1
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Spiegel O, Michelangeli M, Sinn DL, Payne E, Klein JRV, Kirkpatrick J, Harbusch M, Sih A. Resource manipulation reveals interactive phenotype-dependent foraging in free-ranging lizards. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:1108-1122. [PMID: 38877691 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14128] [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: 05/28/2021] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/16/2024]
Abstract
Recent evidence suggests that individuals differ in foraging tactics and this variation is often linked to an individual's behavioural type (BT). Yet, while foraging typically comprises a series of search and handling steps, empirical investigations have rarely considered BT-dependent effects across multiple stages of the foraging process, particularly in natural settings. In our long-term sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) study system, individuals exhibit behavioural consistency in boldness (measured as an individual's willingness to approach a novel food item in the presence of a threat) and aggressiveness (measured as an individual's response to an 'attack' by a conspecific dummy). These BTs are only weakly correlated and have previously been shown to have interactive effects on lizard space use and movement, suggesting that they could also affect lizard foraging performance, particularly in their search behaviour for food. To investigate how lizards' BTs affect their foraging process in the wild, we supplemented food in 123 patches across a 120-ha study site with three food abundance treatments (high, low and no-food controls). Patches were replenished twice a week over the species' entire spring activity season and feeding behaviours were quantified with camera traps at these patches. We tracked lizards using GPS to determine their home range (HR) size and repeatedly assayed their aggressiveness and boldness in designated assays. We hypothesised that bolder lizards would be more efficient foragers while aggressive ones would be less attentive to the quality of foraging patches. We found an interactive BT effect on overall foraging performance. Individuals that were both bold and aggressive ate the highest number of food items from the foraging array. Further dissection of the foraging process showed that aggressive lizards in general ate the fewest food items in part because they visited foraging patches less regularly, and because they discriminated less between high and low-quality patches when revisiting them. Bolder lizards, in contrast, ate more tomatoes because they visited foraging patches more regularly, and ate a higher proportion of the available tomatoes at patches during visits. Our study demonstrates that BTs can interact to affect different search and handling components of the foraging process, leading to within-population variation in foraging success. Given that individual differences in foraging and movement will influence social and ecological interactions, our results highlight the potential role of BT's in shaping individual fitness strategies and population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Marcus Michelangeli
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- School of Environment and Science, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia
| | - David L Sinn
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Eric Payne
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Janine-Rose V Klein
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Jamie Kirkpatrick
- Department of Anthropology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Marco Harbusch
- Georg-August-Büsgen-Institut, Universität Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andrew Sih
- Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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2
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Beauchamp G, Barve S. Gazing Strategies among Sentinels of a Cooperative Breeder Are Repeatable but Unrelated to Survival. BIOLOGY 2024; 13:458. [PMID: 38927338 PMCID: PMC11200772 DOI: 10.3390/biology13060458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2024] [Revised: 06/11/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Vigilance is a common behavioural adaptation to increase the chances of detecting predators before it is too late to escape. Behavioural traits are often repeatable among individuals over the long term, suggesting differences in personality. Earlier studies have documented individual consistency in the time allocated to vigilance. However, little is known about individual consistency in the ways vigilance is achieved from one moment to another and whether different patterns of vigilance among individuals are associated with survival. We aimed to determine whether sentinels of a cooperative breeder showed individual consistency in their vigilance and if individual variation was related to annual survival. During sentinel bouts from vantage points, Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) turn their heads from side to side to monitor their surroundings. Over three field seasons, we found that the head-turning frequency was repeatable in breeders but not in juveniles or non-breeding helpers. The moderate repeatability in breeders was not related to survival. Our results suggest that the head-turning frequency in sentinels of the Florida scrub-jay is repeatable in breeders but not in less experienced juveniles or helpers and, therefore, likely becomes more repeatable as individuals age. The assumption that individual variation in vigilance is related to survival was unsupported in our study and requires further study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sahas Barve
- Archbold Research Station, 123 Main Dr., Venus, FL 33960, USA;
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3
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Beigloo F, Davidson CJ, Gjonaj J, Perrine SA, Kenney JW. Individual differences in the boldness of female zebrafish are associated with alterations in serotonin function. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247483. [PMID: 38842023 PMCID: PMC11213521 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247483] [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: 02/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/14/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
One of the most prevalent axes of behavioral variation in both humans and animals is risk taking, where individuals that are more willing to take risk are characterized as bold while those that are more reserved are regarded as shy. Brain monoamines (i.e. serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline) have been found to play a role in a variety of behaviors related to risk taking. Using zebrafish, we investigated whether there was a relationship between monoamine function and boldness behavior during exploration of a novel tank. We found a correlation between serotonin metabolism (5-HIAA:5-HT ratio) and boldness during the initial exposure to the tank in female animals. The DOPAC:DA ratio correlated with boldness behavior on the third day in male fish. There was no relationship between boldness and noradrenaline. To probe differences in serotonergic function in bold and shy fish, we administered a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, and assessed exploratory behavior. We found that escitalopram had opposing effects on thigmotaxis in bold and shy female animals: the drug caused bold fish to spend more time near the center of the tank and shy fish spent more time near the periphery. Taken together, our findings indicate that variation in serotonergic function has sex-specific contributions to individual differences in risk-taking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Beigloo
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Cameron J. Davidson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Joseph Gjonaj
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Shane A. Perrine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Justin W. Kenney
- Department of Biological Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
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4
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Kleindorfer S, Krupka MA, Katsis AC, Frigerio D, Common LK. Aggressiveness predicts dominance rank in greylag geese: mirror tests and agonistic interactions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:231686. [PMID: 38577211 PMCID: PMC10987982 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.231686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 02/07/2024] [Indexed: 04/06/2024]
Abstract
Individual differences in aggressiveness, if consistent across time and contexts, may contribute to the long-term maintenance of social hierarchies in complex animal societies. Although agonistic interactions have previously been used to calculate individuals' positions within a dominance hierarchy, to date the repeatability of agonistic behaviour has not been tested when calculating social rank. Here, we examined the consistency and social relevance of aggressiveness as a personality trait in a free-flying population of greylag geese (Anser anser). For each individual, we quantified (i) aggressiveness using a standardized mirror stimulation test and (ii) dominance ranking based on the number of agonistic interactions won and lost in a feeding context. We found that individual differences in aggressiveness were significantly repeatable and that individuals' aggressiveness predicted their dominance rank position. The flock showed a robust and intermediately steep dominance hierarchy. Social rank was higher in paired birds, males and older birds, and most agonistic interactions occurred between individuals with moderate rank differences. We suggest that selection favours aggressiveness as a personality trait associated with resource acquisition and social rank, whereby a dominance hierarchy may increase the benefits of group living and reduce costs over conflict within dyads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Kleindorfer
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
- College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia5042, Australia
| | - Mara A. Krupka
- Biology Department, Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, MI49006, USA
| | - Andrew C. Katsis
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
| | - Didone Frigerio
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
| | - Lauren K. Common
- Konrad Lorenz Research Center for Behavior and Cognition, Core Facility of the University of Vienna, Grünau im Almtal, Vienna4645, Austria
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna1030, Austria
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5
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Gan L, Tian S, Wang D, Liu W. Boldness suppresses hoarding behavior in food hoarding season and reduces over-wintering survival in a social rodent. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11252. [PMID: 38601856 PMCID: PMC11004661 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11252] [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: 09/30/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2024] [Accepted: 03/27/2024] [Indexed: 04/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The "pace-of-life" syndrome (POLS) framework can encompass multiple personality axes that drive important functional behaviors (e.g., foraging behavior) and that co-vary with multiple life history traits. Food hoarding is an adaptive behavior important for an animal's ability to adapt to seasonal fluctuations in food availability. However, the empirical evidence for the relationships between animal personality and hoarding behavior remains unclear, including its fitness consequences in the POLS framework. In this study, the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), a social rodent, was used as a model system to investigate how boldness or shyness is associated with food hoarding strategies during the food hoarding season and their impact on over-winter survival and reproduction at both individual and group levels. The results of this study showed that, compared with shy gerbils, bold gerbils had a lower effort foraging strategy during the food hoarding season and exhibited lower over-winter survival rates. However, bold-shy personality differences had no effect on over-winter reproduction. These findings suggest that the personality is a crucial factor influencing the foraging strategy during the food hoarding season in Mongolian gerbils. Personality may be related to energy states or the reaction to environmental changes (e.g., predation risk and food availability) in bold or shy social animals. These results reflect animal life history trade-offs between current versus future reproduction and reproduction versus self-maintenance, thereby helping Mongolian gerbils in adapting to seasonal fluctuations in their habitat.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lin Gan
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory for Biodiversity and Biotechnology, College of Life SciencesNanjing Normal UniversityNanjingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - Shuang‐Jie Tian
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic InteractionsUniversity of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
| | - De‐Hua Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- School of Life SciencesShandong UniversityQingdaoChina
| | - Wei Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of ZoologyChinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
- University of Chinese Academy of SciencesBeijingChina
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6
