1
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Mitchell DJ, Beckmann C, Biro PA. Maintenance of Behavioral Variation under Predation Risk: Effects on Personality, Plasticity, and Predictability. Am Nat 2024; 203:347-361. [PMID: 38358809 DOI: 10.1086/728421] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
AbstractClassic evolutionary theory predicts that predation will shift trait means and erode variance within prey species; however, several studies indicate higher behavioral trait variance and trait integration in high-predation populations. These results come predominately from field-sampled animals comparing low- and high-predation sites and thus cannot isolate the role of predation from other ecological factors, including density effects arising from higher predation. Here, we study the role of predation on behavioral trait (co)variation in experimental populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) living with and without a benthic ambush predator (Jaguar cichlid) to better evaluate the role of predation and where density was equalized among replicates twice per year. At 2.5 years after introduction of the predators (∼10 overlapping generations), 40 males were sampled from each of the six replicate populations and extensively assayed for activity rates, water column use, and latency to feed following disturbance. Individual variation was pronounced in both treatments, with substantial individual variation in means, temporal plasticity, and predictability (inverse residual variance). Predators had little effect on mean behavior, although there was some evidence for greater use of the upper water column in predator-exposed fish. There was greater variance among individuals in water column use in predator-exposed fish, and they habituated more quickly over time; individuals higher in the water column fed slower and had a reduced positive correlation with activity, although again this effect was time specific. Predators also affected the integration of personality and plasticity-among-individual variances in water column use increased, and those in activity decreased, through time-which was absent in controls. Our results contrast with the extensive guppy literature showing rapid evolution in trait means, demonstrating either increases or maintenance of behavioral variance under predation.
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2
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Gaona-Gordillo I, Holtmann B, Mouchet A, Hutfluss A, Sánchez-Tójar A, Dingemanse NJ. Are animal personality, body condition, physiology and structural size integrated? A comparison of species, populations and sexes, and the value of study replication. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:1707-1718. [PMID: 37323075 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
A major question in behavioural ecology is why behaviour, physiology and morphology are often integrated into syndromes. In great tits, Parus major, for example, explorative males are larger (vs. smaller) and leaner (vs. heavier) compared to less explorative individuals. Unfortunately, considerable debate exists on whether patterns found in specific studies are replicable. This debate calls for study replication among species, populations and sexes. We measured behavioural (exploration), physiological (breathing rate) and morphological traits (body mass, tarsus length, wing length, bill length) in two species (great vs. blue tits Cyanistes caeruleus), two populations (Forstenrieder Park vs. Starnberg) and two sexes (males vs. females). We then tested whether the same pattern of integration characterized all unique combinations of these three biological categories (hereafter called datasets). We used a multi-year repeated measures set-up to estimate among-individual trait correlation matrices for each dataset. We then used structural equation modelling to test for size-dependent behaviour and physiology, size-corrected (i.e. size-independent) behaviour-physiology correlations and size-corrected body mass-dependent behaviour and physiology. Finally, we used meta-analyses to test which structural paths were generally (vs. conditionally) supported (vs. unsupported). We found general and consistent support for size-dependent physiology and size-corrected body mass-dependent physiology across datasets: faster breathers were smaller but heavier for their size. Unexpectedly, condition-dependent behaviour was not supported: explorative birds were neither leaner, nor was this relationship heterogeneous across datasets. All other hypothesized patterns were dataset-specific: the covariance between size and behaviour, and between behaviour and physiology differed in sign between datasets, and both were, on average, not supported. This heterogeneity was not explained by any of our moderators: species, population or sex. The specific pattern of size- and condition-dependent physiology reported for a unique combination of species, population, and sex, thus generally predicted those in others. Patterns of size- or condition-dependent behaviour (i.e. 'personality'), or behaviour-physiology syndromes reported in specific datasets, by contrast, did not. These findings call for studies revealing the ecological background of this variation and highlight the value of study replication to help understand whether patterns of phenotypic integration reported in one study can be generalized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Gaona-Gordillo
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
| | - Benedikt Holtmann
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency, Department Management of the Sea, Division Assessment and Monitoring, Section Environmental Assessment, Rostock, Germany
| | - Alexia Mouchet
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- IDEEV UMR EGCE, IRD, CNRS, Paris-Saclay University, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Alexander Hutfluss
