1
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Skinner M, Nagabaskaran G, Gantert T, Miller N. Bolder together: conformity drives behavioral plasticity in eastern gartersnakes. Anim Cogn 2024; 27:2. [PMID: 38386147 PMCID: PMC10884060 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-024-01859-5] [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: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Personality traits drive individual differences in behaviour that are consistent across time and context. Personality limits behavioural plasticity, which could lead to maladaptive choices if animals cannot adapt their behavior to changing conditions. Here, we assessed consistency and flexibility in one personality trait, boldness, across non-social and social contexts in eastern gartersnakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis). Snakes explored a novel open arena either alone or in a pair. Pairs were assigned based on the data from the solo trials, such that each snake was paired once with a bolder and once with a less bold partner. We predicted that snakes would conform when in a social context, displaying plasticity in their personality, and causing boldness scores to converge. We found that snakes were consistent within contexts (solo or paired), but changed their behavior across contexts (from solo to paired). Plasticity in boldness resulted from an interaction between conformity and repeatable individual differences in plasticity. In line with some data on other species, snakes conformed more when they were the less bold partner. Personality reflects a consistent bias in decision-making, but our results highlight that the cognitive processes that drive the expression of personality traits in behavior are flexible and sensitive to social context. We show that both consistency and plasticity combine to shape snake social behavior in ways that are responsive to competition. This pattern of behavior may be particularly beneficial for species in which group-living is seasonal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan Skinner
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ONT, N2L 3C5, Canada.
| | - Gokulan Nagabaskaran
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ONT, N2L 3C5, Canada
| | - Tom Gantert
- School of Nursing, Fanshawe College, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Noam Miller
- Department of Psychology, Wilfrid Laurier University, 75 University Ave. West, Waterloo, ONT, N2L 3C5, Canada
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2
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Warrington MH, Beaulieu S, Jellicoe R, Vos S, Bennett NC, Waterman JM. Lovers, not fighters: docility influences reproductive fitness, but not survival, in male Cape ground squirrels, Xerus inauris. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2024; 78:6. [PMID: 38187116 PMCID: PMC10766660 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2022] [Revised: 12/13/2023] [Accepted: 12/20/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2024]
Abstract
Over their lifetime, individuals may use different behavioural strategies to maximize their fitness. Some behavioural traits may be consistent among individuals over time (i.e., 'personality' traits) resulting in an individual behavioural phenotype with different associated costs and benefits. Understanding how behavioural traits are linked to lifetime fitness requires tracking individuals over their lifetime. Here, we leverage a long-term study on a multi-year living species (maximum lifespan ~ 10 years) to examine how docility (an individual's reaction to trapping and handling) may contribute to how males are able to maximize their lifetime fitness. Cape ground squirrels are burrowing mammals that live in social groups, and although males lack physical aggression and territoriality, they vary in docility. Males face high predation risk and high reproductive competition and employ either of two reproductive tactics ('natal' or 'band') which are not associated with different docility personalities. We found that although more docile individuals sired more offspring on an annual basis, docility did not affect an individual's long-term (lifetime) reproductive output. Survival was not associated with docility or body condition, but annual survival was influenced by rainfall. Our findings suggest that although docility may represent a behavioural strategy to maximize fitness by possibly playing a role in female-male associations or female mate-choice, variations in docility within our study population is likely maintained by other environmental drivers. However, individual variations in behaviours may still contribute as part of the 'tool kit' individuals use to maximize their lifetime fitness. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00265-023-03421-8.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miyako H. Warrington
- Department of Biological and Medical Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sienna Beaulieu
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Riley Jellicoe
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
| | - Sjoerd Vos
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Graduate School of Life Sciences, University of Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - Nigel C. Bennett
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
| | - Jane M. Waterman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada
- Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002 South Africa
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3
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Peignier M, Araya-Ajoy YG, Ringler M, Ringler E. Personality traits differentially affect components of reproductive success in a Neotropical poison frog. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20231551. [PMID: 37727087 PMCID: PMC10509575 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.1551] [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: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual reproductive success has several components, including the acquisition of mating partners, offspring production, and offspring survival until adulthood. While the effects of certain personality traits-such as boldness or aggressiveness-on single components of reproductive success are well studied, we know little about the composite and multifaceted effects behavioural traits can have on all the aspects of reproductive success. Behavioural traits positively linked to one component of reproductive success might not be beneficial for other components, and these effects may differ between sexes. We investigated the influence of boldness, aggressiveness, and exploration on the number of mating partners, mating events, and offspring surviving until adulthood in males and females of the Neotropical poison frog Allobates femoralis. Behavioural traits had different-even opposite-effects on distinct components of reproductive success in both males and females. For example, males who displayed high levels of aggressiveness and exploration (or low levels of aggressiveness and exploration) managed to attract high number of mating partners, while males with low levels of boldness, low levels of aggressiveness, and high levels of exploration had the most offspring surviving until adulthood. Our results therefore suggest correlational selection favouring particular combinations of behavioural traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mélissa Peignier
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
