the matrices was compared in higher dimensions, there was a high level of similarity among species, and weak evidence of phylogenetic signal. Our study highlights the present difficulty of trying to compare empirical inferences about specific personality traits across studies. However, it also shows how multivariate data collection and analysis allows the structure of behavioral variation to be quantitatively compared across populations or species without reliance on ambiguous verbal labels. This suggests that the field may have much to gain from greater uptake of phylogenetically informed comparative approaches when seeking to test evolutionary hypotheses about the origin and maintenance of personality variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen John White
- Animal Ecology, Department of Ecology and Genetics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
| | - David John Pascall
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Alastair James Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter (Penryn Campus), Cornwall, UK
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35
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Greggor AL, Masuda B, Flanagan AM, Swaisgood RR. Age-related patterns of neophobia in an endangered island crow: implications for conservation and natural history. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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36
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Vernouillet A, Kelly DM. Individual exploratory responses are not repeatable across time or context for four species of food-storing corvid. Sci Rep 2020; 10:394. [PMID: 31941921 PMCID: PMC6962162 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-56138-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Exploration is among one of the most studied of animal personality traits (i.e., individual-level behavioural responses repeatable across time and contexts). However, not all species show clear evidence of this personality trait, and this is particularly so for members of the Corvidae family. We assessed the exploratory behaviour of four food-caching corvid species: pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus), Clark's nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana), California scrub jays (Aphelocoma californica), and black-billed magpies (Pica hudsonia). Contextual repeatability was assessed through examining behavioural measures during the Novel Environment task and the Novel Object task, whereas temporal repeatability was assessed by examining changes in these measures over repeated trials. Our results suggest that, for corvids, an individual's exploratory behaviour was not repeatable across contexts or over time. Hence, we found no evidence that exploration constitutes a personality trait for these species of corvid. We did find differences in exploratory behaviour, at a species level, that may be explained by relative reliance on cached food.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alizée Vernouillet
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Debbie M Kelly
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada. .,Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
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37
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Hannebaum SL, Wagnon GS, Brown CR. Variation in neophobia among cliff swallows at different colonies. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0226886. [PMID: 31869383 PMCID: PMC6927619 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0226886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal groups often represent nonrandom subsets of individuals, and increasing evidence indicates that individuals may sort among groups based on their personalities. The size of a group can predict its personality composition in some species due to differential suitability of a personality for groups of certain sizes, and the group itself may function more effectively if particular personality types are present. We quantified cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) behavioral measures using linear and generalized linear mixed models to identify whether they: (1) varied among individuals within colonies and among colonies, (2) were related to reproductive success, and (3) predicted levels of parental care. Significant among-individual and among-colony site variation in a cliff swallow's latency to enter its nest when presented with a novel stimulus was revealed. We also found significant among-individual variation in the number of attacks directed toward a novel stimulus at the nest and in the response to broadcast of a cliff swallow alarm call recording, but among site variation in these measures was not significant. We did not find evidence for behavioral syndromes linking the personalities measured. Differences among individuals in latency to enter the nest and the number of attacks were not significantly related to reproductive success or to the extent to which birds fed their nestlings. However, extent of nestling feeding was significantly predicted by the number of mist net captures. The limited evidence in general of systematic variation in the behavior we measured among cliff swallow colonies may reflect the different and sometimes opposing selection pressures on behavior in different social environments. Future work should perhaps examine variation in other behavioral traits, such as foraging, in cliff swallow colonies of different sizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stacey L. Hannebaum
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Gigi S. Wagnon
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America
| | - Charles R. Brown
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States of America
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38
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Wild Samango Monkeys, Cercopithecus mitis, Balance Risk and Opportunity to Interact with Novel Objects in Village Gardens. INT J PRIMATOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10764-019-00113-x] [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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Blaszczyk MB. Primates got personality, too: Toward an integrative primatology of consistent individual differences in behavior. Evol Anthropol 2019; 29:56-67. [PMID: 31721372 DOI: 10.1002/evan.21808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2018] [Revised: 06/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
In recent years, research on animal personality has exploded within the field of behavioral ecology. Consistent individual differences in behavior exist in a wide range of species, and these differences can have fitness consequences and influence several aspects of a species' ecology. In comparison to studies of other animals, however, there has been relatively little research on the behavioral ecology of primate personality. This is surprising given the large body of research within psychology and biomedicine showing that primate personality traits are heritable and linked to health and life history outcomes. In this article, I bring together theoretical perspectives on the ecology and evolution of animal personality with an integrative review of what we know about primate personality from studies conducted on captive, free-ranging, and wild primates. Incorporating frameworks that emphasize consistency in behavior into primate behavioral ecology research holds promise for improving our understanding of primate behavioral evolution.