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
- Bayerisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Ref. 51 Fachgrundlagen Naturschutz, Augsburg, Germany
| | | | - Niels J Dingemanse
- Behavioural Ecology, Department of Biology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, Planegg-Martinsried, Germany
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3
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Fortunato JA, Earley RL. Age-dependent genetic variation in aggression. Biol Lett 2023; 19:20220456. [PMID: 36693426 PMCID: PMC9873472 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the extent to which behavioural variance is underlain by genotypic, environmental and genotype-by-environment effects is important for predicting how behavioural traits might respond to selection and evolve. How behaviour varies both within and among individuals can change across ontogeny, leading to differences in the relative contribution of genetic and environmental effects to phenotypic variation across ages. We investigated among-individual and among-genotype variation in aggression across ontogeny by measuring, twice as juveniles and twice as adults, both approaches and attacks against a three-dimensional-printed model opponent in eight individuals from each of eight genotypes (N = 64). Aggression was only significantly repeatable and heritabile in juveniles. Additionally, how aggression changed between juvenile and adult life-history stages varied significantly among individuals and genotypes. These results suggest that juvenile aggression is likely to evolve more rapidly via natural selection than adult aggression and that the trajectory of behavioural change across the lifespan has the potential to evolve. Determining when genetic variation explains (or does not explain) behavioural variation can further our understanding of key life-history stages during which selection might drive the strongest or swiftest evolutionary response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer A. Fortunato
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, 1325 Hackberry Lane, Box 870344, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
| | - Ryan L. Earley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alabama, 1325 Hackberry Lane, Box 870344, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487, USA
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4
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Guenther A, Trillmich F. Photoperiod influences the development and the expression of personality traits and social behaviour in wild cavies (
Cavia aperea
). Ethology 2022. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anja Guenther
- Research Group Behavioural Ecology of Individual Differences, Department for Evolutionary Genetics Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology Plön Germany
- Animal Behaviour University of Bielefeld Bielefeld Germany
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5
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Amin B, Jennings DJ, Norman A, Ryan A, Ioannidis V, Magee A, Haughey HA, Haigh A, Ciuti S. Neonate personality affects early-life resource acquisition in a large social mammal. Behav Ecol 2022; 33:1025-1035. [PMID: 36382227 PMCID: PMC9664924 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 07/08/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it is widely acknowledged that animal personality plays a key role in ecology, current debate focuses on the exact role of personality in mediating life-history trade-offs. Crucial for our understanding is the relationship between personality and resource acquisition, which is poorly understood, especially during early stages of development. Here we studied how among-individual differences in behavior develop over the first 6 months of life, and their potential association with resource acquisition in a free-ranging population of fallow deer (Dama dama). We related neonate physiological (heart rate) and behavioral (latency to leave at release) anti-predator responses to human handling to the proportion of time fawns spent scanning during their first summer and autumn of life. We then investigated whether there was a trade-off between scanning time and foraging time in these juveniles, and how it developed over their first 6 months of life. We found that neonates with longer latencies at capture (i.e., risk-takers) spent less time scanning their environment, but that this relationship was only present when fawns were 3-6 months old during autumn, and not when fawns were only 1-2 months old during summer. We also found that time spent scanning was negatively related to time spent foraging and that this relationship became stronger over time, as fawns gradually switch from a nutrition rich (milk) to a nutrition poor (grass) diet. Our results highlight a potential mechanistic pathway in which neonate personality may drive differences in early-life resource acquisition of a large social mammal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bawan Amin
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | | | - Alison Norman
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Andrew Ryan
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Vasiliki Ioannidis
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Alice Magee
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Hayley-Anne Haughey
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Amy Haigh
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Simone Ciuti
- Laboratory of Wildlife Ecology and Behaviour, School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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6
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Harrison LM, Noble DWA, Jennions MD. A meta-analysis of sex differences in animal personality: no evidence for the greater male variability hypothesis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:679-707. [PMID: 34908228 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12818] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 11/13/2021] [Accepted: 11/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