| | - Yimen G. Araya-Ajoy
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7034 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Max Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, University of Vienna, 1030 Vienna, Austria
- Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics, University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, 8010 Graz, Austria
| | - Eva Ringler
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Messerli Research Institute, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, 1210 Vienna, Austria
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4
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Martin JS, Jaeggi AV, Koski SE. The social evolution of individual differences: Future directions for a comparative science of personality in social behavior. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 144:104980. [PMID: 36463970 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104980] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/29/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022]
Abstract
Personality is essential for understanding the evolution of cooperation and conflict in behavior. However, personality science remains disconnected from the field of social evolution, limiting our ability to explain how personality and plasticity shape phenotypic adaptation in social behavior. Researchers also lack an integrative framework for comparing personality in the contextualized and multifaceted behaviors central to social interactions among humans and other animals. Here we address these challenges by developing a social evolutionary approach to personality, synthesizing theory, methods, and organizing questions in the study of individuality and sociality in behavior. We critically review current measurement practices and introduce social reaction norm models for comparative research on the evolution of personality in social environments. These models demonstrate that social plasticity affects the heritable variance of personality, and that individual differences in social plasticity can further modify the rate and direction of adaptive social evolution. Future empirical studies of frequency- and density-dependent social selection on personality are crucial for further developing this framework and testing adaptive theory of social niche specialization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordan S Martin
- Human Ecology Group, Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Adrian V Jaeggi
- Human Ecology Group, Institute of Evolutionary Medicine, University of Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Sonja E Koski
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology, University of Helsinki, Finland.
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5
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Brand JA, Naimo AC, Michelangeli M, Martin JM, Sih A, Wong BBM, Chapple DG. Social context mediates the expression of a personality trait in a gregarious lizard. Oecologia 2022; 200:359-369. [PMID: 36173475 PMCID: PMC9675666 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05269-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The social environment is a key factor that influences behavioural traits across a wide array of species. Yet, when investigating individual differences in behaviour, studies tend to measure animals in isolation from other conspecifics—even in social species. Surprisingly, whether behavioural traits measured in isolation are predictive of individual-level behaviour when in social groups is still poorly understood. Here, we repeatedly measured risk-taking behaviour (i.e. boldness; 741 total trials) in both the presence and absence of conspecifics in a social lizard, the delicate skink (Lampropholis delicata). Further, we manipulated food availability during group trials to test whether the effect of the social environment on risk-taking behaviour was mediated by competition over resources. Using 105 lizards collected from three independent populations, we found that individual risk-taking behaviour was repeatable when measured in either social isolation or within groups both with and without food resources available. However, lizards that were bolder during individual trials were not also bolder when in groups, regardless of resource availability. This was largely driven by individual differences in social behavioural plasticity, whereby individual skinks responded differently to the presence of conspecifics. Together, this resulted in a rank order change of individual behavioural types across the social conditions. Our results highlight the importance of the social environment in mediating animal personality traits across varying levels of resource availability. Further, these findings suggest that behavioural traits when measured in isolation, may not reflect individual variation in behaviour when measured in more ecologically realistic social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
| | - Annalise C Naimo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Marcus Michelangeli
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.,Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Jake M Martin
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.,Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - David G Chapple
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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6
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Masilkova M, Boukal D, Ash H, Buchanan-Smith HM, Konečná M. Linking personality traits and reproductive success in common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). Sci Rep 2022; 12:13341. [PMID: 35922528 PMCID: PMC9349211 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-16339-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2022] [Accepted: 07/08/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Animal personality can affect individual fitness and population growth. Personality traits of either parent or parents' combination may facilitate reproduction and offspring survival across species. However, previous studies focused mainly on the role of only one sex, and the link between personality and fitness has not been confirmed in primates. We examined this link in both sexes of captive common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), a cooperatively breeding primate with extensive paternal care. We studied the effects of five personality traits of the parents (Agreeableness, Assertiveness, Conscientiousness, Inquisitiveness, and Patience), including their absolute and directional differences within pairs, on key components of reproductive performance. We expected pairs with more similar personality scores to have higher reproductive success as found in other species with long-term pairs and biparental care, but found no evidence for this hypothesis. Instead, we detected strong effects of female traits on inter-birth intervals, which were shorter in more agreeable females, and fecundity rates, which were higher in more inquisitive females. Male traits appeared to have only a limited effect on reproductive success of the pair. Our study demonstrates that various aspects of animal personality underpin reproductive performance in captive common marmosets and provides novel insights into the possible ultimate causes of personality in cooperatively breeding species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michaela Masilkova
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic.
- Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences, Prague, Czech Republic.
| | - David Boukal
- Department of Ecosystem Biology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
- Czech Academy of Sciences, Biology Centre, Institute of Entomology, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
| | - Hayley Ash
- Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, USA
| | - Hannah M Buchanan-Smith
- Psychology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland, UK
- Scottish Primate Research Group, Stirling, Scotland, UK
| | - Martina Konečná
- Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice, Czech Republic
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7
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Bedford NL, Weber JN, Tong W, Baier F, Kam A, Greenberg RA, Hoekstra HE. Interspecific variation in cooperative burrowing behavior by
Peromyscus
mice. Evol Lett 2022; 6:330-340. [PMID: 35937472 PMCID: PMC9346082 DOI: 10.1002/evl3.293] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2021] [Revised: 06/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/12/2022] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals often adjust their behavior according to social context, but the capacity for such behavioral flexibility can vary among species. Here, we test for interspecific variation in behavioral flexibility by comparing burrowing behavior across three species of deer mice (genus Peromyscus) with divergent social systems, ranging from promiscuous (Peromyscus leucopus and Peromyscus maniculatus) to monogamous (Peromyscus polionotus). First, we compared the burrows built by individual mice to those built by pairs of mice in all three species. Although burrow length did not differ in P. leucopus or P. maniculatus, we found that P. polionotus pairs cooperatively constructed burrows that were nearly twice as long as those built by individuals and that opposite‐sex pairs dug longer burrows than same‐sex pairs. Second, to directly observe cooperative digging behavior in P. polionotus, we designed a burrowing assay in which we could video‐record active digging in narrow, transparent enclosures. Using this novel assay, we found, unexpectedly, that neither males nor females spent more time digging with an opposite‐sex partner. Rather, we demonstrate that opposite‐sex pairs are more socially cohesive and thus more efficient digging partners than same‐sex pairs. Together, our study demonstrates how social context can modulate innate behavior and offers insight into how differences in behavioral flexibility may evolve among closely related species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicole L. Bedford
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Current address: Department of Zoology and Physiology University of Wyoming Laramie Wyoming 82071 USA
| | - Jesse N. Weber
- Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Current address: Department of Integrative Biology University of Wisconsin–Madison Madison Wisconsin 53706 USA
| | - Wenfei Tong
- Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
| | - Felix Baier
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
| | - Ariana Kam
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
| | - Rebecca A. Greenberg
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
| | - Hopi E. Hoekstra
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
- Center for Brain Science Harvard University Cambridge Massachusetts 02138 USA
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8
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Haave-Audet E, Besson AA, Nakagawa S, Mathot KJ. Differences in resource acquisition, not allocation, mediate the relationship between behaviour and fitness: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:708-731. [PMID: 34859575 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2021] [Revised: 11/17/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Within populations, individuals often show repeatable variation in behaviour, called 'animal personality'. In the last few decades, numerous empirical studies have attempted to elucidate the mechanisms maintaining this variation, such as life-history trade-offs. Theory predicts that among-individual variation in behavioural traits could be maintained if traits that are positively associated with reproduction are simultaneously associated with decreased survival, such that different levels of behavioural expression lead to the same net fitness outcome. However, variation in resource acquisition may also be important in mediating the relationship between individual behaviour and fitness components (survival and reproduction). For example, if certain phenotypes (e.g. dominance or aggressiveness) are associated with higher resource acquisition, those individuals may have both higher reproduction and higher survival, relative to others in the population. When individuals differ in their ability to acquire resources, trade-offs are only expected to be observed at the within-individual level (i.e. for a given amount of resource, if an individual increases its allocation to reproduction, it comes at the cost of allocation to survival, and vice versa), while among individuals traits that are associated with increased survival may also be associated with increased reproduction. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis, asking: (i) do among-individual differences in behaviour reflect among-individual differences in resource acquisition and/or allocation, and (ii) is the relationship between behaviour and fitness affected by the type of behaviour and the testing environment? Our meta-analysis consisted of 759 estimates from 193 studies. Our meta-analysis revealed a positive correlation between pairs of estimates using both survival and reproduction as fitness proxies. That is, for a given study, behaviours that were associated with increased reproduction were also associated with increased survival, suggesting that variation in behaviour at the among-individual level largely reflects differences among individuals in resource acquisition. Furthermore, we found the same positive correlation between pairs of estimates using both survival and reproduction as fitness proxies at the phenotypic level. This is significant because we also demonstrated that these phenotypic correlations primarily reflect within-individual correlations. Thus, even when accounting for among-individual differences in resource acquisition, we did not find evidence of trade-offs at the within-individual level. Overall, the relationship between behaviour and fitness proxies was not statistically different from zero at the among-individual, phenotypic, and within-individual levels; this relationship was not affected by behavioural category nor by the testing condition. Our meta-analysis highlights that variation in resource acquisition may be more important in driving the relationship between behaviour and fitness than previously thought, including at the within-individual level. We suggest that this may come about via heterogeneity in resource availability or age-related effects, with higher resource availability and/or age leading to state-dependent shifts in behaviour that simultaneously increase both survival and reproduction. We emphasize that future studies examining the mechanisms maintaining behavioural variation in populations should test the link between behavioural expression and resource acquisition - both within and among individuals. Such work will allow the field of animal personality to develop specific predictions regarding the mediating effect of resource acquisition on the fitness consequences of individual behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elène Haave-Audet
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
| | - Anne A Besson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada.,Department of Zoology, University of Otago, P.O. Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand
| | - Shinichi Nakagawa
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia
| | - Kimberley J Mathot
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, CW 405, Biological Sciences Bldg, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada.,Canada Research Chair, Integrative Ecology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, T6G 2E9, Canada
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9
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Reddon AR. FE Spotlight: The right fish for the job: Local ecology affects morphology in a cooperative breeder. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam R. Reddon
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
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10
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Fisher DN, Kilgour RJ, Siracusa ER, Foote JR, Hobson EA, Montiglio PO, Saltz JB, Wey TW, Wice EW. Anticipated effects of abiotic environmental change on intraspecific social interactions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 96:2661-2693. [PMID: 34212487 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12772] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Social interactions are ubiquitous across the animal kingdom. A variety of ecological and evolutionary processes are dependent on social interactions, such as movement, disease spread, information transmission, and density-dependent reproduction and survival. Social interactions, like any behaviour, are context dependent, varying with environmental conditions. Currently, environments are changing rapidly across multiple dimensions, becoming warmer and more variable, while habitats are increasingly fragmented and contaminated with pollutants. Social interactions are expected to change in response to these stressors and to continue to change into the future. However, a comprehensive understanding of the form and magnitude of the effects of these environmental changes on social interactions is currently lacking. Focusing on four major forms of rapid environmental change currently occurring, we review how these changing environmental gradients are expected to have immediate effects on social interactions such as communication, agonistic behaviours, and group formation, which will thereby induce changes in social organisation including mating systems, dominance hierarchies, and collective behaviour. Our review covers intraspecific variation in social interactions across environments, including studies in both the wild and in laboratory settings, and across a range of taxa. The expected responses of social behaviour to environmental change are diverse, but we identify several general themes. First, very dry, variable, fragmented, or polluted environments are likely to destabilise existing social systems. This occurs as these conditions limit the energy available for complex social interactions and affect dissimilar phenotypes differently. Second, a given environmental change can lead to opposite responses in social behaviour, and the direction of the response often hinges on the natural history of the organism in question. Third, our review highlights the fact that changes in environmental factors are not occurring in isolation: multiple factors are changing simultaneously, which may have antagonistic or synergistic effects, and more work should be done to understand these combined effects. We close by identifying methodological and analytical techniques that might help to study the response of social interactions to changing environments, highlight consistent patterns among taxa, and predict subsequent evolutionary change. We expect that the changes in social interactions that we document here will have consequences for individuals, groups, and for the ecology and evolution of populations, and therefore warrant a central place in the study of animal populations, particularly in an era of rapid environmental change.
