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Favati A, Løvlie H, Leimar O. Effects of social experience, aggressiveness and comb size on contest success in male domestic fowl. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:201213. [PMID: 33972851 PMCID: PMC8074635 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/04/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The ability to dominate conspecifics and thereby gain access to resources depends on a number of traits and skills. Experience of dominance relationships during development is a potential source of learning such skills. We here study the importance of social experience, aggressiveness and morphological traits for competitiveness in social interactions (contest success) in male domestic fowl (Gallus gallus domesticus). We let males grow up either as a single (dominant) male or as an intermediately ranked male in a group of males, and measured their success in duels against different opponents. We found that single-raised males had lower contest success than group-raised males, and that aggression and comb size correlated positively with contest success. This indicates that experience of dominance interactions with other males increases future success in duels. We similarly studied the consequences of growing up as a dominant or subordinate in a pair of males, finding no statistically significant effect of the dominance position on contest success. Finally, we found that males were consistent over time in contest success. We conclude that social experience increases contest success in male domestic fowl, but that certain behavioural and morphological characteristics have an equal or even stronger covariation with contest success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Favati
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hanne Løvlie
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Olof Leimar
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
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Oosthuizen MK. Exploratory behaviour, memory and neurogenesis in the social Damaraland mole-rat ( Fukomys damarensis). J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb221093. [PMID: 32532860 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.221093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Both exploratory behaviour and spatial memory are important for survival in dispersing animals. Exploratory behaviour is triggered by novel environments and having a better spatial memory of the surroundings provides an adaptive advantage to the animals. Spatial challenges can also affect neurogenesis in the hippocampus by increasing cell proliferation and enhancing survival of young neurons. In social Damaraland mole-rat colonies, the social hierarchy is largely based on body size. Individuals with different social statuses in these colonies display different dispersal behaviours and as behavioural differences have been linked to dispersal behaviour, I investigated exploratory behaviour, memory and hippocampal neurogenesis in wild-captured Damaraland mole-rats. Dispersal behaviour gives rise to differential exploratory behaviour in Damaraland mole-rats; they readily explored in a novel environment but resident, worker mole-rats explored more slowly. In the Y-maze, animals entered the escape hole significantly faster by the second day; however, they did not make fewer wrong turns with successive days of the experiment. Female dispersers did not show any improvement in time to reach the escape hole or the number of wrong turns over the 4 day experimental period. Damaraland male and female dispersers employ different dispersal strategies, and this is evident in their approach to the learning task. Females are less motivated to complete the task, leading to a difference in behaviour, and this has important survival implications for the different sexes. Finally, in the context of memory, adult neurogenesis does not seem to be a good marker in mole-rats as it is generally low and has not been investigated thoroughly enough to determine which and how other factors can influence it in these animals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria K Oosthuizen
- Department of Zoology & Entomology, University of Pretoria, Private Bag X20, Pretoria 0028, South Africa
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South Africa
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Edwards HA, Dugdale HL, Richardson DS, Komdeur J, Burke T. Extra-pair parentage and personality in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:37. [PMID: 29491549 PMCID: PMC5814466 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2448-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2017] [Revised: 01/13/2018] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
ABSTRACT Why so much variation in extra-pair parentage occurs within and among populations remains unclear. Often the fitness costs and benefits of extra-pair parentage are hypothesised to explain its occurrence; therefore, linking extra-pair parentage with traits such as personality (behavioural traits that can be heritable and affect reproductive behaviour) may help our understanding. Here, we investigate whether reproductive outcomes and success are associated with exploratory behaviour in a natural population of cooperatively breeding Seychelles warblers (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island. Exploratory behaviour correlates positively with traits such as risk-taking behaviour and activity in other wild bird species and might promote extra-pair mating by increasing the rate at which potential extra-pair partners are encountered. We therefore predicted that fast-exploring individuals would have more extra-pair offspring. There is also a potential trade-off between pursuing extra-pair parentage and mate guarding in males. We therefore also predicted that fast-exploring males would be more likely to pursue extra-pair parentage and that this would increase the propensity of their mate to gain extra-pair parentage. We found that neither the total number of offspring nor the number of extra-pair offspring were associated with a male's or female's exploratory behaviour. However, there was a small but significant propensity for females to have extra-pair fertilisations in pairs that were behaviourally disassortative. Overall, we conclude that, due to the small effect size, the association between exploratory behaviour and extra-pair paternity is unlikely to be biologically relevant. