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Mazzamuto MV, Morandini M, Lampman W, Wauters LA, Preatoni D, Koprowski JL, Martinoli A. Use of infrared thermography to detect reactions to stressful events: does animal personality matter? Integr Zool 2024; 19:224-239. [PMID: 37248795 DOI: 10.1111/1749-4877.12735] [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] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
The study of the relationship between animal stress and personality for free-ranging animals is limited and provides contrasting results. The perception of stressors by an individual may vary due to its personality, and certain personality traits may help individuals to better cope with them. Using non-invasive infrared thermography (IRT), we investigated the link between physiological and behavioral components expressed during an acute stress event by free-ranging Fremont's squirrels (Tamiasciurus fremonti). We expected that, during the acute stress event of being approached by the researcher, individuals that showed a fast pace-of-life syndrome (bolder, more active, and less social/more aggressive) based on an arena test would exhibit stronger sympathetic-adrenal-medullary system reactivity showing a more intense stress-induced hyperthermia (high core body temperature and low peripheral temperature) than individuals with a slow pace of life (shy, less active, and more social). We successfully employed IRT technology to images of Fremont's squirrels with identification of the individuals' body parts (eye, nose, ear, hind foot). However, we found no support for our hypothesis. Squirrels' body surface temperatures told us more about a squirrel's external environment and less about the thermal state of the body in that environment following a stressful event. Further studies need to assess how to make IRT effective and efficient in the field and improve its performance in studying the relationships between physiology and personality in wildlife.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate, Guido Tosi Research Group, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Marina Morandini
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA
| | - William Lampman
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA
| | - Lucas Armand Wauters
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate, Guido Tosi Research Group, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - Damiano Preatoni
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate, Guido Tosi Research Group, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Varese, Italy
| | - John Lad Koprowski
- School of Natural Resources and Environment, College of Agriculture and Life Science, University of Arizona, Arizona, USA
- Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Wyoming, USA
| | - Adriano Martinoli
- Unità di Analisi e Gestione delle Risorse Ambientali, Dipartimento di Scienze Teoriche e Applicate, Guido Tosi Research Group, Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Varese, Italy
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Cusson P, Pelletier F. Individual behaviour, growth, survival and vulnerability to hunting in a large mammal. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11003. [PMID: 38352198 PMCID: PMC10862178 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans have exploited wild animals for thousands of years. Recent studies indicate that harvest-induced selection on life-history and morphological traits may lead to ecological and evolutionary changes. Less attention has been given to harvest-induced selection on behavioural traits, especially in terrestrial systems. We assessed in a wild population of large terrestrial mammals whether decades of hunting led to harvest-induced selection on trappability, a proxy of risk-taking behaviour. We investigated links between trappability, horn growth and survival across individuals in early life and quantified the correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth with availability to hunters and probability of being shot. We found positive among-individual correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth, early-life trappability and survival and early-life horn growth and survival. Faster growing individuals were more likely to be available to hunters and shot at a young age. We found no correlations between early-life trappability and availability to hunters or probability of being shot. Our results show that correlations between behaviour and growth can occur in wild terrestrial population but may be context dependent. This result highlights the difficulty in formulating general predictions about harvest-induced selection on behaviour, which can be affected by species ecology, harvesting regulations and harvesting methods used. Future studies should investigate mechanisms linking physiological, behavioural and morphological traits and how this effects harvest vulnerability to evaluate the potential for harvest to drive selection on behaviour in wild animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de BiologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQuébecCanada
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Warrington MH, Beaulieu S, Jellicoe R, Vos S, Bennett NC, Waterman JM. Lovers, not fighters: docility influences reproductive fitness, but not survival, in male Cape ground squirrels, Xerus inauris. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2024; 78:6. [PMID: 38187116 PMCID: PMC10766660 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Over their lifetime, individuals may use different behavioural strategies to maximize their fitness. Some behavioural traits may be consistent among individuals over time (i.e., 'personality' traits) resulting in an individual behavioural phenotype with different associated costs and benefits. Understanding how behavioural traits are linked to lifetime fitness requires tracking individuals over their lifetime. Here, we leverage a long-term study on a multi-year living species (maximum lifespan ~ 10 years) to examine how docility (an individual's reaction to trapping and handling) may contribute to how males are able to maximize their lifetime fitness. Cape ground squirrels are burrowing mammals that live in social groups, and although males lack physical aggression and territoriality, they vary in docility. Males face high predation risk and high reproductive competition and employ either of two reproductive tactics ('natal' or 'band') which are not associated with different docility personalities. We found that although more docile individuals sired more offspring on an annual basis, docility did not affect an individual's long-term (lifetime) reproductive output. Survival was not associated with docility or body condition, but annual survival was influenced by rainfall. Our findings suggest that although docility may represent a behavioural strategy to maximize fitness by possibly playing a role in female-male associations or female mate-choice, variations in docility within our study population is likely maintained by other environmental drivers. However, individual variations in behaviours may still contribute as part of the 'tool kit' individuals use to maximize their lifetime fitness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyako H. Warrington