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40
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Amici F, Widdig A, Lehmann J, Majolo B. A meta-analysis of interindividual differences in innovation. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.07.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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41
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Collins SM, Hatch SA, Elliott KH, Jacobs SR. Boldness, mate choice and reproductive success in Rissa tridactyla. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
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42
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DeRango EJ, Schwarz JF, Kalberer S, Piedrahita P, Páez-Rosas D, Krüger O. Intrinsic and maternal traits influence personality during early life in Galápagos sea lion, Zalophus wollebaeki, pups. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.06.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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43
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Fernández-Lázaro G, Latorre R, Alonso-García E, Barja Núñez I. Nonhuman primate welfare: Can there be a relationship between personality, lateralization and physiological indicators? Behav Processes 2019; 166:103897. [PMID: 31271769 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2018] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Measuring personality is being used to improved nonhuman primate welfare. To expand its use, it is important to identify traits that are shared between species and that measures are reliable, easy to use and less time consuming. Combining personality and other indicators strong validation of the results can be obtained. In the present study, we sought to determine if there is a link between physiological stress response (fecal cortisol metabolites), personality (ratings made by animal keepers and reaction to novel objects) and lateralization of the brain (hand preferences) on eight species of nonhuman primates: Callithrix jacchus, Callithrix geoffroyi, Cebuella Pygmaea, Saguinus imperator, Saguinus oedipus, Leontopithecus rosalia, Pithecia pithecia and Nycticebus pygmaeus. Personality assessments achieved good levels of interrater reliability and revealed three components of personality in our sample: fearfulness, activeness and aggressiveness. More exploratory individuals were more active, aggressive and showed higher cortisol metabolite levels. Right-handed subjects inspected novel objects sooner and the strength of the lateralization was linked with individual stress and the aggressiveness component. Our results highlight that there is a relation between personality, lateralization and physiological indicators in nonhuman primates, but although some aspects can be generalized across species and/or sexes others are species/sex dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gloria Fernández-Lázaro
- Friends of Thoreau Program, Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá, Trinidad 1, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Roberto Latorre
- Grupo de Neurocomputación Biológica, Departamento de Ingeniería Informática, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 28049, Madrid, Spain
| | - Enrique Alonso-García
- Friends of Thoreau Program, Instituto Franklin, Universidad de Alcalá, Trinidad 1, 28801, Alcalá de Henares, Madrid, Spain
| | - Isabel Barja Núñez
- Departamento de Biología, Unidad de Zoología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, c/Darwin 2, Campus Universitario de Cantoblanco, 28049, Madrid, Spain; Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C/ Darwin 2, 28049 Madrid, Spain
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44
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Reactions to novel objects in monkeys: what does it mean to be neophobic? Primates 2019; 60:347-353. [PMID: 31165297 DOI: 10.1007/s10329-019-00731-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2018] [Accepted: 05/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Animals' reactions to novel objects vary not only with zoological taxa and their ecology but also in the types of presented stimuli, the context, and individual characteristics. Behavioral reactions can vary from extremely neophobic (avoiding novel objects) to extremely neophilic (intense exploration of novel objects); most often, a mixture of these behavioral patterns appears. In primates, reactions toward novel objects vary according to species, age, sex, population, and the types of objects. Most experiments in this field have used a free exploration design with food or non-food objects. Here, we tested the reactions of captive male rhesus macaques using various stimuli, motivation levels, rewards, and time limits. We found that the monkeys explored and manipulated novel objects in various contexts, with little evidence of a neophobic response; however, environment, types of stimuli, and other parameters of the test can significantly affect monkeys' reactions.