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Affiliation(s)
- David N Fisher
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen, AB24 3FX, U.K
| | - R Julia Kilgour
- Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, 47907, U.S.A
| | - Erin R Siracusa
- Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, EX4 4PY, U.K
| | - Jennifer R Foote
- Department of Biology, Algoma University, 1520 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, ON, P6A 2G4, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Hobson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 318 College Drive, Cincinnati, OH, 45221, U.S.A
| | - Pierre-Olivier Montiglio
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, 141 Avenue Président-Kennedy, Montréal, QC, H2X 3X8, Canada
| | - Julia B Saltz
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
| | - Tina W Wey
- Maelstrom Research, The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montréal, QC, H3G 1A4, Canada
| | - Eric W Wice
- Department of Biosciences, Rice University, 6100 Main Street, Houston, TX, 77005-1827, U.S.A
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11
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Sadoul B, Blumstein DT, Alfonso S, Geffroy B. Human protection drives the emergence of a new coping style in animals. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001186. [PMID: 33822780 PMCID: PMC8057586 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Wild animals face novel environmental threats from human activities that may occur along a gradient of interactions with humans. Recent work has shown that merely living close to humans has major implications for a variety of antipredator traits and physiological responses. Here, we hypothesize that when human presence protects prey from their genuine predators (as sometimes seen in urban areas and at some tourist sites), this predator shield, followed by a process of habituation to humans, decouples commonly associated traits related to coping styles, which results in a new range of phenotypes. Such individuals are characterized by low aggressiveness and physiological stress responses, but have enhanced behavioral plasticity, boldness, and cognitive abilities. We refer to these individuals as "preactive," because their physiological and behavioral coping style falls outside the classical proactive/reactive coping styles. While there is some support for this new coping style, formal multivariate studies are required to investigate behavioral and physiological responses to anthropogenic activities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastien Sadoul
- ESE, Ecology and Ecosystem Health, Institut Agro, INRAE, Rennes, France
| | - Daniel T. Blumstein
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
| | - Sébastien Alfonso
- COISPA Tecnologia & Ricerca, Stazione Sperimentale per lo Studio delle Risorse del Mare, Bari, Italy
| | - Benjamin Geffroy
- MARBEC, Univ. Montpellier, Ifremer, IRD, CNRS, Palavas-Les-Flots, France
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12
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Golobinek R, Gregorič M, Kralj-Fišer S. Body Size, Not Personality, Explains Both Male Mating Success and Sexual Cannibalism in a Widow Spider. BIOLOGY 2021; 10:189. [PMID: 33802370 PMCID: PMC7998861 DOI: 10.3390/biology10030189] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2021] [Accepted: 02/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Theory suggests that consistent individual variation in behavior relates to fitness, but few studies have empirically examined the role of personalities in mate choice, male-male competition and reproductive success. We observed the Mediterranean black widow, Latrodectus tredecimguttatus, in the individual and mating context, to test how body size measures and two functionally important aggressive behaviors, i.e., male aggression towards rivals and female voracity towards prey, affect mating behaviors, mating success and sexual cannibalism. We specifically selected voracity towards prey in females to test the "aggressive spillover hypothesis", suggesting that more voracious females are more sexually cannibalistic. Both females and males exhibit consistent individual differences in the examined aggressive behaviors. While larger males win contests more often and achieve more copulations, neither male nor female size measures correlate to aggression. Female voracity does not correlate with aggression towards mates and sexual cannibalism, rejecting the "spillover hypothesis". However, occurrence of sexual cannibalism positively relates to longer insertion duration. Furthermore, the smaller the ratio between male and female body length the more likely a female attacked and cannibalized a mate. We show that individual variation in aggression levels plays no direct role in the mating behavior of the Mediterranean black widow. Instead, body size affects male mating success and occurrences of sexual cannibalism in females.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Simona Kralj-Fišer
- Jovan Hadži Institute of Biology, Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Novi trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia; (R.G.); (M.G.)