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Van de Walle J, Sun R, Fay R, Patrick SC, Barbraud C, Delord K, Weimerkirch H, Jenouvrier S. The impact of boldness on demographic rates and life-history outcomes in the wandering albatross. J Anim Ecol 2024. [PMID: 38525860 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/26/2024]
Abstract
Differences among individuals within a population are ubiquitous. Those differences are known to affect the entire life cycle with important consequences for all demographic rates and outcomes. One source of among-individual phenotypic variation that has received little attention from a demographic perspective is animal personality, which is defined as consistent and heritable behavioural differences between individuals. While many studies have shown that individual variation in individual personality can generate individual differences in survival and reproductive rates, the impact of personality on all demographic rates and outcomes remains to be assessed empirically. Here, we used a unique, long-term, dataset coupling demography and personality of wandering albatross (Diomedea exulans) in the Crozet Archipelago and a comprehensive analysis based on a suite of approaches (capture-mark-recapture statistical models, Markov chains models and structured matrix population models). We assessed the effect of boldness on annual demographic rates (survival, breeding probability, breeding success), life-history outcomes (life expectancy, lifetime reproductive outcome, occupancy times), and an integrative demographic outcome (population growth rate). We found that boldness had little impact on female demographic rates, but was very likely associated with lower breeding probabilities in males. By integrating the effects of boldness over the entire life cycle, we found that bolder males had slightly lower lifetime reproductive success compared to shyer males. Indeed, bolder males spent a greater proportion of their lifetime as non-breeders, which suggests longer inter-breeding intervals due to higher reproductive allocation. Our results reveal that the link between boldness and demography is more complex than anticipated by the pace-of-life literature and highlight the importance of considering the entire life cycle with a comprehensive approach when assessing the role of personality on individual performance and demography.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanie Van de Walle
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice-Lamontagne Institute, Mont-Joli, Quebec, Canada
| | - Ruijiao Sun
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
- Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Marine Science Institute, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, USA
| | - Rémi Fay
- Centre for Biodiversity Dynamics, Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway
- Laboratoire de Biometrie et Biologie Evolutive, UMR CNRS 5558, Université Lyon 1, Villeurbanne, France
| | - Samantha C Patrick
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Christophe Barbraud
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-La Rochelle University UMR 7372, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Karine Delord
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-La Rochelle University UMR 7372, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Henri Weimerkirch
- Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé, CNRS-La Rochelle University UMR 7372, Villiers en Bois, France
| | - Stephanie Jenouvrier
- Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA
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7
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Schausberger P, Nguyen TH, Altintas M. Early-life intraguild predation risk produces adaptive personalities in predatory mites. iScience 2024; 27:109065. [PMID: 38361613 PMCID: PMC10864791 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.109065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2023] [Revised: 12/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
Animal personalities are defined by within-individual consistency, and consistent among-individual variation, in behavior across time and/or contexts. Here we hypothesized that brief early-life experience of intraguild predation (IGP) risk has enduring phenotypic effects on personality expression in boldness and aggressiveness in later life. We tested our hypothesis in predatory mites Phytoseiulus persimilis, which are IG predators with ontogenetic role reversals, i.e., they are potential IG prey during early life but IG predators as adults. Adult P. persimilis females, which had experienced IGP risk early in life or not, were subjected to three tests each for boldness and aggressiveness. IGP-experienced individuals were on average bolder and more aggressive. Boldness was moderately repeatable, aggressiveness was weakly repeatable. Strikingly, early-life IGP experience shifted the within-group personality composition toward consistently bold and aggressive personalities. Phenotypic adjustment of personality expression was adaptive, as indicated by the positive correlation between personality scores and egg production.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Schausberger
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - Thi Hanh Nguyen
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna 1030, Austria
| | - Mustafa Altintas
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Djerassiplatz 1, Vienna 1030, Austria
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8
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Iwińska K, Wirowska M, Borowski Z, Boratyński Z, Solecki P, Ciesielski M, Boratyński JS. Energy allocation is revealed while behavioural performance persists after fire disturbance. J Exp Biol 2024; 227:jeb247114. [PMID: 38323432 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.247114] [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: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024]
Abstract
Metabolic physiology and animal behaviour are often considered to be linked, positively or negatively, according to either the performance or allocation models. Performance seems to predominate over allocation in natural systems, but the constraining environmental context may reveal allocation limitations to energetically expensive behaviours. Habitat disturbance, such as the large-scale fire that burnt wetlands of Biebrza National Park (NE Poland), degrades natural ecosystems. It arguably reduces food and shelter availability, modifies predator-prey interactions, and poses a direct threat for animal survival, such as that of the wetland specialist root vole Microtus oeconomus. We hypothesized that fire disturbance induces physiology-behaviour co-expression, as a consequence of changed environmental context. We repeatedly measured maintenance and exercise metabolism, and behavioural responses to the open field, in a root voles from post-fire and unburnt locations. Highly repeatable maintenance metabolism and distance moved during behavioural tests correlated positively, but relatively labile exercise metabolism did not covary with behaviour. At the same time, voles from a post-fire habitat had higher maintenance metabolism and moved shorter distances than voles from unburnt areas. We conclude there is a prevalence of the performance mechanism, but simultaneous manifestation of context-dependent allocation constraints of the physiology-behaviour covariation after disturbance. The last occurs at the within-individual level, indicating the significance of behavioural plasticity in the context of environmental disturbance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karolina Iwińska
- University of Białystok Doctoral School in Exact and Natural Sciences, 15-245 Białystok, Poland
| | - Martyna Wirowska
- Adam Mickiewicz University, Department of Systematic Zoology, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
| | | | - Zbyszek Boratyński
- BIOPOLIS, CIBIO/InBio, Research Center in Biodiversity & Genetic Resources, University of Porto, 4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
| | - Paweł Solecki
- Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology, 00-665 Warsaw, Poland
| | | | - Jan S Boratyński
- Mammal Research Institute, Polish Academy of Sciences, 17-230 Białowieża, Poland
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9
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Beigloo F, Davidson CJ, Gjonaj J, Perrine SA, Kenney JW. Individual differences in the boldness of female zebrafish are associated with alterations in serotonin function. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.02.13.580160. [PMID: 38405806 PMCID: PMC10888793 DOI: 10.1101/2024.02.13.580160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/27/2024]
Abstract
One of the most prevalent axes of behavioral variation in both humans and animals is risk taking, where individuals that are more willing to take risk are characterized as bold while those that are more reserved as shy. Brain monoamines (i.e., serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine) have been found to play a role in a variety of behaviors related to risk taking. Genetic variation related to monoamine function have also been linked to personality in both humans and animals. Using zebrafish, we investigated the relationship between monoamine function and boldness behavior during exploration of a novel tank. We found a sex-specific correlation between serotonin metabolism (5-HIAA:5-HT ratio) and boldness that was limited to female animals; there were no relationships between boldness and dopamine or norepinephrine. To probe differences in serotonergic function, we administered a serotonin reuptake inhibitor, escitalopram, to bold and shy fish, and assessed their exploratory behavior. We found that escitalopram had opposing effects on thigmotaxis in female animals with bold fish spending more time near the center of the tank and shy fish spent more time near the periphery. Taken together, our findings suggest that variation in serotonergic function makes sex-specific contributions to individual differences in risk taking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Beigloo
- Department of Biological Sciences Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Cameron J Davidson
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
- Current address: Department of Foundational Medical Studies, Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, Rochester, MI 48309, USA
| | - Joseph Gjonaj
- Department of Biological Sciences Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
| | - Shane A Perrine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI 48201, USA
| | - Justin W Kenney
- Department of Biological Sciences Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA
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10
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Brand JA, Garcia-Gonzalez F, Dowling DK, Wong BBM. Mitochondrial genetic variation as a potential mediator of intraspecific behavioural diversity. Trends Ecol Evol 2024; 39:199-212. [PMID: 37839905 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.09.009] [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: 05/30/2023] [Revised: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Mitochondrial genes play an essential role in energy metabolism. Variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence often exists within species, and this variation can have consequences for energy production and organismal life history. Yet, despite potential links between energy metabolism and the expression of animal behaviour, mtDNA variation has been largely neglected to date in studies investigating intraspecific behavioural diversity. We outline how mtDNA variation and interactions between mitochondrial and nuclear genotypes may contribute to the expression of individual-to-individual behavioural differences within populations, and why such effects may lead to sex differences in behaviour. We contend that integration of the mitochondrial genome into behavioural ecology research may be key to fully understanding the evolutionary genetics of animal behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia; Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
| | - Francisco Garcia-Gonzalez
- Doñana Biological Station-CSIC, Seville, Spain; Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Damian K Dowling
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
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11
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Rickward RA, Santostefano F, Wilson AJ. Among-individual behavioural variation in the ornamental red cherry shrimp, Neocaridina heteropoda. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11049. [PMID: 38389999 PMCID: PMC10883255 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11049] [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: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/05/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