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45
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Krugmann K, Warnken F, Krieter J, Czycholl I. Are Behavioral Tests Capable of Measuring Positive Affective States in Growing Pigs? Animals (Basel) 2019; 9:ani9050274. [PMID: 31137646 PMCID: PMC6562421 DOI: 10.3390/ani9050274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Revised: 05/17/2019] [Accepted: 05/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Simple Summary This study aimed at deriving potential indicators to assess fattening pigs’ positive affective state in order to be able to assess animal welfare more objectively. For this purpose, 297 fattening pigs from two different housing systems (a barren and an enriched environment) were subjected three times to the human approach test and novel object test (at the start, middle and end of fattening). The barren-housed pigs showed quicker approach latencies to come into contact with the unknown human and the novel object compared to the enriched-housed pigs (e.g., latency time in the human approach test at the end of fattening: barren housing system: 7.4 ± 1.1 s vs. enriched housing system: 57.1 ± 1.1 s, respectively 58.3 ± 1.3 s). They also indicated longer durations of contact in the human approach test but not in the novel object test (e.g., duration of contact in the human approach test at the end of fattening: barren housing system: 83.8 ± 1.1 s vs. enriched housing system: 6.3 ± 1.1 s respectively, 7.6 ± 1.3 s). However, taking the literature into account, interpretation of these results is not straightforward as the reasoning for these findings could be boredom, and thus a higher motivation to explore, or less fear. Hence, behavioral tests as solitary indicators are probably less useful in the assessment of an affective state. Abstract This study examined whether the human approach test (HAT) or novel object test (NOT), which are considered as suitable tests for assessing the level of fear or anxiety in animals, are suitable to detect a positive affective state in 297 fattening pigs from three different farms. The investigated farms consisted of a barren (farm 1, n = 160) and an enriched (farm 2, n = 106; farm 3, n = 31) husbandry. Each pig was subjected three times to the HAT and NOT during fattening (at the start, middle, and end of fattening). The pigs housed in the barren environment showed quicker approach latencies than the enriched-housed pigs (HAT: farm 1: 7.4 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 57.1 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 58.3 ± 1.3 s (end of fattening); NOT: farm 1: 4.5 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 23.0 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 9.0 ± 1.2 s (end of fattening)). The same pattern of behavior was observed for the duration of contacts in the HAT but not in the NOT (HAT: farm 1: 83.8 ± 1.1 s vs. farm 2: 6.3 ± 1.1 s, respectively, farm 3: 7.6 ± 1.3 s (end of fattening)). However, due to controversially discussed literature, it is difficult to conclude whether the described differences in the pigs’ behavior between the two housing systems might indicate useful indicators to detect their affective state.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Krugmann
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Farina Warnken
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Joachim Krieter
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
| | - Irena Czycholl
- Institute of Animal Breeding and Husbandry, Christian-Albrechts-University Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24098 Kiel, Germany.