The notion that men are more variable than women has become embedded into scientific thinking. For mental traits like personality, greater male variability has been partly attributed to biology, underpinned by claims that there is generally greater variation among males than females in non-human animals due to stronger sexual selection on males. However, evidence for greater male variability is limited to morphological traits, and there is little information regarding sex differences in personality-like behaviours for non-human animals. Here, we meta-analysed sex differences in means and variances for over 2100 effects (204 studies) from 220 species (covering five broad taxonomic groups) across five personality traits: boldness, aggression, activity, sociality and exploration. We also tested if sexual size dimorphism, a proxy for sex-specific sexual selection, explains variation in the magnitude of sex differences in personality. We found no significant differences in personality between the sexes. In addition, sexual size dimorphism did not explain variation in the magnitude of the observed sex differences in the mean or variance in personality for any taxonomic group. In sum, we find no evidence for widespread sex differences in variability in non-human animal personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren M Harrison
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
| | - Michael D Jennions
- Division of Ecology and Evolution, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, 46 Sullivans Creek Road, Canberra, ACT, 2600, Australia
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7
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Cabrera D, Nilsson JR, Griffen BD. The development of animal personality across ontogeny: a cross-species review. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
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8
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Mitchell DJ, Houslay TM. Context-dependent trait covariances: how plasticity shapes behavioral syndromes. Behav Ecol 2020; 32:25-29. [PMID: 33708005 PMCID: PMC7937033 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 09/27/2020] [Accepted: 10/05/2020] [Indexed: 01/21/2023] Open
Abstract
The study of behavioral syndromes aims to understand among-individual correlations of behavior, yielding insights into the ecological factors and proximate constraints that shape behavior. In parallel, interest has been growing in behavioral plasticity, with results commonly showing that animals vary in their behavioral response to environmental change. These two phenomena are inextricably linked—behavioral syndromes describe cross-trait or cross-context correlations, while variation in behavioral plasticity describes variation in response to changing context. However, they are often discussed separately, with plasticity analyses typically considering a single trait (univariate) across environments, while behavioral trait correlations are studied as multiple traits (multivariate) under one environmental context. Here, we argue that such separation represents a missed opportunity to integrate these concepts. Through observations of multiple traits while manipulating environmental conditions, we can quantify how the environment shapes behavioral correlations, thus quantifying how phenotypes are differentially constrained or integrated under different environmental conditions. Two analytical options exist which enable us to evaluate the context dependence of behavioral syndromes—multivariate reaction norms and character state models. These models are largely two sides of the same coin, but through careful interpretation we can use either to shift our focus to test how the contextual environment shapes trait covariances.
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Affiliation(s)
- David J Mitchell
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrheniusväg 18B., Stockholm, Sweden
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9
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Class B, Brommer J. Contrasting multilevel relationships between behavior and body mass in blue tit nestlings. Behav Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/araa014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Repeatable behaviors (i.e., animal personality) are pervasive in the animal kingdom and various mechanisms have been proposed to explain their existence. Genetic and nongenetic mechanisms, which can be equally important, predict correlations between behavior and body mass on different levels (e.g., genetic and environmental) of variation. We investigated multilevel relationships between body mass measured on weeks 1, 2, and 3 and three behavioral responses to handling, measured on week 3, which form a behavioral syndrome in wild blue tit nestlings. Using 7 years of data and quantitative genetic models, we find that all behaviors and body mass on week 3 are heritable (h2 = 0.18–0.23) and genetically correlated, whereas earlier body masses are not heritable. We also find evidence for environmental correlations between body masses and behaviors. Interestingly, these environmental correlations have different signs for early and late body masses. Altogether, these findings indicate genetic integration between body mass and behavior and illustrate the impacts of early environmental factors and environmentally mediated growth trajectory on behaviors expressed later in life. This study, therefore, suggests that the relationship between personality and body mass in developing individuals is due to various underlying mechanisms, which can have opposing effects. Future research on the link between behavior and body mass would benefit from considering these multiple mechanisms simultaneously.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Class