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT True genetic monogamy is rare, even in socially monogamous systems, and multiple factors, such as behaviour, social structure, morphology and physiology, determined by the biological system can cause variation in extra-pair parentage (EPP). Therefore, investigating the inherent differences in these factors among individuals could be informative. We investigated whether reproductive outcomes/success are associated with differences in the propensity to explore novel environments/objects in a promiscuous, island-dwelling cooperatively breeding bird, the Seychelles warbler. Our results showed that exploratory behaviour was not associated with the number of offspring produced by an individual, and thus the long-term fitness consequences of different exploratory tendencies did not differ. We also found that the propensity to engage in EPP in females was higher in dissimilar behavioural pairs, but due to the small effect size, we hesitate to conclude that there are personality-dependent mating outcomes in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah A Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- School of Biology, The Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT UK
- Behavioural Ecology and Physiological Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 cc Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - David S Richardson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ UK
- Nature Seychelles, PO BOX 1310, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
| | - Jan Komdeur
- Behavioural Ecology and Physiological Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 cc Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN UK
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Kasper C, Kölliker M, Postma E, Taborsky B. Consistent cooperation in a cichlid fish is caused by maternal and developmental effects rather than heritable genetic variation. Proc Biol Sci 2018; 284:rspb.2017.0369. [PMID: 28701555 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2017.0369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/05/2017] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Studies on the evolution of cooperative behaviour are typically confined to understanding its adaptive value. It is equally essential, however, to understand its potential to evolve, requiring knowledge about the phenotypic consistency and genetic basis of cooperative behaviour. While previous observational studies reported considerably high heritabilities of helping behaviour in cooperatively breeding vertebrates, experimental studies disentangling the relevant genetic and non-genetic components of cooperative behaviour are lacking. In a half-sibling breeding experiment, we investigated the repeatability and heritability of three major helping behaviours performed by subordinates of the cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher To experimentally manipulate the amount of help needed in a territory, we raised the fish in two environments differing in egg predation risk. All three helping behaviours were significantly repeatable, but had very low heritabilities. The high within-individual consistencies were predominantly due to maternal and permanent environment effects. The perceived egg predation risk had no effect on helping, but social interactions significantly influenced helping propensities. Our results reveal that developmentally plastic adjustments of provided help to social context shape cooperative phenotypes, whereas heritable genetic variation plays a minor role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Kasper
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Mathias Kölliker
- Institute of Evolutionary Biology, University of Basel, Vesalgasse 1, 4051 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Erik Postma
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, Winterthurerstrasse 190, 8057 Zürich, Switzerland.,Center for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE
| | - Barbara Taborsky
- Department of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50A, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
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Edwards HA, Burke T, Dugdale HL. Repeatable and heritable behavioural variation in a wild cooperative breeder. Behav Ecol 2017; 28:668-676. [PMID: 29622921 PMCID: PMC5873258 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2016] [Revised: 01/10/2017] [Accepted: 01/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Quantifying consistent differences in behaviour among individuals is vital to understanding the ecological and evolutionary significance of animal personality. To quantify personality, the phenotypic variation of a behavioural trait is partitioned to assess how it varies among individuals, which is also known as repeatability. If pedigree data are available, the phenotypic variation can then be further partitioned to estimate the additive genetic variance and heritability. Assessing the repeatability and heritability of personality traits therefore allows for a better understanding of what natural selection can act upon, enabling evolution. In a natural population of facultative cooperatively breeding Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) on Cousin Island, a lack of breeding vacancies forces individuals into different life-history strategies, and these differences in reproductive state could generate behavioural differences among individuals in the population. We used this population to estimate the repeatability of 4 behavioural traits (novel environment exploration, novel object exploration, obstinacy/struggle rate, and escape response), and narrow-sense heritability (of behavior, h2B; behavior minus observer variance; and personality), and evolvability, of the repeatable behavioural traits. We also tested for an among-individual correlation between the repeatable traits. We found that, compared to estimates in other study species, the exploratory behaviours were moderately repeatable (0.23–0.37), there was a positive among-individual correlation (0.51) between novel environment and novel object exploration, and that novel environment exploration was moderately heritable (0.17; h2B was low as it includes observer variance). This study further clarifies the additive genetic variance available for selection to act upon in this cooperatively breeding bird.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah A Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - Hannah L Dugdale
- Nature Seychelles, PO Box 1310, Roche Caiman, Mahé, Republic of Seychelles.,Behavioural Ecology and Physiological Group, Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, PO Box 11103, 9700 CC, Groningen, The Netherlands.,School of Biology, The Faculty of Biological Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, UK
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