1
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de Camargo NF, de Oliveira HFM, Ribeiro JF, de Camargo AJA, Vieira EM. Morphological traits explain the individual position within resource-consumer networks of a Neotropical marsupial. Curr Zool 2024; 70:453-464. [PMID: 39176064 PMCID: PMC11336675 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoad023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Knowledge regarding the influence of individual traits on interaction patterns in nature can help understand the topological role of individuals within a network of intrapopulation interactions. We tested hypotheses on the relationships between individuals' positions within networks (specialization and centrality) of 4 populations of the mouse opossum Gracilinanus agilis and their traits (i.e., body length, body condition, tail length relative to body length, sex, reproductive condition, and botfly parasitism) and also seasonal effects in the Brazilian savanna. Individuals with lower body length, better body condition, and relatively shorter tail were more specialized (i.e., less connected within the network). Individuals were also more specialized and less connected during the warm-wet season. The relationship between individuals' position in the network and body traits, however, was independent of season. We propose that specialization may arise not only as a result of preferred feeding strategies by more capable individuals (i.e., those with better body condition and potentially prone to defend and access high-quality food resources) but also because of morphological constraints. Smaller/younger individuals (consequently with less experience in foraging) and short-tailed individuals (less skilled to explore the vertical strata of the vegetation) would feed only on a subset of the available food resources and consequently become more specialized. Moreover, individuals are more specialized during the warm-wet season because of high competition (population-dense period) and higher ecological opportunities (resource-rich period). Therefore, our study reveals the relevance of individual traits in shaping interaction patterns and specialization in populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nícholas F de Camargo
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, CP 04457, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | - Hernani F M de Oliveira
- Departamento de Zoologia, Setor de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Avenida Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos100, Curitiba, PR, 81531980, Brazil
| | - Juliana F Ribeiro
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, CP 04457, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
| | | | - Emerson M Vieira
- Laboratório de Ecologia de Vertebrados, Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade de Brasília, CP 04457, Brasília, DF, 70910-900, Brazil
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2
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Wojczulanis-Jakubas K, Araya-Salas M. Foraging, Fear and Behavioral Variation in a Traplining Hummingbird. Animals (Basel) 2023; 13:1997. [PMID: 37370506 DOI: 10.3390/ani13121997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2023] [Revised: 06/11/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, foraging behavior has been explained as the response to a trade-off between energetic gain from feeding resources and potential costs from concomitant risks. However, an increasing number of studies has shown that this view fails to explain an important fraction of the variation in foraging across a variety of taxa. One potential mechanism that may account for this variation is that various behavioral traits associated with foraging may have different fitness consequences, which may depend on the environmental context. Here, we explored this mechanism by evaluating the foraging efficiency of long-billed hermit hummingbirds (Phaethornis longirostris) with regard to three behavioral traits: (a) exploration (number of feeders used during the foraging visit), (b) risk avoidance (latency to start feeding) and (c) arousal (amount of movements during the foraging visit) in conditions at two different levels of perceived risk (low-control and high-experimental, with a threatening bullet ant model). Foraging efficiency decreased in response to threatening conditions. However, behavioral traits explained additional variation in foraging efficiency in a condition-dependent manner. More exploration was associated with a higher foraging efficiency under control conditions, but this was reversed when exposed to a threat. Regardless of the conditions, arousal was positively associated with foraging efficiency, while risk avoidance was negatively related. Importantly, exploratory behavior and risk avoidance were quite repeatable behaviors, suggesting that they may be related to the intrinsic traits of individuals. Our findings highlight the importance of taking into account additional behavioral dimensions to better understand the foraging strategies of individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Marcelo Araya-Salas
- Centro de Investigación en Neurociencias, University of Costa Rica, San José 11501-2060, Costa Rica
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3
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Cummings ME, Marsh-Rollo SE, Alonzo SH. Cognitive-Behavioral Divergence Is Greater Across Alternative Male Reproductive Phenotypes Than Between the Sexes in a Wild Wrasse. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2022.929595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection is a powerful diversifier of phenotype, behavior and cognition. Here we compare cognitive-behavioral traits across four reproductive phenotypes (females and three alternative males) of wild-caught ocellated wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus). Both sex and alternative male phenotypes are environmentally determined with sex determination occuring within the first year, and males transition between alternative phenotypes across 2 years (sneaker to satellite or satellite to nesting). We captured 151 ocellated wrasse and tested them on different behavior and cognition assays (scototaxis, shoaling, and two detour-reaching tasks). We found greater divergence across alternative male reproductive phenotypes than differences between the sexes in behavior, problem-solving, and relationships between these traits. Nesting males were significantly less bold than others, while sneaker males were faster problem-solvers and the only phenotype to display a cognitive-behavioral syndrome (significant correlation between boldness and problem-solving speed). Combining these results with prior measurements of sex steroid and stress hormone across males, suggests that nesting and sneaker males represent different coping styles. Our data suggests that transitioning between alternative male phenotypes requires more than changes in physiology (size and ornamentation) and mating tactic (sneaking vs. cooperation), but also involves significant shifts in cognitive-behavioral and coping style plasticity.