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, Turku, Finland
| | - Jon Brommer
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, Turku, Finland
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10
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Class B, Brommer JE. Can dominance genetic variance be ignored in evolutionary quantitative genetic analyses of wild populations? Evolution 2020; 74:1540-1550. [PMID: 32510608 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2019] [Revised: 05/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Accurately estimating genetic variance components is important for studying evolution in the wild. Empirical work on domesticated and wild outbred populations suggests that dominance genetic variance represents a substantial part of genetic variance, and theoretical work predicts that ignoring dominance can inflate estimates of additive genetic variance. Whether this issue is pervasive in natural systems is unknown, because we lack estimates of dominance variance in wild populations obtained in situ. Here, we estimate dominance and additive genetic variance, maternal variance, and other sources of nongenetic variance in eight traits measured in over 9000 wild nestlings linked through a genetically resolved pedigree. We find that dominance variance, when estimable, does not statistically differ from zero and represents a modest amount (2-36%) of genetic variance. Simulations show that (1) inferences of all variance components for an average trait are unbiased; (2) the power to detect dominance variance is low; (3) ignoring dominance can mildly inflate additive genetic variance and heritability estimates but such inflation becomes substantial when maternal effects are also ignored. These findings hence suggest that dominance is a small source of phenotypic variance in the wild and highlight the importance of proper model construction for accurately estimating evolutionary potential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Class
- Global Change Ecology Research Group, University of the Sunshine Coast, 90 Sippy Downs Drive, Sippy Downs, QLD, 4556, Australia.,Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, Turku, 20014, Finland
| | - Jon E Brommer
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, University Hill, Turku, 20014, Finland
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11
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Do different food amounts gradually promote personality variation throughout the life stage in a clonal gecko species? Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.01.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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12
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Houslay TM, Kitchener PA, Royle NJ. Are older parents less flexible? Testing age-dependent plasticity in Nicrophorus vespilloides burying beetles. Anim Behav 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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13
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Fattebert J, Perrig M, Naef-Daenzer B, Grüebler MU. Experimentally disentangling intrinsic and extrinsic drivers of natal dispersal in a nocturnal raptor. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191537. [PMID: 31480971 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Equivocal knowledge of the phase-specific drivers of natal dispersal remains a major deficit in understanding causes and consequences of dispersal and thus, spatial dynamics within and between populations. We performed a field experiment combining partial cross-fostering of nestlings and nestling food supplementation in little owls (Athene noctua). This approach disentangled the effect of nestling origin from the effect of the rearing environment on dispersal behaviour, while simultaneously investigating the effect of food availability in the rearing environment. We radio-tracked fledglings to quantify the timing of pre-emigration forays and emigration, foray and transfer duration, and the dispersal distances. Dispersal characteristics of the pre-emigration phase were affected by the rearing environment rather than by the origin of nestlings. In food-poor habitats, supplemented individuals emigrated later than unsupplemented individuals. By contrast, transfer duration and distance were influenced by the birds' origin rather than by their rearing environment. We found no correlation between timing of emigration and transfer duration or distance. We conclude that food supply to the nestlings and other characteristics of the rearing environment modulate the timing of emigration, while innate traits associated with the nestling origin affect the transfer phases after emigration. The dispersal behaviours of juveniles prior and after emigration, therefore, were related to different determinants, and are suggested to form different life-history traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julien Fattebert
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland.,Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Marco Perrig
- Swiss Ornithological Institute, CH-6204 Sempach, Switzerland
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14
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Class B, Brommer JE, van Oers K. Exploratory behavior undergoes genotype-age interactions in a wild bird. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:8987-8994. [PMID: 31462997 PMCID: PMC6706179 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 06/17/2019] [Indexed: 11/06/2022] Open
Abstract
