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Horváth G, Sos T, Bóné G, Lőrincz CE, Pap PL, Herczeg G. Integrating behavioural thermoregulatory strategy into the animal personality framework using the common lizard, Zootoca vivipara as a model. Sci Rep 2024; 14:14200. [PMID: 38902323 PMCID: PMC11189939 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64305-z] [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: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The study of consistent between-individual behavioural variation in single (animal personality) and across two or more behavioural traits (behavioural syndrome) is a central topic of behavioural ecology. Besides behavioural type (individual mean behaviour), behavioural predictability (environment-independent within-individual behavioural variation) is now also seen as an important component of individual behavioural strategy. Research focus is still on the 'Big Five' traits (activity, exploration, risk-taking, sociability and aggression), but another prime candidate to integrate to the personality framework is behavioural thermoregulation in small-bodied poikilotherms. Here, we found animal personality in thermoregulatory strategy (selected body temperature, voluntary thermal maximum, setpoint range) and 'classic' behavioural traits (activity, sheltering, risk-taking) in common lizards (Zootoca vivipara). Individual state did not explain the between-individual variation. There was a positive behavioural type-behavioural predictability correlation in selected body temperature. Besides an activity-risk-taking syndrome, we also found a risk-taking-selected body temperature syndrome. Our results suggest that animal personality and behavioural syndrome are present in common lizards, both including thermoregulatory and 'classic' behavioural traits, and selecting high body temperature with high predictability is part of the risk-prone behavioural strategy. We propose that thermoregulatory behaviour should be considered with equal weight to the 'classic' traits in animal personality studies of poikilotherms employing active behavioural thermoregulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
- HUN-REN-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary.
| | - Tibor Sos
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor street 5-7, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
- "Milvus Group" Bird and Nature Protection Association, B-dul 1 Decembrie 1918 121, 540445, Tîrgu Mureș, Romania
| | - Gábor Bóné
- "Milvus Group" Bird and Nature Protection Association, B-dul 1 Decembrie 1918 121, 540445, Tîrgu Mureș, Romania
| | - Csanád Endre Lőrincz
- Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Neuroscience, Faculty of Science and Informatics, University of Szeged, Közép fasor 52, 6726, Szeged, Hungary
| | - Péter László Pap
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Hungarian Department of Biology and Ecology, Centre for Systems Biology, Biodiversity and Bioresources, Babeş-Bolyai University, Clinicilor street 5-7, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/c, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
- HUN-REN-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117, Budapest, Hungary
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Horváth G, Garamszegi LZ, Herczeg G. Phylogenetic meta-analysis reveals system-specific behavioural type-behavioural predictability correlations. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230303. [PMID: 37680498 PMCID: PMC10480700 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 09/09/2023]
Abstract
The biological significance of behavioural predictability (environment-independent within-individual behavioural variation) became accepted recently as an important part of an individual's behavioural strategy besides behavioural type (individual mean behaviour). However, we do not know how behavioural type and predictability evolve. Here, we tested different evolutionary scenarios: (i) the two traits evolve independently (lack of correlations) and (ii) the two traits' evolution is constrained (abundant correlations) due to either (ii/a) proximate constraints (direction of correlations is similar) or (ii/b) local adaptations (direction of correlations is variable). We applied a set of phylogenetic meta-analyses based on 93 effect sizes across 44 vertebrate and invertebrate species, focusing on activity and risk-taking. The general correlation between behavioural type and predictability did not differ from zero. Effect sizes for correlations showed considerable heterogeneity, with both negative and positive correlations occurring. The overall absolute (unsigned) effect size was high (Zr = 0.58), and significantly exceeded the null expectation based on randomized data. Our results support the adaptive scenario: correlations between behavioural type and predictability are abundant in nature, but their direction is variable. We suggest that the evolution of these behavioural components might be constrained in a system-specific way.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gergely Horváth
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELKH-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
| | - László Zsolt Garamszegi
- Centre for Ecological Research, Institute of Ecology and Botany, Alkotmány u. 2-4, 2163 Vácrátót, Hungary
- National Laboratory for Health Security, Centre for Ecological Research, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Gábor Herczeg
- Department of Systematic Zoology and Ecology, Institute of Biology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
- ELKH-ELTE-MTM Integrative Ecology Research Group, Pázmány Péter sétány 1/C, 1117 Budapest, Hungary