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4
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Eccles GR, Bethell EJ, Greggor AL, Mettke-Hofmann C. Individual Variation in Dietary Wariness Is Predicted by Head Color in a Specialist Feeder, the Gouldian Finch. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.772812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Shifts in resource availability due to environmental change are increasingly confronting animals with unfamiliar food types. Species that can rapidly accept new food types may be better adapted to ecological change. Intuitively, dietary generalists are expected to accept new food types when resources change, while dietary specialists would be more averse to adopting novel food. However, most studies investigating changes in dietary breadth focus on generalist species and do not delve into potential individual predictors of dietary wariness and the social factors modulating these responses. We investigated dietary wariness in the Gouldian finch, a dietary specialist, that is expected to avoid novel food. This species occurs in two main head colors (red, black), which signal personality in other contexts. We measured their initial neophobic responses (approach attempts before first feed and latency to first feed) and willingness to incorporate novel food into their diet (frequency of feeding on novel food after first feed). Birds were tested in same-sex pairs in same and different head color pairings balanced across experiments 1 and 2. Familiar and novel food (familiar food dyed) were presented simultaneously across 5 days for 3 h, each. Gouldian finches fed on the familiar food first demonstrating food neophobia, and these latencies were repeatable. Birds made more approach attempts before feeding on novel than familiar food, particularly red-headed birds in experiment 1 and when partnered with a black-headed bird. Individuals consistently differed in their rate of incorporation of novel food, with clear differences between head colors; red-headed birds increased their feeding visits to novel food across experimentation equaling their familiar food intake by day five, while black-headed birds continually favored familiar food. Results suggest consistent among individual differences in response to novel food with red-headed birds being adventurous consumers and black-headed birds dietary conservatives. The differences in food acceptance aligned with responses to novel environments on the individual level (found in an earlier study) providing individuals with an adaptive combination of novelty responses across contexts in line with potential differences in movement patterns. Taken together, these novelty responses could aid in population persistence when faced with environmental changes.
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5
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Baker MR, Wong RY. Npas4a expression in the teleost forebrain is associated with stress coping style differences in fear learning. Sci Rep 2021; 11:12074. [PMID: 34103598 PMCID: PMC8187387 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-91495-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Learning to anticipate potentially dangerous contexts is an adaptive behavioral response to coping with stressors. An animal's stress coping style (e.g. proactive-reactive axis) is known to influence how it encodes salient events. However, the neural and molecular mechanisms underlying these stress coping style differences in learning are unknown. Further, while a number of neuroplasticity-related genes have been associated with alternative stress coping styles, it is unclear if these genes may bias the development of conditioned behavioral responses to stressful stimuli, and if so, which brain regions are involved. Here, we trained adult zebrafish to associate a naturally aversive olfactory cue with a given context. Next, we investigated if expression of two neural plasticity and neurotransmission-related genes (npas4a and gabbr1a) were associated with the contextual fear conditioning differences between proactive and reactive stress coping styles. Reactive zebrafish developed a stronger conditioned fear response and showed significantly higher npas4a expression in the medial and lateral zones of the dorsal telencephalon (Dm, Dl), and the supracommissural nucleus of the ventral telencephalon (Vs). Our findings suggest that the expression of activity-dependent genes like npas4a may be differentially expressed across several interconnected forebrain regions in response to fearful stimuli and promote biases in fear learning among different stress coping styles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew R Baker
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, USA
| | - Ryan Y Wong
- Department of Biology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha, USA.
- Department of Psychology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge St, Omaha, NE, 68182, USA.
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6
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Grunst ML, Grunst AS, Pinxten R, Eens M. Little parental response to anthropogenic noise in an urban songbird, but evidence for individual differences in sensitivity. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 769:144554. [PMID: 33477051 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144554] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2020] [Revised: 12/08/2020] [Accepted: 12/13/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise exposure has well-documented behavioral, physiological and fitness effects on organisms. However, whether different noise regimes evoke distinct responses has rarely been investigated, despite implications for tailoring noise mitigation policies. Urban animals might display low responsiveness to certain anthropogenic noise regimes, especially consistent noise (e.g. freeway noise), but might remain more sensitive to more diverse noise regimes. Additionally, whether individuals differ in noise sensitivity is a rarely explored issue, which is important to fully understand organismal responses to noise. To address these knowledge gaps, we used a field experiment to measure how urban great tits (Parus major) altered parental behaviors in response to two noise regimes: consistent freeway noise, and a diverse anthropogenic noise regime that incorporated variability in noise type and temporal occurrence. We also evaluated whether sex, age, or a well-described personality trait, novel environment exploration behavior, were associated with responses to noise, although our power to assess individual differences in responses was somewhat limited. We found no evidence for mean population-level changes in nestling provisioning behaviors during either noise treatment. However, despite this overall canalization of behavior, there was evidence for individual differences in noise sensitivity, particularly during the diverse noise treatment. Females and birds that explored a novel environment more rapidly (fast explorers) reduced nestling provisioning rate more relative to baseline levels than males and slow explorers during the diverse urban noise, but not during the consistent freeway noise. Furthermore, first year breeders and fast explorers displayed larger increases in latency to return to the nest box relative to baseline conditions during the diverse noise only. Results suggest that urban animal populations might become overall tolerant to anthropogenic noise, but that certain individuals within these populations nonetheless remain sensitive to certain types of noise exposure. CAPSULE: In an urban songbird, we found no population-level changes in nestling provisioning behavior during noise exposure, but did find evidence for individual differences in noise sensitivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melissa L Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium.
