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Gillies N, Weimerskirch H, Thorley J, Clay TA, Martín López LM, Joo R, Basille M, Patrick SC. Boldness predicts plasticity in flight responses to winds. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:1730-1742. [PMID: 37365766 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13968] [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: 04/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023]
Abstract
Behavioural plasticity can allow populations to adjust to environmental change when genetic evolution is too slow to keep pace. However, its constraints are not well understood. Personality is known to shape individual behaviour, but its relationship to behavioural plasticity is unclear. We studied the relationship between boldness and behavioural plasticity in response to wind conditions in wandering albatrosses (Diomedea exulans). We fitted multivariate hidden Markov models to an 11-year GPS dataset collected from 294 birds to examine whether the probability of transitioning between behavioural states (rest, prey search and travel) varied in response to wind, boldness and their interaction. We found that movement decisions varied with boldness, with bolder birds showing preferences for travel, and shyer birds showing preferences for search. For females, these effects depended on wind speed. In strong winds, which are optimal for movement, females increased time spent in travel, while in weaker winds, shyer individuals showed a slight preference for search, while bolder individuals maintained preference for travel. Our findings suggest that individual variation in behavioural plasticity may limit the capacity of bolder females to adjust to variable conditions and highlight the important role of behavioural plasticity in population responses to climate change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natasha Gillies
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Henri Weimerskirch
- Centre d'Étude Biologique de Chizé, CNRS UMR 7273, Villiers-en-Bois, France
| | - Jack Thorley
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Thomas A Clay
- Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz, California, USA
| | - Lucía Martina Martín López
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
- Ipar Perspective Asociación, Sopela, Spain
| | - Rocío Joo
- Global Fishing Watch, Washington, District of Columbia, USA
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA
| | - Mathieu Basille
- Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, University of Florida, Davie, Florida, USA
| | - Samantha C Patrick
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
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Responsiveness to contest experiences is associated with competitive ability but not aggressiveness or boldness. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03151-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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O'Dea RE, Noble DWA, Nakagawa S. Unifying individual differences in personality, predictability and plasticity: A practical guide. Methods Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/2041-210x.13755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rose E. O'Dea
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
- Diabetes and Metabolism Division Garvan Institute of Medical Research Sydney NSW Australia
| | - Daniel W. A. Noble
- Division of Ecology and Evolution Research School of Biology The Australian National University Canberra ACT Australia
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- Evolution & Ecology Research Centre School of Biological and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney NSW Australia
- Diabetes and Metabolism Division Garvan Institute of Medical Research Sydney NSW Australia
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Coomes JR, Davidson GL, Reichert MS, Kulahci IG, Troisi CA, Quinn JL. Inhibitory control, exploration behaviour and manipulated ecological context are associated with foraging flexibility in the great tit. J Anim Ecol 2021; 91:320-333. [PMID: 34693529 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Organisms are constantly under selection to respond effectively to diverse, sometimes rapid, changes in their environment, but not all individuals are equally plastic in their behaviour. Although cognitive processes and personality are expected to influence individual behavioural plasticity, the effects reported are highly inconsistent, which we hypothesise is because ecological context is usually not considered. We explored how one type of behavioural plasticity, foraging flexibility, was associated with inhibitory control (assayed using a detour-reaching task) and exploration behaviour in a novel environment (a trait closely linked to the fast-slow personality axis). We investigated how these effects varied across two experimentally manipulated ecological contexts-food value and predation risk. In the first phase of the experiment, we trained great tits Parus major to retrieve high value (preferred) food that was hidden in sand so that this became the familiar food source. In the second phase, we offered them the same familiar hidden food at the same time as a new alternative option that was visible on the surface, which was either high or low value, and under either high or low perceived predation risk. Foraging flexibility was defined as the proportion of choices made during 4-min trials that were for the new alternative food source. Our assays captured consistent differences among individuals in foraging flexibility. Inhibitory control was associated with foraging flexibility-birds with high inhibitory control were more flexible when the alternative food was of high value, suggesting they inhibited the urge to select the familiar food and instead selected the new food option. Exploration behaviour also predicted flexibility-fast explorers were more flexible, supporting the information-gathering hypothesis. This tendency was especially strong under high predation risk, suggesting risk aversion also influenced the observed flexibility because fast explorers are risk prone and the new unfamiliar food was perceived to be the risky option. Thus, both behaviours predicted flexibility, and these links were at least partly dependent on ecological conditions. Our results demonstrate that an executive cognitive function (inhibitory control) and a behavioural assay of a well-known personality axis are both associated with individual variation in the plasticity of a key functional behaviour. That their effects on foraging flexibility were primarily observed as interactions with food value or predation risk treatments also suggest that the population-level consequences of some behavioural mechanisms may only be revealed across key ecological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jenny R Coomes
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Gabrielle L Davidson
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael S Reichert
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Integrative Biology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Ipek G Kulahci
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Galvin Life Science Centre, Notre Dame, Indiana, USA
| | - Camille A Troisi
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
| | - John L Quinn
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Environmental Research Institute, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
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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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