Personality variation, defined as among-individual differences in behaviour that are repeatable across time and context, is widely reported across animal taxa. From an evolutionary perspective, characterising the amount and structure of this variation is useful since differences among individuals are the raw material for adaptive behavioural evolution. However, behavioural variation among individuals also has implications for more applied areas of evolution and ecology-from invasion biology to ecotoxicology and selective breeding in captive systems. Here, we investigate the structure of personality variation in the red cherry shrimp, Neocaridina heteropoda, a popular ornamental species that is readily kept and bred under laboratory conditions and is emerging as a decapod crustacean model across these fields, but for which basic biological, ecological and behavioural data are limited. Using two assays and a repeated measures approach, we quantify behaviours putatively indicative of shy-bold variation and test for sexual dimorphism and/or size-dependent behaviours (as predicted by some state-dependent models of personality). We find moderate-to-high behavioural repeatabilities in most traits. Although strong individual-level correlations across behaviours are consistent with a major personality axis underlying these observed traits, the multivariate structure of personality variation does not fully match a priori expectations of a shy-bold axis. This may reflect our ecological naivety with respect to what really constitutes bolder, more risk-prone, behaviour in this species. We find no evidence for sexual dimorphism and only weak support for size-dependent behaviour. Our study contributes to the growing literature describing behavioural variation in aquatic invertebrates. Furthermore, it lays a foundation for further studies harnessing the potential of this emerging model system. In particular, this existing behavioural variation could be functionally linked to life-history traits and invasive success and serve as a target of artificial selection or bioassays. It thus holds significant promise in applied research across ecotoxicology, aquaculture and invasion biology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Francesca Santostefano
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation University of Exeter Cornwall UK
- Département des Sciences Biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal Quebec Canada
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12
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Brehm AM, Mortelliti A. Environmental heterogeneity modifies the link between personality and survival in fluctuating small mammal populations. J Anim Ecol 2024; 93:196-207. [PMID: 38102795 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.14037] [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: 05/08/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Despite numerous studies examining the fitness consequences of animal personalities, predictions concerning the relationship between personality and survival are not consistent with empirical observations. Theory predicts that individuals who are risky (i.e. bold, active and aggressive) should have higher rates of mortality; however, empirical evidence shows high levels of variation in behaviour-survival relationships in wild populations. We suggest that this mismatch between predictions under theory and empirical observations results from environmental contingencies that drive heterogeneity in selection. This uncertainty may constrain any universal directional relationships between personality traits and survival. Specifically, we hypothesize that spatiotemporal fluctuations in perceived risk that arise from variability in refuge abundance and competitor density alter the relationship between personality traits and survival. In a large-scale manipulative experiment, we trapped four small mammal species in five subsequent years across six forest stands treated with different management practices in Maine, United States. Stands all occur within the same experimental forest but contain varying amounts of refuge and small mammal densities fluctuate over time and space. We quantified the effects of habitat structure and competitor density on the relationship between personality traits and survival to assess whether directional relationships differed depending on environmental contingencies. In the two most abundant species, deer mice and southern red-backed voles, risky behaviours (i.e. higher aggression and boldness) predicted apparent monthly survival probability. Mice that were more aggressive (less docile) had higher survival. Voles that were bolder (less timid) had higher survival, but in the risky forest stands only. Additionally, traits associated with stress coping and de-arousal increased survival probability in both species at high small mammal density but decreased survival at low density. In the two less abundant study species, there was no evidence for an effect of personality traits on survival. Our field experiment provides partial support for our hypothesis: that spatiotemporal fluctuations in refuge abundance and competitor density alter the relationship between personality traits and survival. Our findings also suggest that behaviours associated with stress coping and de-arousal may be subject to density-dependent selection and should be further assessed and incorporated into theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Allison M Brehm
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA
| | - Alessio Mortelliti
- Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Conservation Biology, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, Trieste, Italy
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13
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Cusson P, Pelletier F. Individual behaviour, growth, survival and vulnerability to hunting in a large mammal. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e11003. [PMID: 38352198 PMCID: PMC10862178 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11003] [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: 12/22/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans have exploited wild animals for thousands of years. Recent studies indicate that harvest-induced selection on life-history and morphological traits may lead to ecological and evolutionary changes. Less attention has been given to harvest-induced selection on behavioural traits, especially in terrestrial systems. We assessed in a wild population of large terrestrial mammals whether decades of hunting led to harvest-induced selection on trappability, a proxy of risk-taking behaviour. We investigated links between trappability, horn growth and survival across individuals in early life and quantified the correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth with availability to hunters and probability of being shot. We found positive among-individual correlations between early-life trappability and horn growth, early-life trappability and survival and early-life horn growth and survival. Faster growing individuals were more likely to be available to hunters and shot at a young age. We found no correlations between early-life trappability and availability to hunters or probability of being shot. Our results show that correlations between behaviour and growth can occur in wild terrestrial population but may be context dependent. This result highlights the difficulty in formulating general predictions about harvest-induced selection on behaviour, which can be affected by species ecology, harvesting regulations and harvesting methods used. Future studies should investigate mechanisms linking physiological, behavioural and morphological traits and how this effects harvest vulnerability to evaluate the potential for harvest to drive selection on behaviour in wild animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fanie Pelletier
- Département de BiologieUniversité de SherbrookeSherbrookeQuébecCanada
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14
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Haave-Audet E, Martin JGA, Wijmenga JJ, Mathot KJ. Information Gathering Is Associated with Increased Survival: A Field Experiment in Black-Capped Chickadees ( Poecile atricapillus). Am Nat 2024; 203:109-123. [PMID: 38207133 DOI: 10.1086/727509] [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: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
AbstractSampling, investing time or energy to learn about the environment, allows organisms to track changes in resource distribution and quality. The use of sampling is predicted to change as a function of energy expenditure, food availability, and starvation risk, all of which can vary both within and among individuals. We studied sampling behavior in a field study with black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) and show that individuals adjust their use of sampling as a function of ambient temperature (a proxy for energy expenditure), the presence of an alternative food source (yes or no, a proxy for risk of energy shortfall), and their interaction, as predicted by models of optimal sampling. We also observed repeatable differences in sampling. Some individuals consistently sampled more, and individuals that sampled more overall also had a higher annual survival. These results are consistent with among-individual differences in resource acquisition (e.g., food caches or dominance-related differences in priority access to feeders), shaping among-individual differences in both sampling and survival, with greater resource acquisition leading to both higher sampling and higher survival. Although this explanation requires explicit testing, it is in line with several recent studies suggesting that variation in resource acquisition is a key mechanism underlying animal personality.
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15
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Chang CC, Moiron M, Sánchez-Tójar A, Niemelä PT, Laskowski KL. What is the meta-analytic evidence for life-history trade-offs at the genetic level? Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14354. [PMID: 38115163 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14354] [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: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 09/21/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Understanding the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the maintenance of individual differences in behavior and physiology is a fundamental goal in ecology and evolution. The pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis is often invoked to explain the maintenance of such within-population variation. This hypothesis predicts that behavioral traits are part of a suite of correlated traits that collectively determine an individual's propensity to prioritize reproduction or survival. A key assumption of this hypothesis is that these traits are underpinned by genetic trade-offs among life-history traits: genetic variants that increase fertility, reproduction and growth might also reduce lifespan. We performed a systematic literature review and meta-analysis to summarize the evidence for the existence of genetic trade-offs between five key life-history traits: survival, growth rate, body size, maturation rate, and fertility. Counter to our predictions, we found an overall positive genetic correlation between survival and other life-history traits and no evidence for any genetic correlations between the non-survival life-history traits. This finding was generally consistent across pairs of life-history traits, sexes, life stages, lab vs. field studies, and narrow- vs. broad-sense correlation estimates. Our study highlights that genetic trade-offs may not be as common, or at least not as easily quantifiable, in animals as often assumed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Chen Chang
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
| | - Maria Moiron
- Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | | | - Petri T Niemelä
- Organismal and Evolutionary Biology Research Programme, Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
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16
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Tuliozi B, Mantovani R, Schoepf I, Tsuruta S, Mancin E, Sartori C. Genetic correlations of direct and indirect genetic components of social dominance with fitness and morphology traits in cattle. Genet Sel Evol 2023; 55:84. [PMID: 38037008 PMCID: PMC10687847 DOI: 10.1186/s12711-023-00845-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2023] [Indexed: 12/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Within the same species, individuals show marked variation in their social dominance. Studies on a handful of populations have indicated heritable genetic variation for this trait, which is determined by both the genetic background of the individual (direct genetic effect) and of its opponent (indirect genetic effect). However, the evolutionary consequences of selection for this trait are largely speculative, as it is not a usual target of selection in livestock populations. Moreover, studying social dominance presents the challenge of working with a phenotype with a mean value that cannot change in the population, as for every winner of an agonistic interaction there will necessarily be a loser. Thus, to investigate what could be the evolutionary response to selection for social dominance, it is necessary to focus on traits that might be correlated with it. This study investigated the genetic correlations of social dominance, both direct and indirect, with several morphology and fitness traits. We used a dataset of agonistic contests involving cattle (Bos taurus): during these contests, pairs of cows compete in ritualized interactions to assess social dominance. The outcomes of 37,996 dominance interactions performed by 8789 cows over 20 years were combined with individual data for fertility, mammary health, milk yield and morphology and analysed using bivariate animal models including indirect genetic effects. RESULTS We found that winning agonistic interactions has a positive genetic correlation with more developed frontal muscle mass, lower fertility, and poorer udder health. We also discovered that the trends of changes in the estimated breeding values of social dominance, udder health and more developed muscle mass were consistent with selection for social dominance in the population. CONCLUSIONS We present evidence that social dominance is genetically correlated with fitness traits, as well as empirical evidence of the possible evolutionary trade-offs between these traits. We show that it is feasible to estimate genetic correlations involving dyadic social traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beniamino Tuliozi
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27708, USA.