| | - Andrea S Grunst
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
| | - Rianne Pinxten
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium; Faculty of Social Sciences, Didactica Research group, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marcel Eens
- Department of Biology, Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, University of Antwerp, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium
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7
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Satchell LP, Kaaronen RO, Latzman RD. An ecological approach to personality: Psychological traits as drivers and consequences of active perception. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Roope Oskari Kaaronen
- Faculty of Social Sciences Helsinki Institute of Sustainability Science University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Robert D. Latzman
- Department of Psychology Georgia State University Atlanta Georgia USA
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8
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Kaczmarek JM, Kaczmarski M, Mazurkiewicz J, Kloskowski J. Numbers, neighbors, and hungry predators: What makes chemically defended aposematic prey susceptible to predation? Ecol Evol 2020; 10:13705-13716. [PMID: 33391674 PMCID: PMC7771146 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Many chemically defended aposematic species are characterized by relatively low toxin levels, which enables predators to include them in their diets under certain circumstances. Knowledge of the conditions governing the survival of such prey animals-especially in the context of the co-occurrence of similar but undefended prey, which may result in mimicry-like interactions-is crucial for understanding the initial evolution of aposematism. In a one-month outdoor experiment using fish (the common carp Cyprinus carpio) as predators, we examined the survival of moderately defended aposematic tadpole prey (the European common toad Bufo bufo) with varying absolute densities in single-species prey systems or varying relative densities in two-species prey systems containing morphologically similar but undefended prey (the European common frog Rana temporaria). The density effects were investigated in conjunction with the hunger levels of the predator, which were manipulated by means of the addition of alternative (nontadpole) food. The survival of the B. bufo tadpoles was promoted by increasing their absolute density in the single-species prey systems, increasing their relative density in the two-species prey systems, and providing ample alternative food for the predator. Hungry predators eliminated all R. temporaria individuals regardless of their proportion in the prey community; in treatments with ample alternative food, high relative B. bufo density supported R. temporaria survival. The results demonstrated that moderately defended prey did benefit from high population densities (both absolute and relative), even under long-term predation pressure. However, the physiological state of the predator was a crucial factor in the survival of moderately defended prey. While the availability of alternative prey in general should promote the spread and maintenance of aposematism, the results indicated that the resemblance between the co-occurring defended and undefended prey may impose mortality costs on the defended model species, even in the absence of actual mimicry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan M. Kaczmarek
- Department of ZoologyPoznań University of Life SciencesPoznańPoland
| | | | - Jan Mazurkiewicz
- Department of Inland Fisheries and AquaculturePoznań University of Life SciencesPoznańPoland
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9
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Powell EC, Taylor LA. Intraspecific variation in responses to aposematic prey in a jumping spider (
Phidippus regius
). Ethology 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erin C. Powell
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
| | - Lisa A. Taylor
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
- Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida Gainesville FL USA
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10
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Hämäläinen L, Thorogood R. The signal detection problem of aposematic prey revisited: integrating prior social and personal experience. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2020; 375:20190473. [PMID: 32420858 PMCID: PMC7331014 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2019.0473] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Ever since Alfred R. Wallace suggested brightly coloured, toxic insects warn predators about their unprofitability, evolutionary biologists have searched for an explanation of how these aposematic prey evolve and are maintained in natural populations. Understanding how predators learn about this widespread prey defence is fundamental to addressing the problem, yet individuals differ in their foraging decisions and the predominant application of associative learning theory largely ignores predators' foraging context. Here we revisit the suggestion made 15 years ago that signal detection theory provides a useful framework to model predator learning by emphasizing the integration of prior information into predation decisions. Using multiple experiments where we modified the availability of social information using video playback, we show that personal information (sampling aposematic prey) improves how predators (great tits, Parus major) discriminate between novel aposematic and cryptic prey. However, this relationship was not linear and beyond a certain point personal encounters with aposematic prey were no longer informative for prey discrimination. Social information about prey unpalatability reduced attacks on aposematic prey across learning trials, but it did not influence the relationship between personal sampling and discrimination. Our results suggest therefore that acquiring social information does not influence the value of personal information, but more experiments are needed to manipulate pay-offs and disentangle whether information sources affect response thresholds or change discrimination. This article is part of the theme issue 'Signal detection theory in recognition systems: from evolving models to experimental tests'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liisa Hämäläinen
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, 40014, Finland
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00011, Finland
- Research Programme in Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki 00011, Finland
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11
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Szopa-Comley AW, Donald WG, Ioannou CC. Predator personality and prey detection: inter-individual variation in responses to cryptic and conspicuous prey. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02854-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Limited attention constrains predators from engaging in cognitively demanding tasks such as searching for cryptic prey at the same time as remaining vigilant towards threats. Since finite attention can result in negative correlations between foraging and vigilance, the tendency of individual predators to focus attention on searching for cryptic prey may be correlated with other behavioural traits which reflect risk-reward trade-offs, such as consistent inter-individual variation in boldness (a personality trait describing risk-taking, defined in this study as the time taken to leave a refuge). We investigated the importance of personality in prey detection by comparing inter-individual variation in the response of three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) to conspicuous and cryptic prey. Fish were slower to attack cryptic prey than conspicuous prey, consistent with cryptic prey being harder to detect. Despite the greater challenge involved in detecting cryptic prey, inter-individual variation in the time taken to detect prey was similar in the cryptic and conspicuous prey treatments, and was uncorrelated with boldness, which was repeatable between individuals. We also observed a positive association between the rate of attack on conspicuous prey and whether individual fish attacked cryptic prey in other trials. Our findings suggest that boldness is not related to prey detection or attention in this context. Instead, consistent differences in motivation once exploration has begun between individual predators may explain inter-individual variation in the time taken to attack both prey cryptic and conspicuous prey.
Significance statement
Using an experimental approach to manipulate the conspicuousness of prey, we show that individual fish consistently differ in their rates of attacking prey. This demonstrates that fish show “personality variation” in predatory behaviour, but these inter-individual differences were not related to the boldness of each fish (their tendency to engage in risky behaviours).
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12
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafał Zwolak
- Department of Systematic Zoology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Poznań Poland
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy University of California at Davis Davis CA USA
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13
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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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14
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Kikuchi DW, Waldron SJ, Valkonen JK, Dobler S, Mappes J. Biased predation could promote convergence yet maintain diversity within Müllerian mimicry rings of Oreina leaf beetles. J Evol Biol 2020; 33:887-898. [PMID: 32202678 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2019] [Revised: 02/10/2020] [Accepted: 03/15/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
Müllerian mimicry is a classic example of adaptation, yet Müller's original theory does not account for the diversity often observed in mimicry rings. Here, we aimed to assess how well classical Müllerian mimicry can account for the colour polymorphism found in chemically defended Oreina leaf beetles by using field data and laboratory assays of predator behaviour. We also evaluated the hypothesis that thermoregulation can explain diversity between Oreina mimicry rings. We found that frequencies of each colour morph were positively correlated among species, a critical prediction of Müllerian mimicry. Predators learned to associate colour with chemical defences. Learned avoidance of the green morph of one species protected green morphs of another species. Avoidance of blue morphs was completely generalized to green morphs, but surprisingly, avoidance of green morphs was less generalized to blue morphs. This asymmetrical generalization should favour green morphs: indeed, green morphs persist in blue communities, whereas blue morphs are entirely excluded from green communities. We did not find a correlation between elevation and coloration, rejecting thermoregulation as an explanation for diversity between mimicry rings. Biased predation could explain within-community diversity in warning coloration, providing a solution to a long-standing puzzle. We propose testable hypotheses for why asymmetric generalization occurs, and how predators maintain the predominance of blue morphs in a community, despite asymmetric generalization.