Animal personality traits are often heritable and plastic at the same time. Indeed, behaviors that reflect an individual's personality can respond to environmental factors or change with age. To date, little is known regarding personality changes during a wild animals' lifetime and even less about stability in heritability of behavior across ages. In this study, we investigated age-related changes in the mean and in the additive genetic variance of exploratory behavior, a commonly used measure of animal personality, in a wild population of great tits. Heritability of exploration is reduced in adults compared to juveniles, with a low genetic correlation across these age classes. A random regression animal model confirmed the occurrence of genotype-age interactions (G×A) in exploration, causing a decrease in additive genetic variance before individuals become 1 year old, and a decline in cross-age genetic correlations between young and increasingly old individuals. Of the few studies investigating G×A in behaviors, this study provides rare evidence for this phenomenon in an extensively studied behavior. We indeed demonstrate that heritability and cross-age genetic correlations in this behavior are not stable over an individual's lifetime, which can affect its potential response to selection. Because G×A is likely to be common in behaviors and have consequences for our understanding of the evolution of animal personality, more attention should be turned to this phenomenon in the future work.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Class
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | | | - Kees van Oers
- Department of Animal EcologyNetherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO‐KNAW)WageningenThe Netherlands
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15
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Han CS, Jablonski PG. Alternative reproductive tactics shape within-species variation in behavioral syndromes. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractMultiple behaviors can correlate with each other at the individual level (behavioral syndrome), and behavioral syndromes can vary in their direction between populations within a species. Within-species variation in behavioral syndromes is predicted to be associated with alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs), which evolve under different selection regimes. Here, we tested this using a water strider species, Gerris gracilicornis, in which males employ 2 ARTs that are fixed for life: signaling males (producing courtship ripples) versus nonsignaling males (producing no courtship ripples). We measured multiple behaviors in males with both of these ARTs and compared behavioral syndromes between them. Our results showed that signaling males were more active and attempted to mate more frequently than nonsignaling males. This shaped an overall behavioral syndrome between activities in mating and nonmating contexts when we pooled both ARTs. In addition, the behavioral syndromes between cautiousness and mating activity differed significantly between ARTs. In signaling males, the syndrome was significantly negative: signaling males more eager to mate tended to leave their refuges more rapidly. However, mating activity and cautiousness were not correlated in nonsignaling males. This might be because active males, in the context of predation risk and mating, were favored during the evolution and maintenance of the unique intimidating courtship tactic of G. gracilicornis males. Thus, our findings suggest that ARTs facilitate behavioral divergence and also contribute to the evolution of tactic-specific behavioral syndromes. We also show that research on ARTs and behavioral syndromes can be harmonized to study behavioral variation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chang S Han
- Department of Biology, Kyung Hee University, Dongdaemun-Gu, Seoul, Korea
| | - Piotr G Jablonski
- Laboratory of Behavioral Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, Seoul National University, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, Korea
- Museum and Institute of Zoology, Polish Academy of Sciences, Wilcza, Warsaw, Poland
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16
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Development of G: a test in an amphibious fish. Heredity (Edinb) 2018; 122:696-708. [PMID: 30327484 DOI: 10.1038/s41437-018-0152-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2018] [Revised: 09/16/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Heritable variation in, and genetic correlations among, traits determine the response of multivariate phenotypes to natural selection. However, as traits develop over ontogeny, patterns of genetic (co)variation and integration captured by the G matrix may also change. Despite this, few studies have investigated how genetic parameters underpinning multivariate phenotypes change as animals pass through major life history stages. Here, using a self-fertilizing hermaphroditic fish species, mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus), we test the hypothesis that G changes from hatching through reproductive maturation. We also test Cheverud's conjecture by asking whether phenotypic patterns provide an acceptable surrogate for patterns of genetic (co)variation within and across ontogenetic stages. For a set of morphological traits linked to locomotor (jumping) performance, we find that the overall level of genetic integration (as measured by the mean-squared correlation across all traits) does not change significantly over ontogeny. However, we also find evidence that some trait-specific genetic variances and pairwise genetic correlations do change. Ontogenetic changes in G indicate the presence of genetic variance for developmental processes themselves, while also suggesting that any genetic constraints on morphological evolution may be age-dependent. Phenotypic correlations closely resembled genetic correlations at each stage in ontogeny. Thus, our results are consistent with the premise that-at least under common environment conditions-phenotypic correlations can be a good substitute for genetic correlations in studies of multivariate developmental evolution.