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Italy.
| | - Roberto Mantovani
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Ivana Schoepf
- Department of Sciences, Augustana Campus, University of Alberta, 4901 46 Ave, Camrose, AB, T4V 2R3, Canada
| | - Shogo Tsuruta
- Department of Animal and Dairy Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA
| | - Enrico Mancin
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Italy
| | - Cristina Sartori
- Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment, University of Padova, Viale Dell'Università 16, 35020, Legnaro, Italy
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17
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Polverino G, Aich U, Brand JA, Bertram MG, Martin JM, Tan H, Soman VR, Mason RT, Wong BBM. Sex-specific effects of psychoactive pollution on behavioral individuality and plasticity in fish. Behav Ecol 2023; 34:969-978. [PMID: 37969553 PMCID: PMC10636733 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arad065] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 07/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The global rise of pharmaceutical contaminants in the aquatic environment poses a serious threat to ecological and evolutionary processes. Studies have traditionally focused on the collateral (average) effects of psychoactive pollutants on ecologically relevant behaviors of wildlife, often neglecting effects among and within individuals, and whether they differ between males and females. We tested whether psychoactive pollutants have sex-specific effects on behavioral individuality and plasticity in guppies (Poecilia reticulata), a freshwater species that inhabits contaminated waterways in the wild. Fish were exposed to fluoxetine (Prozac) for 2 years across multiple generations before their activity and stress-related behavior were repeatedly assayed. Using a Bayesian statistical approach that partitions the effects among and within individuals, we found that males-but not females-in fluoxetine-exposed populations differed less from each other in their behavior (lower behavioral individuality) than unexposed males. In sharp contrast, effects on behavioral plasticity were observed in females-but not in males-whereby exposure to even low levels of fluoxetine resulted in a substantial decrease (activity) and increase (freezing behavior) in the behavioral plasticity of females. Our evidence reveals that psychoactive pollution has sex-specific effects on the individual behavior of fish, suggesting that males and females might not be equally vulnerable to global pollutants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Polverino
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
- Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, L.go dell'Università snc, Viterbo, 01100, Italy
| | - Upama Aich
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Jack A Brand
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Michael G Bertram
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-907 36, Umeå,Sweden
| | - Jake M Martin
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-907 36, Umeå,Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18b114 18, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Hung Tan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
| | - Vrishin R Soman
- Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, New York University, 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, 11201, NY, USA
| | - Rachel T Mason
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, 3125, Victoria, Australia
| | - Bob B M Wong
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, 25 Rainforest Walk, Clayton, 3800, Victoria, Australia
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18
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Milles A, Banitz T, Bielcik M, Frank K, Gallagher CA, Jeltsch F, Jepsen JU, Oro D, Radchuk V, Grimm V. Local buffer mechanisms for population persistence. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:1051-1059. [PMID: 37558537 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2023.06.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/29/2023] [Indexed: 08/11/2023]
Abstract
Assessing and predicting the persistence of populations is essential for the conservation and control of species. Here, we argue that local mechanisms require a better conceptual synthesis to facilitate a more holistic consideration along with regional mechanisms known from metapopulation theory. We summarise the evidence for local buffer mechanisms along with their capacities and emphasise the need to include multiple buffer mechanisms in studies of population persistence. We propose an accessible framework for local buffer mechanisms that distinguishes between damping (reducing fluctuations in population size) and repelling (reducing population declines) mechanisms. We highlight opportunities for empirical and modelling studies to investigate the interactions and capacities of buffer mechanisms to facilitate better ecological understanding in times of ecological upheaval.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Milles
- Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Muhlenberg 3, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany; Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; Nationalparkamt Hunsrück-Hochwald, Research, Biotope- and Wildlife Management, Brückener Straße 24, 55765 Birkenfeld, Germany.
| | - Thomas Banitz
- Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Milos Bielcik
- Freie Universität Berlin, Institute of Biology, Altensteinstr. 6, 14195 Berlin, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Karin Frank
- Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; University of Osnabrück, Institute for Environmental Systems Research, Barbarastr. 12, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
| | - Cara A Gallagher
- Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Muhlenberg 3, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany
| | - Florian Jeltsch
- Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Muhlenberg 3, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany; Berlin-Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jane Uhd Jepsen
- Department of Arctic Ecology, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, Fram Centre, Hjalmar Johansens gt.14, 9007 Tromsø, Norway
| | - Daniel Oro
- Centre d'Estudis Avançats de Blanes (CEAB - CSIC), Acces Cala Sant Francesc 14, 17300 Blanes, Girona, Spain.
| | - Viktoriia Radchuk
- Ecological Dynamics Department, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, 10315 Berlin, Germany
| | - Volker Grimm
- Department of Plant Ecology and Nature Conservation, University of Potsdam, Am Muhlenberg 3, 14476, Potsdam-Golm, Germany; Department of Ecological Modelling, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research - UFZ, Permoserstr. 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Puschstr. 4, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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19
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Mezőfi L, Markó V, Taranyi DÁ, Markó G. Sex-specific life-history strategies among immature jumping spiders: Differences in body parameters and behavior. Curr Zool 2023; 69:535-551. [PMID: 37637309 PMCID: PMC10449423 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/14/2022] [Accepted: 09/02/2022] [Indexed: 08/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Selection forces often generate sex-specific differences in various traits closely related to fitness. While in adult spiders (Araneae), sexes often differ in coloration, body size, antipredator, or foraging behavior, such sex-related differences are less pronounced among immatures. However, sex-specific life-history strategies may also be adaptive for immatures. Thus, we hypothesized that among spiders, immature individuals show different life-history strategies that are expressed as sex-specific differences in body parameters and behavioral features, and also in their relationships. We used immature individuals of a protandrous jumping spider, Carrhotus xanthogramma, and examined sex-related differences. The results showed that males have higher mass and larger prosoma than females. Males were more active and more risk tolerant than females. Male activity increased with time, and larger males tended to capture the prey faster than small ones, while females showed no such patterns. However, females reacted to the threatening abiotic stimuli more with the increasing number of test sessions. In both males and females, individuals with better body conditions tended to be more risk averse. Spiders showed no sex-specific differences in interindividual behavioral consistency and in intraindividual behavioral variation in the measured behavioral traits. Finally, we also found evidence for behavioral syndromes (i.e., correlation between different behaviors), where in males, only the activity correlated with the risk-taking behavior, but in females, all the measured behavioral traits were involved. The present study demonstrates that C. xanthogramma sexes follow different life-history strategies even before attaining maturity.
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Affiliation(s)
- László Mezőfi
- Institute of Plant Protection, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
| | - Viktor Markó
- Institute of Plant Protection, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
| | - Dóra Ágnes Taranyi
- Institute of Viticulture and Enology, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
| | - Gábor Markó
- Institute of Plant Protection, Hungarian University of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Budapest 1118, Hungary
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20
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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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21
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Rodrigues D, Machado FLP. Cohesion depends on kinship but no permanent leadership in larval societies of a Neotropical butterfly. THE SCIENCE OF NATURE - NATURWISSENSCHAFTEN 2023; 110:46. [PMID: 37712985 DOI: 10.1007/s00114-023-01877-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Revised: 09/05/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
In gregarious species, coordinated responses to environmental stimuli are important for a successful habitat and/or food selection. In this sense, maintenance of group cohesion after stochastic disturbances and during collective movements is expected to be advantageous, as is the existence of group leaders. Through laboratory experiments, we examined whether clusters of early instars of Mechanitis polymnia casabranca have both leaders and followers, as well as whether larvae are able to reaggregate depending on neighbors' degree of kinship. In the leadership experiment, clusters of second and third instars were placed in a trail arena having a stimulus leaf at its ending point. Every larva moving ahead from the group was recorded as a leader, and the remaining ones were followers. We also examined whether leaders were temporary or permanent. Of the 195 larvae tested, 22 were permanent leaders (11.28%), 71 larvae were assigned as temporary leaders (36.41%), and 102 larvae never behaved as leaders (52.31%). In the larval cohesion experiment, three treatments were assigned: (i) sibling larvae reared and tested together, (ii) sibling larvae separated after eclosion and tested together, and (iii) non-sibling larvae reared separated and tested together. Sibling larvae reaggregated significantly more compared to non-siblings, regardless of whether they were reared together or separately. Our results show that early instars of M. polymnia casabranca from the same egg cluster are able to recompose aggregations after disrupting disturbances and that group decision-making is mostly dependent on transient leaders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Rodrigues
- Laboratório de Interações Inseto-Planta, Departamento de Ecologia E Programa de Pós-Gradução Em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21901-942, Brazil.