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Affiliation(s)
- David W Kikuchi
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA.,Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Samuel J Waldron
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Janne K Valkonen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Susanne Dobler
- Molecular Evolutionary Biology, Department of Biology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Centre of Excellence in Evolutionary Research, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.,Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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15
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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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16
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17
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Hämäläinen L, Mappes J, Rowland HM, Thorogood R. Social information use about novel aposematic prey is not influenced by a predator's previous experience with toxins. Funct Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Johanna Mappes
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science University of Jyväskylä Jyväskylä Finland
| | - Hannah M. Rowland
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology Jena Germany
- Institute of Zoology Zoological Society of London London UK
| | - Rose Thorogood
- Department of Zoology University of Cambridge Cambridge UK
- HiLIFE Helsinki Institute of Life Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
- Research Programme in Organismal & Evolutionary Biology, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
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18
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Contextual fear learning and memory differ between stress coping styles in zebrafish. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9935. [PMID: 31289317 PMCID: PMC6617452 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-46319-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/07/2019] [Accepted: 06/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals frequently overcome stressors and the ability to learn and recall these salient experiences is essential to an individual’s survival. As part of an animal’s stress coping style, behavioral and physiological responses to stressors are often consistent across contexts and time. However, we are only beginning to understand how cognitive traits can be biased by different coping styles. Here we investigate learning and memory differences in zebrafish (Danio rerio) displaying proactive and reactive stress coping styles. We assessed learning rate and memory duration using an associative fear conditioning paradigm that trained zebrafish to associate a context with exposure to a natural olfactory alarm cue. Our results show that both proactive and reactive zebrafish learn and remember this fearful association. However, we note significant interaction effects between stress coping style and cognition. Zebrafish with the reactive stress coping style acquired the fear memory at a significantly faster rate than proactive fish. While both stress coping styles showed equal memory recall one day post-conditioning, reactive zebrafish showed significantly stronger recall of the conditioned context relative to proactive fish four days post-conditioning. Through understanding how stress coping strategies promote biases in processing salient information, we gain insight into mechanisms that can constrain adaptive behavioral responses.
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19
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Dougherty LR, Guillette LM. Linking personality and cognition: a meta-analysis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2019; 373:rstb.2017.0282. [PMID: 30104427 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 114] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
In the past decade, several conceptual papers have linked variation in animal personality to variation in cognition, and recent years have seen a flood of empirical studies testing this link. However, these results have not been synthesized in a quantitative way. Here, we systematically search the literature and conduct a phylogenetically controlled meta-analysis of empirical papers that have tested the relationship between animal personality (exploration, boldness, activity, aggression and sociability) and cognition (initial learning/reversal speed, number of correct choices/errors after standard training). We find evidence for a small but significant relationship between variation in personality and variation in learning across species in the absolute scale; however, the direction of this relationship is highly variable and when both positive and negative effect sizes are considered, the average effect size does not differ significantly from zero. Importantly, this variation among studies is not explained by differences in personality or learning measure, or taxonomic grouping. Further, these results do not support current hypotheses suggesting that that fast-explorers are fast-learners or that slow-explorers perform better on tests of reversal learning. Rather, we find evidence that bold animals are faster learners, but only when boldness is measured in response to a predator (or simulated predator) and not when boldness is measured by exposure to a novel object (or novel food). Further, although only a small sub-sample of papers reported results separately for males and females, sex explained a significant amount of variation in effect size. These results, therefore, suggest that, while personality and learning are indeed related across a range of species, the direction of this relationship is highly variable. Thus further empirical work is needed to determine whether there are important moderators of this relationship.This article is part of the theme issue 'Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Liam R Dougherty
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behaviour, Institute of Integrative Biology, University of Liverpool, Liverpool L69 7RB, UK
| | - Lauren M Guillette
- School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, Fife KY16 9TH, UK .,Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada AB T6G 2R3
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20
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Fuss T, Witte K. Sex differences in color discrimination and serial reversal learning in mollies and guppies. Curr Zool 2019; 65:323-332. [PMID: 31263491 PMCID: PMC6595423 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoz029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 05/16/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral flexibility provides an individual with the ability to adapt its behavior in response to environmental changes. Studies on mammals, birds, and teleosts indicate greater behavioral flexibility in females. Conversely, males appear to exhibit greater behavioral persistence. We, therefore, investigated sex differences in behavioral flexibility in 2 closely related molly species (Poecilia latipinna, P. mexicana) and their more distant relative, the guppy P. reticulata by comparing male and female individuals in a serial, visual reversal learning task. Fish were first trained in color discrimination, which was quickly learned by all females (guppies and mollies) and all molly males alike. Despite continued training over more than 72 sessions, male guppies did not learn the general test procedure and were, therefore, excluded from further testing. Once the reward contingency was reversed serially, molly males of both species performed considerably better by inhibiting their previous response and reached the learning criterion significantly faster than their respective conspecific females. Moreover, Atlantic molly males clearly outperformed all other individuals (males and females) and some of them even reached the level of 1-trial learning. Thus, the apparently universal pattern of higher female behavioral flexibility seems to be inverted in the 2 examined molly species, although the evolutionary account of this pattern remains highly speculative. These findings were complemented by the observed lower neophobia of female sailfin mollies compared with their male conspecifics. This sex difference was not observed in Atlantic mollies that were observed to be significantly less distressed in a novel situation than their consexuals. Hypothetically, sex differences in behavioral flexibility can possibly be explained in terms of the different roles that males and females play in mating competition, mate choice, and reproduction or, more generally, in complex social interactions. Each of these characteristics clearly differed between the closely related mollies and the more distantly related guppies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Theodora Fuss
- Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology, Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2, Siegen, Germany
| | - Klaudia Witte
- Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology, Department of Chemistry and Biology, University of Siegen, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2, Siegen, Germany
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21
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Prasher S, Thompson MJ, Evans JC, El-Nachef M, Bonier F, Morand-Ferron J. Innovative consumers: ecological, behavioral, and physiological predictors of responses to novel food. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractConsumer innovation, that is, the acquisition and consumption of novel food types, has received little attention, despite its predominance among animal innovations and its potential implications for the ecology and evolution of species in a changing world. Results of the few studies that have investigated individual responses to novel foods suggest that various ecological, behavioral, and physiological variables may affect individual propensity for consumer innovation, but further work is needed to clarify these relationships. We investigated whether urbanization, social rank, exploratory personality, and baseline levels of corticosterone predict food neophobia and consumer innovation responses of wild-caught black-capped chickadees (N = 170) from 14 sites along an urbanization gradient. Our analyses do not support a link between food neophobia or consumer innovation and urbanization, dominance, or exploratory personality. However, birds with higher levels of baseline corticosterone were quicker to contact novel food types, and more likely to consume novel foods than individuals with lower levels of the hormone. This finding suggests that physiological states that promote foraging behavior might drive individual responses to novel food. Additionally, we found that chickadees tested later in autumn were less neophobic than those tested earlier in the season, perhaps reflecting seasonal changes in food availability. Together, the ability of baseline corticosterone and date of capture to predict responses to novel food suggest that necessity may drive consumer innovation in chickadees.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanjay Prasher
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Megan J Thompson
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Julian C Evans
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Michael El-Nachef
- Department of Biology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
| | - Frances Bonier
- Department of Biology, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
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22
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Briolat ES, Burdfield‐Steel ER, Paul SC, Rönkä KH, Seymoure BM, Stankowich T, Stuckert AMM. Diversity in warning coloration: selective paradox or the norm? Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2019; 94:388-414. [PMID: 30152037 PMCID: PMC6446817 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2017] [Revised: 07/25/2018] [Accepted: 07/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Aposematic theory has historically predicted that predators should select for warning signals to converge on a single form, as a result of frequency-dependent learning. However, widespread variation in warning signals is observed across closely related species, populations and, most problematically for evolutionary biologists, among individuals in the same population. Recent research has yielded an increased awareness of this diversity, challenging the paradigm of signal monomorphy in aposematic animals. Here we provide a comprehensive synthesis of these disparate lines of investigation, identifying within them three broad classes of explanation for variation in aposematic warning signals: genetic mechanisms, differences among predators and predator behaviour, and alternative selection pressures upon the signal. The mechanisms producing warning coloration are also important. Detailed studies of the genetic basis of warning signals in some species, most notably Heliconius butterflies, are beginning to shed light on the genetic architecture facilitating or limiting key processes such as the evolution and maintenance of polymorphisms, hybridisation, and speciation. Work on predator behaviour is changing our perception of the predator community as a single homogenous selective agent, emphasising the dynamic nature of predator-prey interactions. Predator variability in a range of factors (e.g. perceptual abilities, tolerance to chemical defences, and individual motivation), suggests that the role of predators is more complicated than previously appreciated. With complex selection regimes at work, polytypisms and polymorphisms may even occur in Müllerian mimicry systems. Meanwhile, phenotypes are often multifunctional, and thus subject to additional biotic and abiotic selection pressures. Some of these selective pressures, primarily sexual selection and thermoregulation, have received considerable attention, while others, such as disease risk and parental effects, offer promising avenues to explore. As well as reviewing the existing evidence from both empirical studies and theoretical modelling, we highlight hypotheses that could benefit from further investigation in aposematic species. Finally by collating known instances of variation in warning signals, we provide a valuable resource for understanding the taxonomic spread of diversity in aposematic signalling and with which to direct future research. A greater appreciation of the extent of variation in aposematic species, and of the selective pressures and constraints which contribute to this once-paradoxical phenomenon, yields a new perspective for the field of aposematic signalling.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuelle S. Briolat
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterPenryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FEU.K.
| | - Emily R. Burdfield‐Steel
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskylä, 40014Finland
| | - Sarah C. Paul
- Centre for Ecology & Conservation, College of Life & Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterPenryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, TR10 9FEU.K.
- Department of Chemical EcologyBielefeld UniversityUniversitätsstraße 25, 33615, BielefeldGermany
| | - Katja H. Rönkä
- Centre of Excellence in Biological Interactions, Department of Biological and Environmental ScienceUniversity of JyväskyläJyväskylä, 40014Finland
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental SciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinki, 00014Finland
| | - Brett M. Seymoure
- Department of BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCO 80525U.S.A.
- Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation BiologyColorado State UniversityFort CollinsCO 80525U.S.A.
| | - Theodore Stankowich
- Department of Biological SciencesCalifornia State UniversityLong BeachCA 90840U.S.A.
| | - Adam M. M. Stuckert
- Department of BiologyEast Carolina University1000 E Fifth St, GreenvilleNC 27858U.S.A.