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Brand JA, Henry J, Melo GC, Wlodkowic D, Wong BBM, Martin JM. Sex differences in the predictability of risk-taking behavior. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:108-116. [PMID: 36789395 PMCID: PMC9918862 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has found that individuals often vary in how consistently they express their behavior over time (i.e., behavioral predictability) and suggested that these individual differences may be heritable. However, little is known about the intrinsic factors that drive variation in the predictability of behavior. Indeed, whether variation in behavioral predictability is sex-specific is not clear. This is important, as behavioral predictability has been associated with vulnerability to predation, suggesting that the predictability of behavioral traits may have key fitness implications. We investigated whether male and female eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) differed in the predictability of their risk-taking behavior. Specifically, over a total of 954 behavioral trials, we repeatedly measured risk-taking behavior with three commonly used assays-refuge-use, thigmotaxis, and foraging latency. We predicted that there would be consistent sex differences in both mean-level risk-taking behavior and behavioral predictability across the assays. We found that risk-taking behavior was repeatable within each assay, and that some individuals were consistently bolder than others across all three assays. There were also consistent sex differences in mean-level risk-taking behavior, with males being bolder across all three assays compared to females. In contrast, both the magnitude and direction of sex differences in behavioral predictability were assay-specific. Taken together, these results highlight that behavioral predictability may be independent from underlying mean-level behavioral traits and suggest that males and females may differentially adjust the consistency of their risk-taking behavior in response to subtle changes in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Jason Henry
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia
| | - Gabriela C Melo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Donald Wlodkowic
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Jake M Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-901 83, Sweden
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Brand JA, Naimo AC, Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Sih A, Wong BBM, Chapple DG. Social context mediates the expression of a personality trait in a gregarious lizard. Oecologia 2022; 200:359-369. [PMID: 36173475 PMCID: PMC9675666 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05269-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The social environment is a key factor that influences behavioural traits across a wide array of species. Yet, when investigating individual differences in behaviour, studies tend to measure animals in isolation from other conspecifics-even in social species. Surprisingly, whether behavioural traits measured in isolation are predictive of individual-level behaviour when in social groups is still poorly understood. Here, we repeatedly measured risk-taking behaviour (i.e. boldness; 741 total trials) in both the presence and absence of conspecifics in a social lizard, the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata). Further, we manipulated food availability during group trials to test whether the effect of the social environment on risk-taking behaviour was mediated by competition over resources. Using 105 lizards collected from three independent populations, we found that individual risk-taking behaviour was repeatable when measured in either social isolation or within groups both with and without food resources available. However, lizards that were bolder during individual trials were not also bolder when in groups, regardless of resource availability. This was largely driven by individual differences in social behavioural plasticity, whereby individual skinks responded differently to the presence of conspecifics. Together, this resulted in a rank order change of individual behavioural types across the social conditions. Our results highlight the importance of the social environment in mediating animal personality traits across varying levels of resource availability. Further, these findings suggest that behavioural traits when measured in isolation, may not reflect individual variation in behaviour when measured in more ecologically realistic social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Annalise C Naimo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marcus Michelangeli
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jake M Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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Brand JA, Naimo AC, Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Sih A, Wong BBM, Chapple DG. Population differences in the effect of context on personality in an invasive lizard. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Within populations, individuals often differ consistently in their average level of behavior (i.e., animal personality), as well as their response to environmental change (i.e., behavioral plasticity). Thus, changes in environmental conditions might be expected to mediate the structure of animal personality traits. However, it is currently not well understood how personality traits change in response to environmental conditions, and whether this effect is consistent across multiple populations within the same species. Accordingly, we investigated variation in personality traits across two ecological contexts in the invasive delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata). Specifically, lizards from three different populations were repeatedly measured for individual activity in group behavioral assays under differing levels of food availability. We found that environmental context had a clear effect on the structure of lizard personality, where activity rates were not repeatable in the absence of food, but were repeatable in the presence of food resources. The difference in repeatability of activity rates across contexts appeared to be largely driven by an increase in among-individual variance when tested in the presence of food resources. However, this was only true for one of the populations tested, with food context having no effect on the expression of personality traits in the other two populations. Our results highlight the important role of environmental context in mediating the structure of animal personality traits and suggest that this effect may vary among populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Annalise C Naimo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Marcus Michelangeli
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Jake M Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
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