| | - Felipe Lee Pinheiro Machado
- Laboratório de Interações Inseto-Planta, Departamento de Ecologia E Programa de Pós-Gradução Em Ecologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal Do Rio de Janeiro, Avenida Carlos Chagas Filho, 373, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, 21901-942, Brazil
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22
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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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23
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Li Y, Rao T, Gai L, Price ML, Yuxin L, Jianghong R. Giant pandas are losing their edge: Population trend and distribution dynamic drivers of the giant panda. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:4480-4495. [PMID: 37303043 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2022] [Revised: 05/15/2023] [Accepted: 05/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Comprehending the population trend and understanding the distribution range dynamics of species are necessary for global species protection. Recognizing what causes dynamic distribution change is crucial for identifying species' environmental preferences and formulating protection policies. Here, we studied the rear-edge population of the flagship species, giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), to (1) assess their population trend using their distribution patterns, (2) evaluate their distribution dynamics change from the second (1988) to the third (2001) survey (2-3 Interval) and third to the fourth (2013) survey (3-4 Interval) using a machine learning algorithm (eXtremely Gradient Boosting), and (3) decode model results to identify driver factors in the first known use of SHapley Additive exPlanations. Our results showed that the population trends in Liangshan Mountains were worst in the second survey (k = 1.050), improved by the third survey (k = 0.97), but deteriorated by the fourth survey (k = 0.996), which indicates a worrying population future. We found that precipitation had the most significant influence on distribution dynamics among several potential environmental factors, showing a negative correlation between precipitation and giant panda expansion. We recommend that further research is needed to understand the microenvironment and animal distribution dynamics. We provide a fresh perspective on the dynamics of giant panda distribution, highlighting novel focal points for ecological research on this species. Our study offers theoretical underpinnings that could inform the formulation of more effective conservation policies. Also, we emphasize the uniqueness and importance of the Liangshan Mountains giant pandas as the rear-edge population, which is at a high risk of population extinction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuhang Li
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Tong Rao
- Electric Power Research Institute, Yunnan Power Grid Co., Ltd, Kunming, China
| | - Luo Gai
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Megan L Price
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Liu Yuxin
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Ran Jianghong
- Sichuan Key Laboratory of Conservation Biology on Endangered Wildlife, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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24
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Strijker BN, Iwińska K, van der Zalm B, Zub K, Boratyński JS. Is personality and its association with energetics sex-specific in yellow-necked mice Apodemus flavicollis? Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e10233. [PMID: 37408630 PMCID: PMC10318423 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10233] [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: 01/06/2023] [Revised: 06/05/2023] [Accepted: 06/09/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
For the last two decades, behavioral physiologists aimed to explain a plausible covariation between energetics and personality, predicted by the "pace-of-life syndrome" (POLS) hypothesis. However, the results of these attempts are mixed with no definitive answer as to which of the two most acknowledged models "performance" or "allocation" predicts covariation between consistent among-individual variation in metabolism and repeatable behavior (animal personality). The general conclusion is that the association between personality and energetics is rather context-dependent. Life-history, behavior, and physiology as well as its plausible covariation can be considered a part of sexual dimorphism. However, up to now, only a few studies demonstrated a sex-specific correlation between metabolism and personality. Therefore, we tested the relationships between physiological and personality traits in a single population of yellow-necked mice Apodemus flavicollis in the context of a plausible between-sexes difference in this covariation. We hypothesized that the performance model will explain proactive behavior in males and the allocation model will apply to females. Behavioral traits were determined using the latency of risk-taking and the open field tests, whereas the basal metabolic rates (BMR) was measured using indirect calorimetry. We have found a positive correlation between body mass-adjusted BMR and repeatable proactive behavior in male mice, which can support the performance model. However, the females were rather consistent mainly in avoidance of risk-taking that did not correlate with BMR, suggesting essential differences in personality between sexes. Most likely, the lack of convincing association between energetics and personality traits at the population level is caused by a different selection acting on the life histories of males and females. This may only result in weak support for the predictions of the POLS hypothesis when assuming that only a single model explaining the link between physiology and behavior operates in males and females. Thus, there is a need to consider the differences between sexes in behavioral studies to evaluate this hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Beau N. Strijker
- Van Hall LarensteinUniversity of Applied SciencesLeeuwardenThe Netherlands
| | - Karolina Iwińska
- University of Białystok Doctoral School in Exact and Natural SciencesBiałystokPoland
- Mammal Research InstitutePolish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
| | - Bram van der Zalm
- Van Hall LarensteinUniversity of Applied SciencesLeeuwardenThe Netherlands
| | - Karol Zub
- Mammal Research InstitutePolish Academy of SciencesBiałowieżaPoland
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25
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Delmé C, Jackson N, Class B, Strickland K, Potvin DA, Frère CH. Adaptive significance of affiliative behaviour differs between sexes in a wild reptile population. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230805. [PMID: 37339740 PMCID: PMC10281801 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0805] [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: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 05/22/2023] [Indexed: 06/22/2023] Open
Abstract
In recent years, we have begun to appreciate that social behaviours might exhibit repeatable among-individual variation. Such behavioural traits may even covary and have critical evolutionary implications. Importantly, some social behaviours such as aggressiveness have been shown to provide fitness benefits, including higher reproductive success and survival. However, fitness consequences of affiliative behaviours, especially between or among sexes, can be more challenging to establish. Using a longitudinal behavioural dataset (2014-2021) collected on eastern water dragons (Intellagama lesueurii), we investigated whether various aspects of affiliative behaviour (i) were repeatable across years, (ii) covaried with each other at the among-individual level, and (iii) influenced individuals' fitness. In particular, we considered affiliative behaviours towards opposite-sex and same-sex conspecifics separately. We found that social traits were repeatable and covaried with each other similarly for both sexes. More notably, we found that male reproductive success was positively correlated with the number of female associates and the proportion of time spent with females, while females' reproductive success was not correlated with any of the measured social behaviour metrics. Overall, these findings suggest that selection may be acting differently on social behaviour of male and female eastern water dragons.
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Affiliation(s)
- C. Delmé
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - N. Jackson
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - B. Class
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
- Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany
| | - K. Strickland
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - D. A. Potvin
- School of Science, Technology and Engineering, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia
| | - C. H. Frère
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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26
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Shiratsuru S, Studd EK, Boutin S, Peers MJL, Majchrzak YN, Menzies AK, Derbyshire R, Jung TS, Krebs CJ, Boonstra R, Murray DL. When death comes: linking predator-prey activity patterns to timing of mortality to understand predation risk. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20230661. [PMID: 37192667 PMCID: PMC10188243 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0661] [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: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/21/2023] [Indexed: 05/18/2023] Open
Abstract
The assumption that activity and foraging are risky for prey underlies many predator-prey theories and has led to the use of predator-prey activity overlap as a proxy of predation risk. However, the simultaneous measures of prey and predator activity along with timing of predation required to test this assumption have not been available. Here, we used accelerometry data on snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus) and Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) to determine activity patterns of prey and predators and match these to precise timing of predation. Surprisingly we found that lynx kills of hares were as likely to occur during the day when hares were inactive as at night when hares were active. We also found that activity rates of hares were not related to the chance of predation at daily and weekly scales, whereas lynx activity rates positively affected the diel pattern of lynx predation on hares and their weekly kill rates of hares. Our findings suggest that predator-prey diel activity overlap may not always be a good proxy of predation risk, and highlight a need for examining the link between predation and spatio-temporal behaviour of predator and prey to improve our understanding of how predator-prey behavioural interactions drive predation risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shotaro Shiratsuru
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
| | - Emily K. Studd
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
- Department of Biological Sciences, Thompson Rivers University, Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada V2C 0B8
| | - Stan Boutin
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
| | - Michael J. L. Peers
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
| | - Yasmine N. Majchrzak
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2R3
| | - Allyson K. Menzies
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, St-Anne-de-Bellevue, Québec, Canada H9X 3V9
| | | | - Thomas S. Jung
- Department of Environment, Government of Yukon, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
- Department of Renewable Resources, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Charles J. Krebs
- Department of Zoology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Rudy Boonstra
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Dennis L. Murray
- Department of Biology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
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27
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van den Berg SJP, Rodríguez-Sánchez P, Zhao J, Olusoiji OD, Peeters ETHM, Schuijt LM. Among-individual variation in the swimming behaviour of the amphipod Gammarus pulex under dark and light conditions. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 872:162177. [PMID: 36775145 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/07/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, considerable computational advancements have been made allowing automated analysis of behavioural endpoints using video cameras. However, the results of such analyses are often confounded by a large variation among individuals, making it problematic to derive endpoints that allow distinguishing treatment effects in behavioural studies. In this study, we quantitatively analysed the effects of light conditions on the swimming behaviour of the freshwater amphipod Gammarus pulex by high-throughput tracking, and attempted to unravel among individual variation using size and sex. For this, we developed the R-package Kinematics, allowing for the rapid and reproducible analysis of the swimming behaviour (speed, acceleration, thigmotaxis, curvature and startle response) of G. pulex, as well as any other organism. Our results show a considerable amount of variation among individuals (standard deviation ranging between 5 and 115 % of the average swimming behaviour). The factors size and sex and the interaction between the two only explained a minor part of this found variation. Additionally, our study is the first to quantify the startle response in G. pulex after the light is switched on, and study the variability of this response between individuals. To analyse this startle response, we established two metrics: 1) startle response magnitude (the drop in swimming velocity directly after the light switches on), and 2) startle response duration (the time it takes to recover from the drop in swimming velocity to average swimming speed). Almost 80 % of the individuals showed a clear startle response and, therefore, these metrics demonstrate a great potential for usage in behavioural studies. The findings of this study are important for the development of appropriate experimental set-ups for behavioural experiments with G. pulex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanne J P van den Berg
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands; Wageningen Environmental Research, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Jiayu Zhao
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | | | - Edwin T H M Peeters
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands
| | - Lara M Schuijt
- Aquatic Ecology and Water Quality Management group, Wageningen University and Research, P.O. box 47, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands.
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28
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Williams DM, Beckert S, Martin JG, Blumstein DT. Agonistic and affiliative social relationships are associated with marmot docility but not boldness. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.02.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/03/2023]
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29
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Lukas J, Krause J, Träger AS, Piotrowski JM, Romanczuk P, Sprekeler H, Arias-Rodriguez L, Krause S, Schutz C, Bierbach D. Multispecies collective waving behaviour in fish. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220069. [PMID: 36802783 PMCID: PMC9939262 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective behaviour is widely accepted to provide a variety of antipredator benefits. Acting collectively requires not only strong coordination among group members, but also the integration of among-individual phenotypic variation. Therefore, groups composed of more than one species offer a unique opportunity to look into the evolution of both mechanistic and functional aspects of collective behaviour. Here, we present data on mixed-species fish shoals that perform collective dives. These repeated dives produce water waves capable of delaying and/or reducing the success of piscivorous bird attacks. The large majority of the fish in these shoals consist of the sulphur molly, Poecilia sulphuraria, but we regularly also found a second species, the widemouth gambusia, Gambusia eurystoma, making these shoals mixed-species aggregations. In a set of laboratory experiments, we found that gambusia were much less inclined to dive after an attack as compared with mollies, which almost always dive, though mollies dived less deep when paired with gambusia that did not dive. By contrast, the behaviour of gambusia was not influenced by the presence of diving mollies. The dampening effect of less responsive gambusia on molly diving behaviour can have strong evolutionary consequences on the overall collective waving behaviour as we expect shoals with a high proportion of unresponsive gambusia to be less effective at producing repeated waves. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Lukas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arabella Sophie Träger
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Marc Piotrowski
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstrasse 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Henning Sprekeler
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, Berlin Institute of Technology, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Stefan Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christopher Schutz
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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30
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Fear generalization and behavioral responses to multiple dangers. Trends Ecol Evol 2023; 38:369-380. [PMID: 36428124 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2022.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2022] [Revised: 10/23/2022] [Accepted: 11/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Animals often exhibit consistent-individual differences (CIDs) in boldness/fearfulness, typically studied in the context of predation risk. We focus here on fear generalization, where fear of one danger (e.g., predators) is correlated with fear of other dangers (e.g., humans, pathogens, moving vehicles, or fire). We discuss why fear generalization should be ecologically important, and why we expect fear to correlate across disparate dangers. CIDs in fear are well studied for some dangers in some taxa (e.g., human fear of pathogens), but not well studied for most dangers. Fear of some dangers has been found to correlate with general fearfulness, but some cases where we might expect correlated fears (e.g., between fear of humans, familiar predators, and exotic predators) are surprisingly understudied.