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23
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Powell EC, Cook C, Coco J, Brock M, Holian LA, Taylor LA. Prey colour biases in jumping spiders (
Habronattus brunneus
) differ across populations. Ethology 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Erin C. Powell
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
- School of Biological Sciences University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
| | - Collette Cook
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
| | - Jeffrey Coco
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
| | - Michelle Brock
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
| | - Lauren A. Holian
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
| | - Lisa A. Taylor
- Entomology and Nematology Department University of Florida Gainesville Florida
- Florida Museum of Natural History University of Florida Gainesville Florida
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24
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Snell-Rood EC, Steck MK. Behaviour shapes environmental variation and selection on learning and plasticity: review of mechanisms and implications. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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25
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Zidar J, Balogh A, Favati A, Jensen P, Leimar O, Sorato E, Løvlie H. The relationship between learning speed and personality is age- and task-dependent in red junglefowl. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:168. [PMID: 30369707 PMCID: PMC6182743 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2579-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2018] [Revised: 09/04/2018] [Accepted: 09/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Abstract Cognition is fundamental to animals’ lives and an important source of phenotypic variation. Nevertheless, research on individual variation in animal cognition is still limited. Further, although individual cognitive abilities have been suggested to be linked to personality (i.e., consistent behavioral differences among individuals), few studies have linked performance across multiple cognitive tasks to personality traits. Thus, the interplays between cognition and personality are still unclear. We therefore investigated the relationships between an important aspect of cognition, learning, and personality, by exposing young and adult red junglefowl (Gallus gallus) to multiple learning tasks (discriminative, reversal, and spatial learning) and personality assays (novel arena, novel object, and tonic immobility). Learning speed was not correlated across learning tasks, and learning speed in discrimination and spatial learning tasks did not co-vary with personality. However, learning speed in reversal tasks was associated with individual variation in exploration, and in an age-dependent manner. More explorative chicks learned the reversal task faster than less explorative ones, while the opposite association was found for adult females (learning speed could not be assayed in adult males). In the same reversal tasks, we also observed a sex difference in learning speed of chicks, with females learning faster than males. Our results suggest that the relationship between cognition and personality is complex, as shown by its task- and age-dependence, and encourage further investigation of the causality and dynamics of this relationship. Significance statement In the ancestor of today’s chickens, the red junglefowl, we explored how personality and cognition relate by exposing both chicks and adults to several learning tasks and personality assays. Our birds differed in personality and learning speed, while fast learners in one task did not necessarily learn fast in another (i.e., there were no overall “smarter” birds). Exploration correlated with learning speed in the more complex task of reversal learning: faster exploring chicks, but slower exploring adult females, learned faster, compared to less explorative birds. Other aspects of cognition and personality did not correlate. Our results suggest that cognition and personality are related, and that the relationship can differ depending on task and age of the animal. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00265-018-2579-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Josefina Zidar
- 1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Alexandra Balogh
- 1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden.,2Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Anna Favati
- 2Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Per Jensen
- 1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Olof Leimar
- 2Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Enrico Sorato
- 1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Hanne Løvlie
- 1Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, 58183 Linköping, Sweden
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26
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Bosque RJ, Lawrence JP, Buchholz R, Colli GR, Heppard J, Noonan B. Diversity of warning signal and social interaction influences the evolution of imperfect mimicry. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:7490-7499. [PMID: 30151165 PMCID: PMC6106177 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2018] [Revised: 05/10/2018] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Mimicry, the resemblance of one species by another, is a complex phenomenon where the mimic (Batesian mimicry) or the model and the mimic (Mullerian mimicry) gain an advantage from this phenotypic convergence. Despite the expectation that mimics should closely resemble their models, many mimetic species appear to be poor mimics. This is particularly apparent in some systems in which there are multiple available models. However, the influence of model pattern diversity on the evolution of mimetic systems remains poorly understood. We tested whether the number of model patterns a predator learns to associate with a negative consequence affects their willingness to try imperfect, novel patterns. We exposed week-old chickens to coral snake (Micrurus) color patterns representative of three South American areas that differ in model pattern richness, and then tested their response to the putative imperfect mimetic pattern of a widespread species of harmless colubrid snake (Oxyrhopus rhombifer) in different social contexts. Our results indicate that chicks have a great hesitation to attack when individually exposed to high model pattern diversity and a greater hesitation to attack when exposed as a group to low model pattern diversity. Individuals with a fast growth trajectory (measured by morphological traits) were also less reluctant to attack. We suggest that the evolution of new patterns could be favored by social learning in areas of low pattern diversity, while individual learning can reduce predation pressure on recently evolved mimics in areas of high model diversity. Our results could aid the development of ecological predictions about the evolution of imperfect mimicry and mimicry in general.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | - Brice Noonan
- The University of MississippiUniversityMississippi
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27
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Sommer-Trembo C, Plath M. Consistent individual differences in associative learning speed are not linked to boldness in female Atlantic mollies. Anim Cogn 2018; 21:661-670. [PMID: 29974274 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-018-1201-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2017] [Revised: 05/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies on consistent individual differences in behavioural tendencies (animal personality) raised the question of whether individual differences in cognitive abilities can be linked to certain personality types. We tested female Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana) in two different classical conditioning experiments. For the first time, we provide evidence for highly consistent individual differences in associative learning speed in fish. We characterized the same individuals for boldness in two experimental situations (latency to emerge from shelter and freezing time after a simulated predator attack) and found high behavioural repeatability. When we tested for a potential correlation between associative learning speed and boldness, however, there was no evidence for a link between them. Our study design included several steps to avoid typical pitfalls of disadvantaging shy individuals during learning tests. We caution that other experimental studies may have suffered from erroneous interpretations due to a more cautious coping style of shy individuals in the respective setup used to assess learning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Sommer-Trembo
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People's Republic of China
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28
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Rönkä K, De Pasqual C, Mappes J, Gordon S, Rojas B. Colour alone matters: no predator generalization among morphs of an aposematic moth. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.11.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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29
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Consistency and flexibility in solving spatial tasks: different horses show different cognitive styles. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16557. [PMID: 29185468 PMCID: PMC5707407 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-16729-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2017] [Accepted: 11/16/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual animals vary in their behaviour and reactions to novel situations. These differences may extend to differences in cognition among individuals. We tested twenty-six horses for their ability to detour around symmetric and asymmetric obstacles. All of the animals were able to get around the barrier to reach a food target, but varied in their approach. Some horses moved slowly but were more accurate in choosing the shortest way. Other horses acted quickly, consistently detoured in the same direction, and did not reliably choose the shortest way. The remaining horses shifted from a faster, directionally consistent response with the symmetric barrier, to a slower but more accurate response with the asymmetric barrier. The asymmetric barrier induced a reduction in heart rate variability, suggesting that this is a more demanding task. The different approaches used to solve the asymmetric task may reflect distinct cognitive styles in horses, which vary among individuals, and could be linked to different personality traits. Understanding equine behaviour and cognition can inform horse welfare and management.