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17
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Thoré ESJ, Steenaerts L, Philippe C, Grégoir A, Brendonck L, Pinceel T. Individual behavioral variation reflects personality divergence in the upcoming model organism Nothobranchius furzeri. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:8448-8457. [PMID: 30250714 PMCID: PMC6144979 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2018] [Revised: 04/19/2018] [Accepted: 06/20/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
In the animal kingdom, behavioral variation among individuals has often been reported. However, stable among-individual differences along a behavioral continuum-reflective of personality variation-have only recently become a key target of research. While a vast body of descriptive literature exists on animal personality, hypothesis-driven quantitative studies are largely deficient. One of the main constraints to advance the field is the lack of suitable model organisms. Here, we explore whether N. furzeri could be a valuable model to bridge descriptive and hypothesis-driven research to further unravel the causes, function and evolution of animal personality. As a first step toward this end, we perform a common garden laboratory experiment to examine if behavioral variation in the turquoise killifish Nothobranchius furzeri reflects personality divergence. Furthermore, we explore if multiple behavioral traits are correlated. We deliver "proof of principle" of personality variation among N. furzeri individuals in multiple behavioral traits. Because of the vast body of available genomic and physiological information, the well-characterized ecological background and an exceptionally short life cycle, N. furzeri is an excellent model organism to further elucidate the causes and implications of behavioral variation in an eco-evolutionary context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eli S. J. Thoré
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Laure Steenaerts
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Charlotte Philippe
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Systemic Physiological and Ecotoxicological ResearchUniversity of AntwerpAntwerpBelgium
| | - Arnout Grégoir
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Luc Brendonck
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Water Research GroupUnit for Environmental Sciences and ManagementNorth‐West UniversityPotchefstroomSouth Africa
| | - Tom Pinceel
- Animal Ecology, Global Change and Sustainable DevelopmentKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Centre for Environmental ManagementUniversity of the Free StateBloemfonteinSouth Africa
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18
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Ramakers JJC, Culina A, Visser ME, Gienapp P. Environmental coupling of heritability and selection is rare and of minor evolutionary significance in wild populations. Nat Ecol Evol 2018; 2:1093-1103. [PMID: 29915341 PMCID: PMC6027994 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0577-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Predicting the rate of adaptation to environmental change in wild populations is important for understanding evolutionary change. However, predictions may be unreliable if the two key variables affecting the rate of evolutionary change-heritability and selection-are both affected by the same environmental variable. To determine how general such an environmentally induced coupling of heritability and selection is, and how this may influence the rate of adaptation, we made use of freely accessible, open data on pedigreed wild populations to answer this question at the broadest possible scale. Using 16 populations from 10 vertebrate species, which provided data on 50 traits (relating to body mass, morphology, physiology, behaviour and life history), we found evidence for an environmentally induced relationship between heritability and selection in only 6 cases, with weak evidence that this resulted in an increase or decrease in the expected selection response. We conclude that such a coupling of heritability and selection is unlikely to strongly affect evolutionary change, even though both heritability and selection are commonly postulated to be dependent on the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jip J C Ramakers
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Antica Culina
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Marcel E Visser
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Phillip Gienapp
- Department of Animal Ecology, Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Wageningen, the Netherlands
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19
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Abstract
Abstract
The developmental perspectives of animal personality enhance our understanding of how personality structure changes in relation to life stage. Clonal animals are ideal models for developmental studies because personality differences can be solely attributed to environmental factors. Here, I investigated the presence of personality within a species of clonal gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris, at different developmental stages. For juveniles and adult geckos, I measured exploration (reaction to a novel situation) and boldness (risk-prone tendency) and evaluated repeatability and correlation of these behavioural traits. Each gecko exhibited different exploration and boldness with significant repeatability through time but no correlation between these behavioural traits. Small juveniles were composed of only bold and low explorative individuals but large juveniles and adults were composed of various personality type individuals. These results demonstrate that subject geckos have a similar personality structure across life stages and that exploration and boldness are independent personality without forming behavioural syndrome structure. Biased composition of personality type between life stages suggests that appearance of different personality type individuals during an early ontogenetic stage generates personality variation within the clonal population. This study provides developmental insight about personality structure and its composition in clonal animals living in the wild.