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31
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Fuxjager MJ, Ryder TB, Moody NM, Alfonso C, Balakrishnan CN, Barske J, Bosholn M, Boyle WA, Braun EL, Chiver I, Dakin R, Day LB, Driver R, Fusani L, Horton BM, Kimball RT, Lipshutz S, Mello CV, Miller ET, Webster MS, Wirthlin M, Wollman R, Moore IT, Schlinger BA. Systems biology as a framework to understand the physiological and endocrine bases of behavior and its evolution-From concepts to a case study in birds. Horm Behav 2023; 151:105340. [PMID: 36933440 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Organismal behavior, with its tremendous complexity and diversity, is generated by numerous physiological systems acting in coordination. Understanding how these systems evolve to support differences in behavior within and among species is a longstanding goal in biology that has captured the imagination of researchers who work on a multitude of taxa, including humans. Of particular importance are the physiological determinants of behavioral evolution, which are sometimes overlooked because we lack a robust conceptual framework to study mechanisms underlying adaptation and diversification of behavior. Here, we discuss a framework for such an analysis that applies a "systems view" to our understanding of behavioral control. This approach involves linking separate models that consider behavior and physiology as their own networks into a singular vertically integrated behavioral control system. In doing so, hormones commonly stand out as the links, or edges, among nodes within this system. To ground our discussion, we focus on studies of manakins (Pipridae), a family of Neotropical birds. These species have numerous physiological and endocrine specializations that support their elaborate reproductive displays. As a result, manakins provide a useful example to help imagine and visualize the way systems concepts can inform our appreciation of behavioral evolution. In particular, manakins help clarify how connectedness among physiological systems-which is maintained through endocrine signaling-potentiate and/or constrain the evolution of complex behavior to yield behavioral differences across taxa. Ultimately, we hope this review will continue to stimulate thought, discussion, and the emergence of research focused on integrated phenotypes in behavioral ecology and endocrinology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Fuxjager
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
| | - T Brandt Ryder
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - Nicole M Moody
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Brown University, Providence, RI 02906, USA
| | - Camilo Alfonso
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | | | - Julia Barske
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mariane Bosholn
- Animal Behavior Lab, Ecology Department, National Institute for Amazon Research, Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil
| | - W Alice Boyle
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Edward L Braun
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Ioana Chiver
- GIGA Neurosciences, University of Liège, Liege, Belgium
| | - Roslyn Dakin
- Migratory Bird Center, Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, National Zoological Park, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - Lainy B Day
- Department of Biology, University of Mississippi, University, MS 38677, USA
| | - Robert Driver
- Department of Biology, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA
| | - Leonida Fusani
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, and Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna
| | - Brent M Horton
- Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA 17551, USA
| | - Rebecca T Kimball
- Department of Biology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA
| | - Sara Lipshutz
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Claudio V Mello
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | | | - Michael S Webster
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA; Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
| | - Morgan Wirthlin
- Computational Biology Department, Carnegie Melon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
| | - Roy Wollman
- Department of Physiology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ignacio T Moore
- Department of Biological Sciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24060, USA
| | - Barney A Schlinger
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Physiology and Integrative Biology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama.
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32
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Moschilla JA, Tomkins JL, Simmons LW. Among-individual variation in behaviour and its effect on reproductive success. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2023.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
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33
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Roe JH, Chavez MS, Hudson AE. Ecological and Fitness Correlates of Personality in a Long-lived Terrestrial Turtle. HERPETOLOGICA 2023; 79:9-21. [PMID: 38009091 PMCID: PMC10673623 DOI: 10.1655/herpetologica-d-22-00018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/09/2023]
Abstract
An individual's behavioral tendencies (i.e., personality or temperament) can influence its interactions with the environment and thus have important ecological and evolutionary consequences for animal populations. Boldness, defined as an individual's tendency to engage in risk-taking activities, is a phenotypically variable trait linked with numerous behavioral and fitness outcomes in free-ranging animals. We examined variation and repeatability of boldness and other behavioral characteristics in two wild Eastern Box Turtle (Terrapene carolina carolina) populations using radiotelemetry, and assessed fitness correlates of boldness over multiple years. We observed large amounts of among-individual variation and within-individual consistency (i.e., repeatability) of boldness as measured by their head emergence latency following a standardized confinement assay. Individuals were also consistent in several in-field behaviors including movement rate, home range size, and date of emergence from overwintering refuges. Individuals with shorter head emergence latencies (i.e., bolder turtles) had larger home ranges, emerged earlier from overwintering dormancy, and experienced moderately lower survival compared with shy individuals. Boldness did not affect time spent within the thermal preference range, somatic growth rates, or the frequency of mating or same-sex aggressive encounters. Boldness and its effects on in-field behaviors differed between sexes and populations, and the relationship between boldness and survival was temporally variable. Our results suggest possible intrinsic behavioral types in T. c. carolina and highlight the importance of long-term and multipopulation studies when examining ecological and evolutionary processes that shape personality phenotypes in turtles.
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Affiliation(s)
- John H Roe
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA
| | - Maria S. Chavez
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA
| | - Abbie E. Hudson
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina Pembroke, Pembroke, NC 28372, USA
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34
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Temporal repeatability of behaviour in a lizard: implications for behavioural syndrome studies. Evol Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10682-023-10232-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/03/2023]
Abstract
AbstractIt is well established that, across taxa, individuals within populations exhibit consistent differences in their behaviour across time and/or contexts. Further, the functional coupling of traits may result in the formation of a behavioural syndrome. Despite extensive evidence on the existence of consistent among-individual differences in behaviour and behavioural syndromes in the animal realm, these findings are predominately based upon short-term assessments, leading to questions regarding their stability over longer periods. Understanding if these estimates are temporally stable would allow predictions of individual behaviour to be made using short-term repeated measures. Here, we used 57 adult male delicate skinks (Lampropholis delicata) to evaluate the stability of behavioural variation observed both among (animal personality and behavioural plasticity) and within individuals (behavioural predictability), as well as behavioural syndromes, across short (four weeks) and long (five months) timeframes. To do so, we repeatedly assayed activity, exploration, and boldness five times per each individual. Overall, our study revealed complex patterns of behavioural variation and trait (co)variation over time. Activity was always repeatable across time intervals, whereas behavioural differences among individuals in exploration and boldness were not consistent. Yet a behavioural syndrome between activity and exploration was detected at both shorter and longer temporal scales, suggesting that syndrome structure in these traits does not vary as a function of time. Our findings indicate that, at least for some traits (e.g. activity) and studies, short-term measures may be adequate in serving as a proxy for long-term variation in individual behaviour, and to reveal the existence of behavioural syndromes at the population level.