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30
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Novelty induces behavioural and glucocorticoid responses in a songbird artificially selected for divergent personalities. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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31
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Landová E, Hotová Svádová K, Fuchs R, Štys P, Exnerová A. The effect of social learning on avoidance of aposematic prey in juvenile great tits (Parus major). Anim Cogn 2017. [PMID: 28639012 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-017-1106-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Social learning plays an important role in acquiring new foraging skills and food preferences in many bird species but its potential role in learning to avoid aposematic prey has never been studied. We tested the effect of social learning on the acquisition of avoidance of aposematic insect prey (firebug Pyrrhocoris apterus; Heteroptera) in juvenile, hand-reared great tits (Parus major). Behaviour towards aposematic prey was compared between two groups of birds: (1) the observers that were, prior to encounter with firebugs, allowed to watch the experienced conspecific demonstrator repeatedly refuse to attack the prey, and (2) the control birds that lacked this opportunity. Observing an experienced demonstrator was not sufficient for learning complete avoidance, because birds from both groups attacked at least the first firebug they had encountered in avoidance training. However, the opportunity to observe the avoidance behaviour of another bird significantly increased the rate of subsequent individual learning of observers in comparison with control birds. Social learning also decreased mortality of firebugs killed by the birds during the avoidance learning. Socially enhanced learning to avoid aposematic prey might be a mechanism important especially for naive juvenile birds learning from their parents, but it could also enhance learning in adults from their more experienced flock mates. Because social learning of avoidance may also lead to decreased mortality of aposematic prey, its effect should be taken into account in scenarios considering evolution and maintenance of prey warning signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva Landová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Kateřina Hotová Svádová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Roman Fuchs
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Štys
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic
| | - Alice Exnerová
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Viničná 7, 128 44, Prague 2, Czech Republic.
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32
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Rowland HM, Fulford AJ, Ruxton GD. Predator learning differences affect the survival of chemically defended prey. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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33
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Zidar J, Sorato E, Malmqvist AM, Jansson E, Rosher C, Jensen P, Favati A, Løvlie H. Early experience affects adult personality in the red junglefowl: A role for cognitive stimulation? Behav Processes 2017; 134:78-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2016] [Revised: 05/15/2016] [Accepted: 06/03/2016] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
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34
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Guillette L, Baron D, Sturdy C, Spetch M. Fast- and slow-exploring pigeons differ in how they use previously learned rules. Behav Processes 2017; 134:54-62. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.07.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2016] [Revised: 06/09/2016] [Accepted: 07/12/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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35
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Chang CC, Ng PJ, Li D. Aggressive jumping spiders make quicker decisions for preferred prey but not at the cost of accuracy. Behav Ecol 2016. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arw174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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36
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Adamová-Ježová D, Hospodková E, Fuchsová L, Štys P, Exnerová A. Through experience to boldness? Deactivation of neophobia towards novel and aposematic prey in three European species of tits (Paridae). Behav Processes 2016; 131:24-31. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2016.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2015] [Revised: 07/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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37
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Pagani‐Núñez E, Barnett CA, Gu H, Goodale E. The need for new categorizations of dietary specialism incorporating spatio‐temporal variability of individual diet specialization. J Zool (1987) 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- E. Pagani‐Núñez
- Behavioral and Community Ecology Conservation Biology Group College of Forestry Guangxi University Nanning Guangxi China
| | - C. A. Barnett
- Behavioral and Community Ecology Conservation Biology Group College of Forestry Guangxi University Nanning Guangxi China
| | - H. Gu
- Behavioral and Community Ecology Conservation Biology Group College of Forestry Guangxi University Nanning Guangxi China
| | - E. Goodale
- Behavioral and Community Ecology Conservation Biology Group College of Forestry Guangxi University Nanning Guangxi China
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Ground Anoles (Anolis humilis) Discriminate between Aposematic and Cryptic Model Insects. J HERPETOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1670/15-007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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Personality, foraging behavior and specialization: integrating behavioral and food web ecology at the individual level. Oecologia 2016; 182:55-69. [PMID: 27170290 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3648-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 116] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2016] [Accepted: 04/28/2016] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Behavioral traits and diet were traditionally thought to be highly plastic within individuals. This view was espoused in the widespread use of optimality models, which broadly predict that individuals can modify behavioral traits and diet across ecological contexts to maximize fitness. Yet, research conducted over the past 15 years supports an alternative view; fundamental behavioral traits (e.g., activity level, exploration, sociability, boldness and aggressiveness) and diet often vary among individuals and this variation persists over time and across contexts. This phenomenon has been termed animal personality with regard to behavioral traits and individual specialization with regard to diet. While these aspects of individual-level phenotypic variation have been thus far studied in isolation, emerging evidence suggests that personality and individual specialization may covary, or even be causally related. Building on this work, we present the overarching hypothesis that animal personality can drive specialization through individual differences in various aspects of consumer foraging behavior. Specifically, we suggest pathways by which consumer personality traits influence foraging activity, risk-dependent foraging, roles in social foraging groups, spatial aspects of foraging and physiological drivers of foraging, which in turn can lead to consistent individual differences in food resource use. These pathways provide a basis for generating testable hypotheses directly linking animal personality to ecological dynamics, a major goal in contemporary behavioral ecology.