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Bethell EJ, Cassidy LC, Brockhausen RR, Pfefferle D. Toward a Standardized Test of Fearful Temperament in Primates: A Sensitive Alternative to the Human Intruder Task for Laboratory-Housed Rhesus Macaques ( Macaca mulatta). Front Psychol 2019; 10:1051. [PMID: 31139115 PMCID: PMC6527799 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2018] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Standardized and sensitive tests to assess differences in temperament among primates housed in captivity are essential for monitoring welfare and improving science outcomes through reduced noise in data. Fearful temperament in primates has traditionally been assessed using the Human Intruder Test (HIT) in which duration of bodily freeze in response to approach by an unknown human is measured. The HIT is susceptible to variation between facilities in execution, interpretation of data and could be stressful for animals with more fearful temperaments. We tested the applicability of a touch-screen task with putatively negative stimuli as a more standardizable and sensitive tool for measuring fearful temperament in laboratory primates. Seventeen adult male rhesus macaques were assessed for fearfulness using the HIT. They were then tested on a touch-screen task designed to measure two behavioral indices of fearfulness: behavioral inhibition and response-slowing. We predicted monkeys assessed as having more fearful temperament in the HIT, would show the greatest degree of behavioral inhibition and response-slowing to negative pictures in the touch-screen task. In Study 1, monkeys were rewarded with juice for touching gray squares on the screen (control trials). On test trials a picture of an unknown male conspecific face with direct-gaze (signaling threat) was shown. Monkeys were less likely to touch direct-gaze faces than control trials, indicating behavioral inhibition to threat. Behavioral inhibition was greatest amongst monkeys scored with most fearful temperament in the HIT. This primary result indicates the touch-screen task may be sensitive to a more subtle form of the bodily freeze behavior measured using the HIT. In Study 2, we tested whether these findings generalized to other classes of putatively negative stimuli; monkeys were shown pictures of the human intruder and objects associated with veterinary and husbandry procedures, interspersed with control trials (gray squares). There was no evidence of behavioral inhibition in Study 2. There was some evidence for response-slowing, which was greater for pictures of objects than pictures of the human intruder, and occurred independently of fearfulness in the HIT. We propose touch-screen tasks provide a more standardized and sensitive approach for assessing fearful temperament in laboratory primates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily J. Bethell
- Centre for Research in Brain and Behaviour, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
- Biological Anthropology Research Centre, School of Natural Sciences and Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren C. Cassidy
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Behavior and Cognition, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center–University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Ralf R. Brockhausen
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Dana Pfefferle
- Welfare and Cognition Group, Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, German Primate Center–Leibniz Institute for Primate Research, Göttingen, Germany
- Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, German Primate Center–University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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47
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To hide or to feed: an evaluation of personality traits in the sand bubbler crab, Dotilla wichmanni, when responding to environmental interference. Behav Processes 2019; 164:123-132. [PMID: 31059765 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Revised: 03/05/2019] [Accepted: 05/02/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Behaviour plays a crucial role in a species' ability to cope with environmental challenges. However, this ability may be affected by repeatable individual differences in behaviour, a pattern described as animal personality. The consideration of animal personality is therefore essential when understanding how a species copes with its environmental stressors. For sand bubbler crabs, feeding is often disrupted by environmental interference, in the forms of predatory events and human recreational activities. How these crabs deal with such disruption is, however, not well documented. Here, we characterised the foraging and risk-taking behaviours of Dotilla wichmanni when responding to induced disruption. Whether these are personality traits and if they form part of a behavioural syndrome were also examined. We quantify both behaviours by taking four measures (two per behaviour). All behavioural measures were consistently different among individuals, suggesting that D. wichmanni exhibits personality. Results further suggest that they could cope with some environmental interference, although this is limited. Crabs did not vary the time spent hiding in burrows with each repeated disruption nor did behavioural plasticity differ between individuals. Notwithstanding these, the absence of support for a foraging-risk propensity behavioural syndrome points to possible complexity in the crabs' coping ability.