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20
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Amat I, Desouhant E, Gomes E, Moreau J, Monceau K. Insect personality: what can we learn from metamorphosis? CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2018; 27:46-51. [PMID: 30025634 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Revised: 02/08/2018] [Accepted: 02/09/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Ontogeny of animal personality is still an open question. Testing whether personality traits correlated with state variables (e.g. metabolic rate, hormones) and/or life history traits, and which ones are involved, requires more empirical studies. Insects with metamorphosis represent a good opportunity to tackle this question. Because of the various degrees of internal (physiological, nervous) and environmental changes linked to metamorphosis they allow testing whether these modifications drive consistency in personality traits between immature and adult stages. In this review, we establish general predictions for the effects of metamorphosis on personality in insects with complete or incomplete metamorphosis and suffering from a strong or weak niche shift after metamorphosis. We then reviewed the still rare empirical literature and discuss future research axes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Amat
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, 69100 Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Emmanuel Desouhant
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Elisa Gomes
- Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive, 69100 Villeurbanne, France
| | - Jérôme Moreau
- UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Equipe Ecologie Evolutive, Université de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, 21000 Dijon, France
| | - Karine Monceau
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, UMR 7372 CNRS, Université de la Rochelle, 79360 Villiers en Bois, France
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21
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Trnka A, Samaš P, Grim T. Consistent individual and sex-specific differences in behaviour of common cuckoo chicks: is there a potential impact on host-parasite coevolutionary dynamics? BEHAVIOUR 2018. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Research on brood parasitism has focused primarily on specific host anti-parasite behaviours and parasite counter-adaptations, and little is known about other aspects of their behaviours such as consistent behavioural differences between individuals. Therefore, we examined consistency in behaviour of nestlings of common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) raised by great reed warblers (Acrocephalus arundinaceus). Cuckoo chicks showed high repeatability of both aggressive behaviour and breath rate, and both traits were strongly correlated with each other. This represents the first evidence for consistent differences in behaviour among avian brood parasites. Males were consistently more aggressive and less stressed than females. Nestlings of both sexes that hatched later in the season exhibited higher levels of aggression and lower stress responses than nestlings hatched earlier. This suggests that rearing conditions (e.g., food availability and quality) may modulate stress and aggressive phenotypes of brood parasites. We discuss potential effects of the observed patterns on host-parasite dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alfréd Trnka
- aDepartment of Biology, University of Trnava, Priemyselná 4, 918 43, Trnava, Slovakia
| | - Peter Samaš
- bInstitute of Vertebrate Biology, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Květná 8, 60365 Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Tomáš Grim
- cDepartment of Zoology and Laboratory of Ornithology, Palacký University, 17. listopadu 50, 77146 Olomouc, Czech Republic
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22
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Winney IS, Schroeder J, Nakagawa S, Hsu YH, Simons MJP, Sánchez-Tójar A, Mannarelli ME, Burke T. Heritability and social brood effects on personality in juvenile and adult life-history stages in a wild passerine. J Evol Biol 2017; 31:75-87. [PMID: 29044885 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2016] [Accepted: 10/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
How has evolution led to the variation in behavioural phenotypes (personalities) in a population? Knowledge of whether personality is heritable, and to what degree it is influenced by the social environment, is crucial to understanding its evolutionary significance, yet few estimates are available from natural populations. We tracked three behavioural traits during different life-history stages in a pedigreed population of wild house sparrows. Using a quantitative genetic approach, we demonstrated heritability in adult exploration, and in nestling activity after accounting for fixed effects, but not in adult boldness. We did not detect maternal effects on any traits, but we did detect a social brood effect on nestling activity. Boldness, exploration and nestling activity in this population did not form a behavioural syndrome, suggesting that selection could act independently on these behavioural traits in this species, although we found no consistent support for phenotypic selection on these traits. Our work shows that repeatable behaviours can vary in their heritability and that social context influences personality traits. Future efforts could separate whether personality traits differ in heritability because they have served specific functional roles in the evolution of the phenotype or because our concept of personality and the stability of behaviour needs to be revised.