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Deng K, He QL, Zhou Y, Zhu BC, Wang TL, Wang JC, Cui JG. Male serrate-legged treefrogs adjust competition strategies according to visual or chemical cues from females. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb229245. [PMID: 32994202 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.229245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2020] [Accepted: 09/20/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
There is increasing evidence that many anurans use multimodal cues to detect, discriminate and/or locate conspecifics and thus modify their behaviors. To date, however, most studies have focused on the roles of multimodal cues in female choice or male-male interactions. In the present study, we conducted an experiment to investigate whether male serrate-legged small treefrogs (Kurixalus odontotarsus) used visual or chemical cues to detect females and thus altered their competition strategies in different calling contexts. Three acoustic stimuli (advertisement calls, aggressive calls and compound calls) were broadcast in a randomized order after a spontaneous period to focal males in one of four treatment groups: combined visual and chemical cues of a female, only chemical cues, only visual cues and a control (with no females). We recorded the vocal responses of the focal males during each 3 min period. Our results demonstrate that males reduce the total number of calls in response to the presence of females, regardless of how they perceived the females. In response to advertisement calls and compound calls, males that perceived females through chemical cues produced relatively fewer advertisement calls but more aggressive calls. In addition, they produced relatively more aggressive calls during the playback of aggressive calls. Taken together, our study suggests that male Kodontotarsus adjust their competition strategies according to the visual or chemical cues of potential mates and highlights the important role of multisensory cues in male frogs' perception of females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Qiao-Ling He
- College of Life Sciences, China West Normal University, Nanchong, 637000, China
| | - Ya Zhou
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
| | - Bi-Cheng Zhu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Tong-Liang Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 570000, China
| | - Ji-Chao Wang
- Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Ecology of Tropical Islands, College of Life Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 570000, China
| | - Jian-Guo Cui
- CAS Key Laboratory of Mountain Ecological Restoration and Bioresource Utilization & Ecological Restoration and Biodiversity Conservation Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, 610041, China
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14
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Do female zebra finches prefer males exhibiting greater plasticity in foraging tactic use? Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-020-02886-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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15
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Deng K, Liu W, Wang DH. Relatedness and spatial distance modulate intergroup interactions: experimental evidence from a social rodent. Curr Zool 2019; 65:527-534. [PMID: 31616483 PMCID: PMC6784511 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 11/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Kin selection theory predicts that individuals should generally behave less aggressively or more amicably towards relatives than nonkin. However, how individuals treat conspecifics depends on genetic relatedness but also on the ecological context, which influences the benefits and costs of their interactions. In this study, we used microsatellite DNA markers and behavioral tests to examine the influence of kinship and proximity on the social behavior of Mongolian gerbils Meriones unguiculatus living in different social groups, and whether these effects varied with sex and season. We recorded the duration of 4 behavioral categories (investigative, neutral, amicable, and agonistic) during a 10-min pairwise test. We found that genetic relatedness had significant effects on the duration of investigative, neutral, and amicable behavior, but not on agonistic behavior. We also found significant interaction effects of relatedness and distance between burrow systems (i.e., spatial distance) on investigative, neutral, and amicable behavior, which suggests that the effects of kinship on social behavior were restricted by spatial proximity. The interaction effect between sex and relatedness on amicable behavior showed that male gerbils became more intimate with individuals of the same sex that had higher pairwise relatedness than females. Furthermore, both male and female gerbils enhanced their aggression during the food-hoarding season, but the intensity of these changes was significantly higher in females. Overall, our results suggest that the effects of kinship and spatial proximity on social behavior exhibit sexual or seasonal patterns, thereby implying ecological context-dependent responses to out-group individuals in Mongolian gerbils.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ke Deng
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - De-Hua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
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17
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Abstract