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48
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Fredrika Forss SI, Motes-Rodrigo A, Tennie C. Animal Behavior: Ape Curiosity on Camera. Curr Biol 2019; 29:R255-R257. [PMID: 30939310 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2019.02.055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
How animals respond to novel objects may reflect their overall cognitive and behavioral disposition. A study using camera traps reveals that different species of wild ape respond to novelty differently.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia Ingrid Fredrika Forss
- Faculty of Science, Department for early prehistory and quaternary ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Alba Motes-Rodrigo
- Faculty of Science, Department for early prehistory and quaternary ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claudio Tennie
- Faculty of Science, Department for early prehistory and quaternary ecology, University of Tübingen, Germany
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49
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Horváth G, Garamszegi LZ, Bereczki J, Urszán TJ, Balázs G, Herczeg G. Roll with the fear: environment and state dependence of pill bug (Armadillidium vulgare) personalities. Naturwissenschaften 2019; 106:7. [PMID: 30729319 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-019-1602-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2018] [Revised: 01/23/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Most studies on animal personality evaluate individual mean behaviour to describe individual behavioural strategy, while often neglecting behavioural variability on the within-individual level. However, within-individual behavioural plasticity (variation induced by environment) and within-individual residual variation (regulatory behavioural precision) are recognized as biologically valid components of individual behaviour, but the evolutionary ecology of these components is still less understood. Here, we tested whether behaviour of common pill bugs (Armadillidium vulgare) differs on the among- and within-individual level and whether it is affected by various individual specific state-related traits (sex, size and Wolbachia infection). To this aim, we assayed risk-taking in familiar vs. unfamiliar environments 30 times along 38 days and applied double modelling statistical technique to handle the complex hierarchical structure for both individual-specific trait means and variances. We found that there are significant among-individual differences not only in mean risk-taking behaviour but also in environment- and time-induced behavioural plasticity and residual variation. Wolbachia-infected individuals took less risk than healthy conspecifics; in addition, individuals became more risk-averse with time. Residual variation decreased with time, and individuals expressed higher residual variation in the unfamiliar environment. Further, sensitization was stronger in females and in larger individuals in general. Our results suggest that among-individual variation, behavioural plasticity and residual variation are all (i) biologically relevant components of an individual's behavioural strategy and (ii) responsive to changes in environment or labile state variables. We propose pill bugs as promising models for personality research due to the relative ease of getting repeated behavioural measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary.
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary.,Department of Evolutionary Ecology, Estación Biológica de Donaña-CSIC, c/ Americo Vespucio, 26, 41092, Seville, Spain.,MTA-ELTE, Theoretical Biology and Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Department of Plant Systematics, Ecology and Theoretical Biology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - Judit Bereczki
- Department of Evolutionary Zoology and Human Biology, Institute of Biology and Ecology, University of Debrecen, Egyetem tér 1, Debrecen, H-4032, Hungary
| | - Tamás János Urszán
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - Gergely Balázs
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter Sétány 1/c, Budapest, H-1117, Hungary
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50
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Jacobson SL, Hopper LM. Hardly habitual: chimpanzees and gorillas show flexibility in their motor responses when presented with a causally-clear task. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6195. [PMID: 30643700 PMCID: PMC6329335 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2018] [Accepted: 12/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
In contrast to reports of wild primates, studies of captive primates’ flexibility often reveal conservatism: individuals are unable to switch to new and more efficient strategies when task demands change. We propose that such conservatism might be a result of task design and hypothesize that conservatism might be linked to primates’ lack of causal understanding in relation to experimental apparatuses. We investigated if chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) would show greater flexibility when presented with a causally-clear task. We presented six chimpanzees and seven gorillas with a clear tube from which they had to remove straws to release a reward. To first evaluate the apes’ causal understanding, we recorded the efficiency with which the apes solved the task (i.e., whether they only removed straws below the reward, ignoring redundant ones above it). To further explore how they solved the task, we also recorded the order in which they removed the straws, which allowed us to determine if habitual action sequences emerged. All apes spontaneously solved the task in their first trial and across repeated trials the majority of their solutions were efficient (median = 90.9%), demonstrating their understanding of the puzzle. There was individual variation in the consistency of straw removal patterns exhibited by the apes, but no ape developed an exclusive habit in the order with which they removed the straws, further indicating their causal understanding of the task. Next, we presented the apes with a new configuration of the same task that required the apes to remove fewer straws to obtain the reward. All apes switched to a more efficient straw removal sequence even though their previously-successful, but now less-efficient, solution remained available. We theorize that because the apes understood the causality of the task, they did not form habits and were not conservative.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Jacobson
- Psychology, City University of New York, Graduate School and University Center, New York, NY, United States of America.,Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States of America
| | - Lydia M Hopper
- Lester E. Fisher Center for the Study and Conservation of Apes, Lincoln Park Zoo, Chicago, IL, United States of America
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