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Affiliation(s)
- I S Winney
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - J Schroeder
- Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - S Nakagawa
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.,Evolution & Ecology Research Centre and School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Y-H Hsu
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - M J P Simons
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - A Sánchez-Tójar
- Evolutionary Biology, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - M-E Mannarelli
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
| | - T Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
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23
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Patrick SC, Pinaud D, Weimerskirch H. Boldness predicts an individual's position along an exploration-exploitation foraging trade-off. J Anim Ecol 2017; 86:1257-1268. [PMID: 28646599 PMCID: PMC5601208 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Accepted: 05/23/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
Abstract
Individuals do not have complete information about the environment and therefore they face a trade-off between gathering information (exploration) and gathering resources (exploitation). Studies have shown individual differences in components of this trade-off but how stable these strategies are in a population and the intrinsic drivers of these differences is not well understood. Top marine predators are expected to experience a particularly strong trade-off as many species have large foraging ranges and their prey often have a patchy distribution. This environment leads these species to exhibit pronounced exploration and exploitation phases but differences between individuals are poorly resolved. Personality differences are known to be important in foraging behaviour but also in the trade-off between exploration and exploitation. Here we test whether personality predicts an individual exploration-exploitation strategy using wide ranging wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans) as a model system. Using GPS tracking data from 276 wandering albatrosses, we extract foraging parameters indicative of exploration (searching) and exploitation (foraging) and show that foraging effort, time in patch and size of patch are strongly correlated, demonstrating these are indicative of an exploration-exploitation (EE) strategy. Furthermore, we show these are consistent within individuals and appear stable in the population, with no reproductive advantage. The searching and foraging behaviour of bolder birds placed them towards the exploration end of the trade-off, whereas shy birds showed greater exploitation. This result provides a mechanism through which individual foraging strategies may emerge. Age and sex affected components of the trade-off, but not the trade-off itself, suggesting these factors may drive behavioural compensation to maintain resource acquisition and this was supported by the evidence that there were no fitness consequence of any EE trait nor the trade-off itself. These results demonstrate a clear trade-off between information gathering and exploitation of prey patches, and reveals for the first time that boldness may drive these differences. This provides a mechanism through which widely reported links between personality and foraging may emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - David Pinaud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de ChizéUMR 7372CNRS—Université La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de ChizéUMR 7372CNRS—Université La RochelleVilliers‐en‐BoisFrance
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24
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Monceau K, Moreau J, Richet J, Motreuil S, Moret Y, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX. Larval personality does not predict adult personality in a holometabolous insect. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blw015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
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25
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Thys B, Eens M, Aerts S, Delory A, Iserbyt A, Pinxten R. Exploration and sociability in a highly gregarious bird are repeatable across seasons and in the long term but are unrelated. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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26
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27
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Anderson BB, Scott A, Dukas R. Social behavior and activity are decoupled in larval and adult fruit flies. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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28
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Edwards HA, Hajduk GK, Durieux G, Burke T, Dugdale HL. No Association between Personality and Candidate Gene Polymorphisms in a Wild Bird Population. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0138439. [PMID: 26473495 PMCID: PMC4608812 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0138439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/25/2015] [Accepted: 08/31/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Consistency of between-individual differences in behaviour or personality is a phenomenon in populations that can have ecological consequences and evolutionary potential. One way that behaviour can evolve is to have a genetic basis. Identifying the molecular genetic basis of personality could therefore provide insight into how and why such variation is maintained, particularly in natural populations. Previously identified candidate genes for personality in birds include the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4), and serotonin transporter (SERT). Studies of wild bird populations have shown that exploratory and bold behaviours are associated with polymorphisms in both DRD4 and SERT. Here we tested for polymorphisms in DRD4 and SERT in the Seychelles warbler (Acrocephalus sechellensis) population on Cousin Island, Seychelles, and then investigated correlations between personality and polymorphisms in these genes. We found no genetic variation in DRD4, but identified four polymorphisms in SERT that clustered into five haplotypes. There was no correlation between bold or exploratory behaviours and SERT polymorphisms/haplotypes. The null result was not due to lack of power, and indicates that there was no association between these behaviours and variation in the candidate genes tested in this population. These null findings provide important data to facilitate representative future meta-analyses on candidate personality genes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah A. Edwards
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Gabriela K. Hajduk
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Gillian Durieux
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Terry Burke
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah L. Dugdale
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
- Groningen Institute for Evolutionary Life Sciences, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
- Nature Seychelles, Mahe, Republic of Seychelles
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