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Figueiredo LG, Santos FAC, Torres IFA, Boaventura TP, Luz RK. Behaviour of personality-screened juvenile Oreochromis niloticus in different challenges: Bold fish present more exploratory capacity and learning to face imposed challenges. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2023; 95:e20210976. [PMID: 36753098 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765202220210976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
The investigation of cultivation and management techniques that take into account behaviour and animal welfare becomes important due to their direct relationship with animal performance. This study aimed to classify juvenile Oreochromis niloticus by personality and compare their performance at exploration and competition tasks. The new object test was used to select bold and shy animals, which were then tested to see which first approached an object. The food competition test involved placing three feed pellets inside a cylinder and measuring the time taken until the pellet was eaten. The new object test found bold animals with a shorter mean time to approach the object than shy animals approaching 65% of the first object when compared to shy. The food competition test found that the bold animals ingested the first pellet more times and with a shorter average time of ingestion than shy animals, no difference in the second intake, whereas the results for the third were same as those for the first. Shy animals had higher intake of the second pellet. Bold animals explored their environment faster in both challenges, while shy individuals exhibited ability to learn from the challenges imposed in the study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luís G Figueiredo
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Laboratório de Aquacultura do Departamento de Zootecnia, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Fabio A C Santos
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Laboratório de Aquacultura do Departamento de Zootecnia, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Isabela F A Torres
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Laboratório de Aquacultura do Departamento de Zootecnia, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Tulio P Boaventura
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Laboratório de Aquacultura do Departamento de Zootecnia, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
| | - Ronald K Luz
- Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Laboratório de Aquacultura do Departamento de Zootecnia, Avenida Antônio Carlos, 6627, 31270-901 Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil
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Toscano BJ, Allegue H, Gownaris NJ, Drausnik M, Yung Z, Bauloye D, Gorman F, Ver Pault M. Among‐individual behavioral responses to predation risk are invariant within two species of freshwater snails. Ethology 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/11/2023]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Hassen Allegue
- Département des Sciences Biologiques Université du Québec à Montréal Montréal Quebec Canada
| | - Natasha J. Gownaris
- Department of Environmental Studies, Gettysburg College Gettysburg Pennsylvania USA
| | - Marta Drausnik
- Department of Biology Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA
| | - Zach Yung
- Department of Biology Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA
| | - Daniel Bauloye
- Department of Biology Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA
| | - Flynn Gorman
- Department of Biology Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA
| | - Mia Ver Pault
- Department of Biology Trinity College Hartford Connecticut USA
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Cain S, Solomon T, Leshem Y, Toledo S, Arnon E, Roulin A, Spiegel O. Movement predictability of individual barn owls facilitates estimation of home range size and survival. MOVEMENT ECOLOGY 2023; 11:10. [PMID: 36750910 PMCID: PMC9906850 DOI: 10.1186/s40462-022-00366-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2022] [Accepted: 12/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is growing attention to individuality in movement, its causes and consequences. Similarly to other well-established personality traits (e.g., boldness or sociability), conspecifics also differ repeatedly in their spatial behaviors, forming behavioral types ("spatial-BTs"). These spatial-BTs are typically described as the difference in the mean-level among individuals, and the intra-individual variation (IIV, i.e., predictability) is only rarely considered. Furthermore, the factors determining predictability or its ecological consequences for broader space-use patterns are largely unknown, in part because predictability was mostly tested in captivity (e.g., with repeated boldness assays). Here we test if (i) individuals differ in their movement and specifically in their predictability. We then investigate (ii) the consequences of this variation for home-range size and survival estimates, and (iii) the factors that affect individual predictability. METHODS We tracked 92 barn owls (Tyto alba) with an ATLAS system and monitored their survival. From these high-resolution (every few seconds) and extensive trajectories (115.2 ± 112.1 nights; X̅ ± SD) we calculated movement and space-use indices (e.g., max-displacement and home-range size, respectively). We then used double-hierarchical and generalized linear mix-models to assess spatial-BTs, individual predictability in nightly max-displacement, and its consistency across time. Finally, we explored if predictability levels were associated with home-range size and survival, as well as the seasonal, geographical, and demographic factors affecting it (e.g., age, sex, and owls' density). RESULTS Our dataset (with 74 individuals after filtering) revealed clear patterns of individualism in owls' movement. Individuals differed consistently both in their mean movement (e.g., max-displacement) and their IIV around it (i.e., predictability). More predictable individuals had smaller home-ranges and lower survival rates, on top and beyond the expected effects of their spatial-BT (max-displacement), sex, age and ecological environments. Juveniles were less predictable than adults, but the sexes did not differ in their predictability. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that individual predictability may act as an overlooked axis of spatial-BT with potential implications for relevant ecological processes at the population level and individual fitness. Considering how individuals differ in their IIV of movement beyond the mean-effect can facilitate understanding the intraspecific diversity, predicting their responses to changing ecological conditions and their population management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shlomo Cain
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Tovale Solomon
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Yossi Leshem
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Sivan Toledo
- Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Eitam Arnon
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Alexandre Roulin
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Building Biophore, University of Lausanne, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Orr Spiegel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
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MacKinlay RD, Shaw RC. A systematic review of animal personality in conservation science. CONSERVATION BIOLOGY : THE JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR CONSERVATION BIOLOGY 2023; 37:e13935. [PMID: 35561041 PMCID: PMC10084254 DOI: 10.1111/cobi.13935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Accepted: 04/26/2022] [Indexed: 04/13/2023]
Abstract
Although animal personality research may have applied uses, this suggestion has yet to be evaluated by assessing empirical studies examining animal personality and conservation. To address this knowledge gap, we performed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature relating to conservation science and animal personality. Criteria for inclusion in our review included access to full text, primary research articles, and relevant animal conservation or personality focus (i.e., not human personality studies). Ninety-two articles met these criteria. We summarized the conservation contexts, testing procedures (including species and sample size), analytical approach, claimed personality traits (activity, aggression, boldness, exploration, and sociability), and each report's key findings and conservation-focused suggestions. Although providing evidence for repeatability in behavior is crucial for personality studies, repeatability quantification was implemented in only half of the reports. Nonetheless, each of the 5 personality traits were investigated to some extent in a range of conservations contexts. The most robust studies in the field showed variance in how personality relates to other ecologically important variables across species and contexts. Moreover, many studies were first attempts at using personality for conservation purposes in a given study system. Overall, it appears personality is not yet a fully realized tool for conservation. To apply personality research to conservation problems, we suggest researchers think about where individual differences in behavior may affect conservation outcomes in their system, assess where there are opportunities for repeated measures, and follow the most current methodological guides on quantifying personality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regan D. MacKinlay
- School of Biological SciencesVictoria University of WellingtonWellingtonNew Zealand
| | - Rachael C. Shaw
- School of Biological SciencesVictoria University of WellingtonWellingtonNew Zealand
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LaRocque M, Arteaga-Torres JD, Haave-Audet E, Sridharan S, Wijmenga JJ, Mathot KJ. An investigation of personality-related recapture bias in black-capped chickadees, Poecile atricapillus. Anim Behav 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
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Prabh N, Linnenbrink M, Jovicic M, Guenther A. Fast adjustment of pace-of-life and risk-taking to changes in food quality by altered gene expression in house mice. Ecol Lett 2023; 26:99-110. [PMID: 36366786 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14137] [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: 07/04/2022] [Revised: 10/06/2022] [Accepted: 10/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis provides a framework for the adaptive integration of behaviour, physiology and life history between and within species. It suggests that behaviours involving a risk of death or injury should co-vary with a higher allocation to fast reproduction. Empirical support for this hypothesis is mixed, presumably because important influencing factors such as environmental variation, are usually neglected. By experimentally manipulating food quality of wild mice living under semi-natural conditions for three generations, we show that individuals adjust their life history strategies and risk-taking behaviours as well as trait covariation (Nindividuals = 1442). These phenotypic differences are correlated to differences in transcriptomic gene expression of primary metabolic processes in the liver while no changes in gene frequencies occurred. Our discussion emphasises the need to integrate the role of environmental conditions and phenotypic plasticity in shaping relationships among behaviour, physiology and life history in response to changing environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Neel Prabh
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | | | - Milan Jovicic
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
| | - Anja Guenther
- Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön, Germany
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41
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Can animal personalities save human lives? Evidence for repeatable differences in activity and anxiety in African giant pouched rats (Cricetomys ansorgei). Appl Anim Behav Sci 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2023.105848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
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42
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Weiss A, Feldblum JT, Altschul DM, Collins DA, Kamenya S, Mjungu D, Foerster S, Gilby IC, Wilson ML, Pusey AE. Personality traits, rank attainment, and siring success throughout the lives of male chimpanzees of Gombe National Park. PeerJ 2023; 11:e15083. [PMID: 37123001 PMCID: PMC10135409 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.15083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/25/2023] [Indexed: 05/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality traits in many taxa correlate with fitness. Several models have been developed to try to explain how variation in these traits is maintained. One model proposes that variation persists because it is linked to trade-offs between current and future adaptive benefits. Tests of this model's predictions, however, are scant in long-lived species. To test this model, we studied male chimpanzees living in Gombe National Park, Tanzania. We operationalized six personality traits using ratings on 19 items. We used 37 years of behavioral and genetic data to assemble (1) daily rank scores generated from submissive vocalizations and (2) records of male siring success. We tested whether the association between two personality traits, Dominance and Conscientiousness, and either rank or reproductive success, varied over the life course. Higher Dominance and lower Conscientiousness were associated with higher rank, but the size and direction of these relationships did not vary over the life course. In addition, independent of rank at the time of siring, higher Dominance and lower Conscientiousness were related to higher siring success. Again, the size and direction of these relationships did not vary over the life course. The trade-off model, therefore, may not hold in long-lived and/or slowly reproducing species. These findings also demonstrate that ratings are a valid way to measure animal personality; they are related to rank and reproductive success. These traits could therefore be used to test alternative models, including one that posits that personality variation is maintained by environmental heterogeneity, in studies of multiple chimpanzee communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Weiss
- National Evolutionary Synthesis Center, Durham, NC, United States of America
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
- Scottish Primate Research Group, United Kingdom
| | - Joseph T. Feldblum
- Department of Anthropology, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Society of Fellows, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor, MI, United States of America
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Drew M. Altschul
- School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
- Scottish Primate Research Group, United Kingdom
- Mental Health Data Science, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | | | - Shadrack Kamenya
- Gombe Stream Research Centre, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Deus Mjungu
- Gombe Stream Research Centre, Jane Goodall Institute, Kigoma, Tanzania
| | - Steffen Foerster
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
| | - Ian C. Gilby
- School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
- Institute of Human Origins, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States of America
| | - Michael L. Wilson
- Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
- Institute on the Environment, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States of America
| | - Anne E. Pusey
- Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States of America