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Kang C, Cho HJ, Lee SI, Jablonski PG. Post-attack Aposematic Display in Prey Facilitates Predator Avoidance Learning. Front Ecol Evol 2016. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Karlíková Z, Veselý P, Beránková J, Fuchs R. Low Ability of Great Tits to Discriminate Similarly Inconspicuous Edible and Inedible Prey. Ethology 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Zuzana Karlíková
- Faculty of Science; University of South Bohemia; České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Petr Veselý
- Faculty of Science; University of South Bohemia; České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Jana Beránková
- Faculty of Science; University of South Bohemia; České Budějovice Czech Republic
| | - Roman Fuchs
- Faculty of Science; University of South Bohemia; České Budějovice Czech Republic
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Lichtenstein JL, Pruitt JN, Modlmeier AP. Intraspecific variation in collective behaviors drives interspecific contests in acorn ants. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv188] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Flores EE, Stevens M, Moore AJ, Rowland HM, Blount JD. Body size but not warning signal luminance influences predation risk in recently metamorphosed poison frogs. Ecol Evol 2015; 5:4603-16. [PMID: 26668726 PMCID: PMC4670055 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2015] [Revised: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 08/22/2015] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
During early development, many aposematic species have bright and conspicuous warning appearance, but have yet to acquire chemical defenses, a phenotypic state which presumably makes them vulnerable to predation. Body size and signal luminance in particular are known to be sensitive to variation in early nutrition. However, the relative importance of these traits as determinants of predation risk in juveniles is not known. To address this question, we utilized computer‐assisted design (CAD) and information on putative predator visual sensitivities to produce artificial models of postmetamorphic froglets that varied in terms of body size and signal luminance. We then deployed the artificial models in the field and measured rates of attack by birds and unknown predators. Our results indicate that body size was a significant predictor of artificial prey survival. Rates of attack by bird predators were significantly higher on smaller models. However, predation by birds did not differ between artificial models of varying signal luminance. This suggests that at the completion of metamorphosis, smaller froglets may be at a selective disadvantage, potentially because predators can discern they have relatively low levels of chemical defense compared to larger froglets. There is likely to be a premium on efficient foraging, giving rise to rapid growth and the acquisition of toxins from dietary sources in juvenile poison frogs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric E Flores
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK ; Sistema Nacional de Investigacion de Panama (SNI) Panama
| | - Martin Stevens
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK
| | - Allen J Moore
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK ; Department of Genetics University of Georgia 30602 Athens Georgia
| | | | - Jonathan D Blount
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation College of Life & Environmental Sciences University of Exeter Penryn UK
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Exnerová A, Ježová D, Štys P, Doktorovová L, Rojas B, Mappes J. Different reactions to aposematic prey in 2 geographically distant populations of great tits. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
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Stamps JA. Individual differences in behavioural plasticities. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2015; 91:534-67. [PMID: 25865135 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 154] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2014] [Revised: 03/14/2015] [Accepted: 03/18/2015] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Interest in individual differences in animal behavioural plasticities has surged in recent years, but research in this area has been hampered by semantic confusion as different investigators use the same terms (e.g. plasticity, flexibility, responsiveness) to refer to different phenomena. The first goal of this review is to suggest a framework for categorizing the many different types of behavioural plasticities, describe examples of each, and indicate why using reversibility as a criterion for categorizing behavioural plasticities is problematic. This framework is then used to address a number of timely questions about individual differences in behavioural plasticities. One set of questions concerns the experimental designs that can be used to study individual differences in various types of behavioural plasticities. Although within-individual designs are the default option for empirical studies of many types of behavioural plasticities, in some situations (e.g. when experience at an early age affects the behaviour expressed at subsequent ages), 'replicate individual' designs can provide useful insights into individual differences in behavioural plasticities. To date, researchers using within-individual and replicate individual designs have documented individual differences in all of the major categories of behavioural plasticities described herein. Another important question is whether and how different types of behavioural plasticities are related to one another. Currently there is empirical evidence that many behavioural plasticities [e.g. contextual plasticity, learning rates, IIV (intra-individual variability), endogenous plasticities, ontogenetic plasticities) can themselves vary as a function of experiences earlier in life, that is, many types of behavioural plasticity are themselves developmentally plastic. These findings support the assumption that differences among individuals in prior experiences may contribute to individual differences in behavioural plasticities observed at a given age. Several authors have predicted correlations across individuals between different types of behavioural plasticities, i.e. that some individuals will be generally more plastic than others. However, empirical support for most of these predictions, including indirect evidence from studies of relationships between personality traits and plasticities, is currently sparse and equivocal. The final section of this review suggests how an appreciation of the similarities and differences between different types of behavioural plasticities may help theoreticians formulate testable models to explain the evolution of individual differences in behavioural plasticities and the evolutionary and ecological consequences of individual differences in behavioural plasticities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judy A Stamps
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A
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Snell-Rood EC, Steck M. Experience drives the development of movement-cognition correlations in a butterfly. Front Ecol Evol 2015. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2015.00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Problem-solving and learning in Carib grackles: individuals show a consistent speed–accuracy trade-off. Anim Cogn 2014; 18:485-96. [DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0817-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2014] [Revised: 10/21/2014] [Accepted: 10/29/2014] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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49
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Elevation-related differences in novel environment exploration and social dominance in food-caching mountain chickadees. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1796-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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50
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Guillette LM, Hahn AH, Hoeschele M, Przyslupski AM, Sturdy CB. Individual differences in learning speed, performance accuracy and exploratory behaviour in black-capped chickadees. Anim Cogn 2014; 18:165-78. [PMID: 25060576 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-014-0787-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2014] [Revised: 07/03/2014] [Accepted: 07/15/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive processes are important to animals because they not only influence how animals acquire, store and recall information, but also may underpin behaviours such as deciding where to look for food, build a nest, or with whom to mate. Several recent studies have begun to examine the potential interaction between variation in cognition and variation in personality traits. One hypothesis proposed that there is a speed-accuracy trade-off in cognition ability that aligns with a fast-slow behaviour type. Here, we explicitly examined this hypothesis by testing wild-caught black-capped chickadees in a series of cognitive tasks that assessed both learning speed (the number of trials taken to learn) and accuracy (post-acquisition performance when tested with un-trained exemplars). Chickadees' exploration scores were measured in a novel environment task. We found that slow-exploring chickadees demonstrated higher accuracy during the test phase, but did not learn the initial task in fewer trials compared to fast-exploring chickadees, providing partial support for the proposed link between cognition and personality. We report positive correlations in learning speed between different phases within cognitive tasks, but not between the three cognitive tasks suggesting independence in underlying cognitive processing. We discuss different rule-based strategies that may contribute to differential performance accuracy in cognitive tasks and provide suggestions for future experimentation to examine mechanisms underlying the relationship between cognition and personality.
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