Individuals from the same population typically show consistent differences in behavioural traits that are frequently associated with differences in contextual plasticity. Yet such a correlation might arise either because some individuals are better able than others to detect environmental changes or because the benefits of being plastic are condition-dependent. To discriminate between these two competing hypotheses, I developed an individual-based model that simulates a population in which individuals of varying fighting ability compete by pairwise interactions using either the fixed hawk (aggressive) or dove (peaceful) strategies or a conditional assessment strategy. As anticipated, the model predicts that only individuals with low (and/or intermediate) fighting ability should use the assessment strategy, giving rise to a negative (or dome-shaped) relationship between aggressiveness and plasticity. The proportion of plastic individuals, however, should be affected not only by the environmental conditions in which individuals live but also by the mechanism that would maintain variation in the traits that determine the benefits of plasticity. In particular, if individual differences in fighting ability may be eroded by natural selection, it predicts that ecological conditions that cause assortative interactions (e.g. high predation risks) would contribute in maintaining variation among individuals in their fighting ability, thereby favouring greater plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frédérique Dubois
- Département des sciences biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Canada
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18
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Strickland K, Frère CH. Individual Variation in the Social Plasticity of Water Dragons. Am Nat 2019; 194:194-206. [DOI: 10.1086/704089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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19
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Wey TW, Kelly CD. Refuge size variation and potential for sperm competition in Wellington tree weta. Curr Zool 2019; 65:213-223. [PMID: 31263481 PMCID: PMC6595427 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2017] [Accepted: 06/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ecological variation in resources can influence the distribution and encounter rates of potential mates and competitors and, consequently, the opportunity for sexual selection. Factors that influence the likelihood that females mate multiply could also affect the potential for sperm competition. In Wellington tree weta (Hemideina crassidens, plural "weta"), the size of tree cavities (called galleries) used as refuges affects weta distribution and thus the opportunity for sexual selection and selection on male weaponry size. We examined the predicted effects of gallery size and male weaponry size on the potential for sperm competition. We asked if gallery size influenced the potential for multiple mating by females and potential for sperm competition, if male weaponry size was associated with relative expected sperm competition intensity (SCI), and if estimated male mating success was correlated with potential SCI. To quantify relative competitive environments of males, we created and analyzed networks of potential competitors based on which males could have mated with the same females. We found that small galleries had higher potential for female multiple mating and higher potential for sperm competition. Size of male weaponry was not associated with expected relative SCI. Regardless of gallery size, males with more potential mates were expected to face lower expected relative sperm competition. Thus, in this system, variation in the size of available refuges is likely to influence the potential for sperm competition, in a way that we might expect to increase variation in overall reproductive success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina W Wey
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Clint D Kelly
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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20
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Siracusa ER, Wilson DR, Studd EK, Boutin S, Humphries MM, Dantzer B, Lane JE, McAdam AG. North American red squirrels mitigate costs of territory defence through social plasticity. Anim Behav 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2019.02.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
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21
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Gallup AC, Pietruch K, Eldakar OT. Plasticity of Mating Duration in Response to Slightly Biased Operational Sex Ratios in the Water Strider (Aquarius remigis): The Effect of Cohabitation Under Standard Laboratory Conditions. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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22
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Polverino G, Santostefano F, Díaz-Gil C, Mehner T. Ecological conditions drive pace-of-life syndromes by shaping relationships between life history, physiology and behaviour in two populations of Eastern mosquitofish. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14673. [PMID: 30279465 PMCID: PMC6168454 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-33047-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Accepted: 09/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis predicts variation in behaviour and physiology among individuals to be associated with variation in life history. Thus, individuals on the "fast" end of POLS continuum grow faster, exhibit higher metabolism, are more risk prone, but die earlier than ones on the "slow" end. Empirical support is nevertheless mixed and modelling studies suggested POLS to vary along selection gradients. Therefore, including ecological variation when testing POLS is vastly needed to determine whether POLS is a fixed construct or the result of specific selection processes. Here, we tested POLS predictions between and within two fish populations originating from different ecological conditions. We observed opposing life histories between populations, characterized by differential investments into growth, fecundity, and functional morphology under identical laboratory conditions. A slower life history was, on average, associated with boldness (latency to emergence from a refuge), high activity (short freezing time and long distance travelled), and increased standard metabolism. Correlation structures among POLS traits were not consistent between populations, with the expression of POLS observed in the slow-growing but not in the fast-growing population. Our results suggest that POLS traits can evolve independently from one another and that their coevolution depends upon specific ecological processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Polverino
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany. .,Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Western Australia, Perth, 6009, Australia.