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Rech F, Narimanov N, Bauer T, Schirmel J. Urbanization increases fluctuating asymmetry and affects behavioral traits of a common grasshopper. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9658. [PMID: 36568863 PMCID: PMC9772494 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Urbanization has a major impact on biodiversity. For many organisms, the urbanization process means environmental stress caused by fragmentation and increased temperatures in cities and atmospheric, soil, light, and noise pollution. Such environmental stress can influence both the morphology and behavior of animals. Hence, individuals might be selected for survival-facilitating traits under high pressures in urban areas. The specific impact of urbanization on insect behavior is still largely unexplored. We studied the impact of urbanization on one of the most common grasshopper species in Germany, Chorthippus biguttulus, by comparing morphological and behavioral traits of individuals sampled from grasslands with low, medium, and high urbanization levels. We first investigated whether urbanization as a stressor affected body size and fluctuating asymmetry in the locomotor organs. Next, we examined whether urbanization induced changes in the individuals' boldness and activity. Our results showed that fluctuating asymmetry of grasshoppers' locomotory organs increased more than twofold with urbanization level. Further, individuals' boldness and walking activity increased from areas with low to high urbanization levels. Our results indicate strong responses of grasshoppers in terms of morphology and behavior to the urban environment. To compensate for urbanization effects on arthropod populations, management strategies need to be developed that maintain ecological processes and reduce environmental stress in urban areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florian Rech
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental SciencesUniversity of Koblenz‐LandauLandauGermany,Faculty of Environment and Natural ResourcesUniversity of FreiburgFreiburgGermany
| | - Nijat Narimanov
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental SciencesUniversity of Koblenz‐LandauLandauGermany,Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution (iomE)Johannes Gutenberg UniversityMainzGermany
| | - Tobias Bauer
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental SciencesUniversity of Koblenz‐LandauLandauGermany,State Museum of Natural History KarlsruheKarlsruheGermany
| | - Jens Schirmel
- iES Landau, Institute for Environmental SciencesUniversity of Koblenz‐LandauLandauGermany
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Prentice PM, Houslay TM, Wilson AJ. Exploiting animal personality to reduce chronic stress in captive fish populations. Front Vet Sci 2022; 9:1046205. [PMID: 36590805 PMCID: PMC9794626 DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1046205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress is a major source of welfare problems in many captive populations, including fishes. While we have long known that chronic stress effects arise from maladaptive expression of acute stress response pathways, predicting where and when problems will arise is difficult. Here we highlight how insights from animal personality research could be useful in this regard. Since behavior is the first line of organismal defense when challenged by a stressor, assays of shy-bold type personality variation can provide information about individual stress response that is expected to predict susceptibility to chronic stress. Moreover, recent demonstrations that among-individual differences in stress-related physiology and behaviors are underpinned by genetic factors means that selection on behavioral biomarkers could offer a route to genetic improvement of welfare outcomes in captive fish stocks. Here we review the evidence in support of this proposition, identify remaining empirical gaps in our understanding, and set out appropriate criteria to guide development of biomarkers. The article is largely prospective: fundamental research into fish personality shows how behavioral biomarkers could be used to achieve welfare gains in captive fish populations. However, translating potential to actual gains will require an interdisciplinary approach that integrates the expertise and viewpoints of researchers working across animal behavior, genetics, and welfare science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela M. Prentice
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom,Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, Stirling, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas M. Houslay
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom,Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Department of Natural Sciences, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Alastair J. Wilson
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom,*Correspondence: Alastair J. Wilson
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Brand JA, Henry J, Melo GC, Wlodkowic D, Wong BBM, Martin JM. Sex differences in the predictability of risk-taking behavior. Behav Ecol 2022; 34:108-116. [PMID: 36789395 PMCID: PMC9918862 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arac105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/02/2022] [Revised: 10/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent research has found that individuals often vary in how consistently they express their behavior over time (i.e., behavioral predictability) and suggested that these individual differences may be heritable. However, little is known about the intrinsic factors that drive variation in the predictability of behavior. Indeed, whether variation in behavioral predictability is sex-specific is not clear. This is important, as behavioral predictability has been associated with vulnerability to predation, suggesting that the predictability of behavioral traits may have key fitness implications. We investigated whether male and female eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) differed in the predictability of their risk-taking behavior. Specifically, over a total of 954 behavioral trials, we repeatedly measured risk-taking behavior with three commonly used assays-refuge-use, thigmotaxis, and foraging latency. We predicted that there would be consistent sex differences in both mean-level risk-taking behavior and behavioral predictability across the assays. We found that risk-taking behavior was repeatable within each assay, and that some individuals were consistently bolder than others across all three assays. There were also consistent sex differences in mean-level risk-taking behavior, with males being bolder across all three assays compared to females. In contrast, both the magnitude and direction of sex differences in behavioral predictability were assay-specific. Taken together, these results highlight that behavioral predictability may be independent from underlying mean-level behavioral traits and suggest that males and females may differentially adjust the consistency of their risk-taking behavior in response to subtle changes in environmental conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jack A Brand
- Address correspondence to Jack A. Brand. E-mail:
| | - Jason Henry
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia
| | - Gabriela C Melo
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Donald Wlodkowic
- School of Science, RMIT University, Melbourne, Victoria 3083, Australia
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46
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Vasilieva NA. Pace-of-Life Syndrome (POLS): Evolution of the Concept. BIOL BULL+ 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062359022070238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
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47
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Godin JGJ, Le Roy A, Burns AL, Seebacher F, Ward AJ. Pace-of-life syndrome: linking personality, metabolism and colour ornamentation in male guppies. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.09.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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48
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Takatsu K, Selz OM, Brodersen J. Temperature regime during embryogenesis alters subsequent behavioural phenotypes of juvenile brown trout. Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220369. [PMID: 36448368 PMCID: PMC9709657 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0369] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Climate warming imposes a serious threat, especially to freshwater ecosystems in temperate and (sub)polar regions, which are often dominated by cold-adapted ectotherms. Although relatively intense warming during winter is common across the climatic regions, comparably little focus has been put on the organismal impacts of winter warming. Embryonic development, which is exceptionally susceptible to ambient temperature, occurs during winter in various freshwater ectotherms. Yet, our knowledge of the effects of increased temperature during embryogenesis on later life stages is limited. Using brown trout (
Salmo trutta
), we examined how a 1.5°C temperature increase from fertilization to hatching affects various traits at the onset of the free-swimming stage (i.e. a comparison between 3.5 and 5.0°C treatments). Although all hatchlings were kept at the same temperature (7.0°C) from hatching to the onset of the free-swimming stage for about two months, the temperature increase during embryogenesis substantially reduced key ecological behaviours, i.e. activity and exploration levels, at the onset of the free-swimming stage despite only marginal temperature effects on morphological and physiological traits at this stage. Given the importance of behavioural traits in early growth and survival, our study suggests a likely pathway through which subtle changes in mean winter temperature affect early fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunio Takatsu
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
| | - Oliver M. Selz
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN), Aquatic Restoration and Fisheries Section, 3011 Bern, Switzerland
| | - Jakob Brodersen
- Department of Fish Ecology and Evolution, Center for Ecology, Evolution & Biogeochemistry, Eawag: Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, 6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland
- Department of Aquatic Ecology & Evolution, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, Switzerland
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Roy T, Arlinghaus R. Size-selective mortality fosters ontogenetic changes in collective risk-taking behaviour in zebrafish, Danio rerio. Oecologia 2022; 200:89-106. [PMID: 36181546 PMCID: PMC9547785 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-022-05256-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Size-selective mortality is common in fish populations and can operate either in a positive size-selective fashion by harvesting larger-than-average fish or be negatively size-selective by harvesting smaller-than-average fish. Through various mechanisms (like genetic correlations among behaviour and life-history traits or direct selection on behaviour co-varying with growth rate or size-at-maturation), size-selection can result in evolutionary changes in behavioural traits. Theory suggests that both positive and negative size-selection without additional selection on behaviour favours boldness, while evolution of shyness is possible if the largest fish are harvested. Here we examined the impact of size-selective mortality on collective boldness across ontogeny using three experimental lines of zebrafish (Daniorerio) generated through positive (large-harvested), negative (small-harvested) and random (control line) size-selective mortality for five generations and then relaxed selection for 10 generations to examine evolutionarily fixed outcomes. We measured collective risk-taking during feeding (boldness) under simulated aerial predation threat, and across four contexts in presence/absence of a cichlid. Boldness decreased across ontogeny under aerial predation threat, and the small-harvested line was consistently bolder than controls. The large and small-harvested lines showed higher behavioural plasticity as larvae and developed personality earlier compared to the controls. The large-harvested line showed increased variability and plasticity in boldness throughout ontogeny. In the presence of a live predator, fish did not differ in boldness in three contexts compared to the controls, but the large-harvested line showed reduced behavioural plasticity across contexts than controls. Our results confirmed theory by demonstrating that size-selective harvesting evolutionarily alters collective boldness and its variability and plasticity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tamal Roy
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Robert Arlinghaus
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.,Division of Integrative Fisheries Management, Department of Crop and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstrasse 13, Haus 7, 10115, Berlin, Germany
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de Jong M, Phillips BL, Llewelyn J, Chapple DG, Wong BBM. Effects of developmental environment on animal personality in a tropical skink. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03240-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Developmental environments play a significant role in shaping animal phenotype, including behavior. Within a species, individuals often differ in behavior in a consistent and repeatable way (i.e., demonstrate animal personality). This consistency in behavior can be affected by differences in conditions experienced early in life. It is, however, unclear whether effects of developmental environments on animal personality are driven by changes in within- or between-individual variation. To investigate this, we measured activity, exploration, sociability, and boldness in adult male southern rainforest sunskinks, Lampropholis similis, incubated at either 23 °C or 26 °C, and compared behavioral phenotypes between these incubation treatments. We also compared the behavior of these incubation groups to a cohort of wild-caught skinks to determine whether rearing in captivity also affected the personality of the lizards. Skinks that had been incubated at a higher temperature were more explorative and demonstrated personality in a larger suite of traits compared to lizards incubated at a lower temperature or caught in the wild. These differences among developmental environment were primarily driven by within-individual variation, which tended to be higher among the high incubation treatment. We also found no evidence for a behavioral syndrome in either captive- or wild-reared skinks. Our results suggest the potential for greater behavioral plasticity in skinks incubated at a higher temperature, which may enable them to cope with environmental change, such as climate warming, in the short term. Overall, we show that effects of developmental environment are complex and play a pivotal role in shaping animal personality.
Significance statement
Experiences during development are expected to influence how animals develop, including their behavior. We tested early environment effects on behavior in adult southern rainforest sunskinks by comparing lizards incubated at different temperatures as well as comparing those reared in the wild with those reared in captive environments. We found that lizards incubated at the higher temperature were more exploratory. Furthermore, both incubation temperature and captivity/wild-rearing had pronounced effects on the consistency of behavior—in different directions for different traits—demonstrating developmental environments have strong effects on animal personality. Such changes in behavioral traits likely have flow-on effects for the animal’s fitness and biotic interactions.
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