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sienna Beaulieu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Riley Jellicoe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sjoerd Vos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
| | - Jane M. Waterman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
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Yao B, Hegab IM, Kang Y, Tan Y, Zhang D, Su J. Underground environment increases the differentiation of personality traits between male and female plateau zokors (Eospalax baileyi). Acta Ethol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-023-00414-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
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Sex-specific effects of capital resources on reproductive timing and success in red squirrels. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03245-y] [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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Masilkova M, Boukal D, Ash H, Buchanan-Smith HM, Konečná M. Linking personality traits and reproductive success in common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Sci Rep 2022; 12:13341. [PMID: 35922528 PMCID: PMC9349211 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16339-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal personality can affect individual fitness and population growth. Personality traits of either parent or parents' combination may facilitate reproduction and offspring survival across species. However, previous studies focused mainly on the role of only one sex, and the link between personality and fitness has not been confirmed in primates. We examined this link in both sexes of captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), a cooperatively breeding primate with extensive paternal care. We studied the effects of five personality traits of the parents (Agreeableness, Assertiveness, Conscientiousness, Inquisitiveness, and Patience), including their absolute and directional differences within pairs, on key components of reproductive performance. We expected pairs with more similar personality scores to have higher reproductive success as found in other species with long-term pairs and biparental care, but found no evidence for this hypothesis. Instead, we detected strong effects of female traits on inter-birth intervals, which were shorter in more agreeable females, and fecundity rates, which were higher in more inquisitive females. Male traits appeared to have only a limited effect on reproductive success of the pair. Our study demonstrates that various aspects of animal personality underpin reproductive performance in captive common marmosets and provides novel insights into the possible ultimate causes of personality in cooperatively breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - David Boukal
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hayley Ash
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Hannah M Buchanan-Smith
- Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK
- Scottish Primate Research Group, Stirling, Scotland, UK
| | - Martina Konečná
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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Martinig A, Karst H, Siracusa E, Studd E, McAdam A, Dantzer B, Delaney D, Lane J, Pokharel P, Boutin S. Animal personality: a comparison of standardized assays and focal observations in North American red squirrels. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.012] [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]
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Dantzer B, Boutin S, Lane JE, McAdam AG. Integrative Studies of the Effects of Mothers on Offspring: An Example from Wild North American Red Squirrels. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2022; 27:269-296. [PMID: 36169819 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-97762-7_9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Animal species vary in whether they provide parental care or the type of care provided, and this variation in parental care among species has been a common focus of comparative studies. However, the proximate causes and ultimate consequences of within-species variation in parental care have been less studied. Most studies about the impacts of within-species variation in parental care on parental fitness have been in primates, whereas studies in laboratory rodents have been invaluable for understanding what causes inter-individual variation in parental care and its influence on offspring characteristics. We integrated both of these perspectives in our long-term study of North American red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in the Yukon, Canada, where we have focused on understanding the impacts of mothers on offspring. This includes documenting the impacts that mothers or the maternal environment itself has on their offspring, identifying how changes in maternal physiology impact offspring characteristics, the presence of individual variation in maternal attentiveness toward offspring before weaning and its fitness consequences, and postweaning maternal care and its fitness consequences. We provide an overview of these contributions to understanding the impacts mothers have on their offspring in red squirrels using an integrative framework and contrast them with studies in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Dantzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
| | - Jeffrey E Lane
- Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
| | - Andrew G McAdam
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
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A migratory sparrow has personality in winter that is independent of other traits. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.06.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Hämäläinen AM, Guenther A, Patrick SC, Schuett W. Environmental effects on the covariation among pace‐of‐life traits. Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13098] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anni M. Hämäläinen
- Department of Biological Sciences University of Alberta Edmonton Alberta Canada
- Institute of Environmental Science Jagiellonian University Kraków Poland
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland
| | - Anja Guenther
- Department of Evolutionary Biology Bielefeld University Bielefeld Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology Plön Germany
| | | | - Wiebke Schuett
- Institute of Zoology Universität Hamburg Hamburg Germany
- School of Life Sciences University of Sussex Brighton UK
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