| | - Francesca Santostefano
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada
| | - Carlos Díaz-Gil
- Department of Ecology and Marine Resources, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Esporles, 07190, Spain.,Laboratori d'Investigacions Marines i Aqüicultura (LIMIA), Balearic Government, Port d'Andratx, 07157, Spain
| | - Thomas Mehner
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Berlin, 12587, Germany
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23
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Gibelli J, Aubin-Horth N, Dubois F. Are some individuals generally more behaviorally plastic than others? An experiment with sailfin mollies. PeerJ 2018; 6:e5454. [PMID: 30123722 PMCID: PMC6086093 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2018] [Accepted: 07/26/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals within the same population generally differ among each other not only in their behavioral traits but also in their level of behavioral plasticity (i.e., in their propensity to modify their behavior in response to changing conditions). If the proximate factors underlying individual differences in behavioral plasticity were the same for any measure of plasticity, as commonly assumed, one would expect plasticity to be repeatable across behaviors and contexts. However, this assumption remains largely untested. Here, we conducted an experiment with sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna) whose behavioral plasticity was estimated both as the change in their personality traits or mating behavior across a social gradient and using their performance on a reversal-learning task. We found that the correlations between pairwise measures of plasticity were weak and non-significant, thus indicating that the most plastic individuals were not the same in all the tests. This finding might arise because either individuals adjust the magnitude of their behavioral responses depending on the benefits of plasticity, and/or individuals expressing high behavioral plasticity in one context are limited by neural and/or physiological constraints in the amount of plasticity they can express in other contexts. Because the repeatability of behavioral plasticity may have important evolutionary consequences, additional studies are needed to assess the importance of trade-offs between conflicting selection pressures on the maintenance of intra-individual variation in behavioral plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Gibelli
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Nadia Aubin-Horth
- Département de Biologie et Institut de Biologie Intégrative et des Systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, QC, Canada
| | - Frédérique Dubois
- Département de Sciences Biologiques, Université de Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
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24
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Does sexual conflict increase juvenile survival by reducing cannibalism? Behav Processes 2018; 157:438-444. [PMID: 30017871 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2017] [Revised: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 07/10/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
To test the hypothesis that male harassment of females reduces adult female time spent on the water foraging (water use), and thus cannibalism by adult females on juveniles, we manipulated heterospecific prey availability, and social context in adult water striders and measured their effects on: 1) cannibalism of juveniles, 2) activity of adults and 3) habitat use of adults and juveniles. Cannibalism rarely occurred with alternative prey present, but was common without alternative prey. Without alternative prey, females cannibalized much more than males, but contrary to predictions, male presence did not reduce cannibalism rates. Male presence decreased female water use; however, this was counteracted by the fact that the lack of alternative prey increased female water use and activity while on the water. Furthermore, in groups of 4 males with 4 females, lack of alternative prey reduced male activity while on the water. Thus the predicted negative effect of sexual conflict on cannibalism was reduced by female and male responses to low food availability. Juveniles increased time off the water when more females or males were more on the water and active. Overall, cannibalism rates depended on alternative prey, male-female social dynamics, female foraging and juvenile refuge use.
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25
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Riley JL, Guidou C, Fryns C, Mourier J, Leu ST, Noble DWA, Byrne RW, Whiting MJ. Isolation rearing does not constrain social plasticity in a family-living lizard. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Julia L Riley
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Côme Guidou
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Caroline Fryns
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Johann Mourier
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Labex CORAIL, PSL Université Paris, EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, Perpignan, France
| | - Stephan T Leu
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
| | - Daniel W A Noble
- School of Biological, Earth, and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Kensington, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard W Byrne
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife, United Kingdom
| | - Martin J Whiting
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Sih A, Spiegel O, Godfrey S, Leu S, Bull CM. Integrating social networks, animal personalities, movement ecology and parasites: a framework with examples from a lizard. Anim Behav 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
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27
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Montiglio PO, Wey TW, Sih A. Effects of the group’s mix of sizes and personalities on the emergence of alternative mating systems in water striders. Behav Ecol 2017. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [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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Houslay TM, Wilson AJ. Avoiding the misuse of BLUP in behavioural ecology. Behav Ecol 2017; 28:948-952. [PMID: 29622923 PMCID: PMC5873244 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arx023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 185] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2016] [Revised: 01/23/2017] [Accepted: 02/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Having recognized that variation around the population-level "Golden Mean" of labile traits contains biologically meaningful information, behavioural ecologists have focused increasingly on exploring the causes and consequences of individual variation in behaviour. These are exciting new directions for the field, assisted in no small part by the adoption of mixed-effects modelling techniques that enable the partitioning of among- and within-individual behavioural variation. It has become commonplace to extract predictions of individual random effects from such models for use in subsequent analyses (for example, between a personality trait and other individual traits such as cognition, physiology, or fitness-related measures). However, these predictions are made with large amounts of error that is not carried forward, rendering further tests susceptible to spurious P values from these individual-level point estimates. We briefly summarize the problems with such statistical methods that are used regularly by behavioural ecologists, and highlight the robust solutions that exist within the mixed model framework, providing tutorials to aid in their implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas M Houslay
- Centre of Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Conrwall, TR10 9FE, UK
| | - Alastair J Wilson
- Centre of Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Conrwall, TR10 9FE, UK
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