1
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Ioannou CC, Laskowski KL. A multi-scale review of the dynamics of collective behaviour: from rapid responses to ontogeny and evolution. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220059. [PMID: 36802782 PMCID: PMC9939272 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0059] [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: 01/25/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective behaviours, such as flocking in birds or decision making by bee colonies, are some of the most intriguing behavioural phenomena in the animal kingdom. The study of collective behaviour focuses on the interactions between individuals within groups, which typically occur over close ranges and short timescales, and how these interactions drive larger scale properties such as group size, information transfer within groups and group-level decision making. To date, however, most studies have focused on snapshots, typically studying collective behaviour over short timescales up to minutes or hours. However, being a biological trait, much longer timescales are important in animal collective behaviour, particularly how individuals change over their lifetime (the domain of developmental biology) and how individuals change from one generation to the next (the domain of evolutionary biology). Here, we give an overview of collective behaviour across timescales from the short to the long, illustrating how a full understanding of this behaviour in animals requires much more research attention on its developmental and evolutionary biology. Our review forms the prologue of this special issue, which addresses and pushes forward understanding the development and evolution of collective behaviour, encouraging a new direction for collective behaviour research. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kate L. Laskowski
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
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2
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Personality variation is eroded by simple social behaviours in collective foragers. PLoS Comput Biol 2023; 19:e1010908. [PMID: 36862622 PMCID: PMC9980820 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 03/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The movement of groups can be heavily influenced by 'leader' individuals who differ from the others in some way. A major source of differences between individuals is the repeatability and consistency of their behaviour, commonly considered as their 'personality', which can influence both position within a group as well as the tendency to lead. However, links between personality and behaviour may also depend upon the immediate social environment of the individual; individuals who behave consistently in one way when alone may not express the same behaviour socially, when they may be conforming with the behaviour of others. Experimental evidence shows that personality differences can be eroded in social situations, but there is currently a lack of theory to identify the conditions where we would expect personality to be suppressed. Here, we develop a simple individual-based framework considering a small group of individuals with differing tendencies to perform risky behaviours when travelling away from a safe home site towards a foraging site, and compare the group behaviours when the individuals follow differing rules for aggregation behaviour determining how much attention they pay to the actions of their fellow group-members. We find that if individuals pay attention to the other members of the group, the group will tend to remain at the safe site for longer, but then travel faster towards the foraging site. This demonstrates that simple social behaviours can result in the repression of consistent inter-individual differences in behaviour, giving the first theoretical consideration of the social mechanisms behind personality suppression.
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3
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Pilakouta N, O'Donnell PJ, Crespel A, Levet M, Claireaux M, Humble JL, Kristjánsson BK, Skúlason S, Lindström J, Metcalfe NB, Killen SS, Parsons KJ. A warmer environment can reduce sociability in an ectotherm. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:206-214. [PMID: 36259414 PMCID: PMC10092372 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16451] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The costs and benefits of being social vary with environmental conditions, so individuals must weigh the balance between these trade-offs in response to changes in the environment. Temperature is a salient environmental factor that may play a key role in altering the costs and benefits of sociality through its effects on food availability, predator abundance, and other ecological parameters. In ectotherms, changes in temperature also have direct effects on physiological traits linked to social behaviour, such as metabolic rate and locomotor performance. In light of climate change, it is therefore important to understand the potential effects of temperature on sociality. Here, we took the advantage of a 'natural experiment' of threespine sticklebacks from contrasting thermal environments in Iceland: geothermally warmed water bodies (warm habitats) and adjacent ambient-temperature water bodies (cold habitats) that were either linked (sympatric) or physically distinct (allopatric). We first measured the sociability of wild-caught adult fish from warm and cold habitats after acclimation to a low and a high temperature. At both acclimation temperatures, fish from the allopatric warm habitat were less social than those from the allopatric cold habitat, whereas fish from sympatric warm and cold habitats showed no differences in sociability. To determine whether differences in sociability between thermal habitats in the allopatric population were heritable, we used a common garden breeding design where individuals from the warm and the cold habitat were reared at a low or high temperature for two generations. We found that sociability was indeed heritable but also influenced by rearing temperature, suggesting that thermal conditions during early life can play an important role in influencing social behaviour in adulthood. By providing the first evidence for a causal effect of rearing temperature on social behaviour, our study provides novel insights into how a warming world may influence sociality in animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Pilakouta
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Patrick J. O'Donnell
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Amélie Crespel
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TurkuTurkuFinland
| | - Marie Levet
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- Department of Biological SciencesUniversity of MontrealMontrealCanada
| | - Marion Claireaux
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- Norwegian Institute of Marine ResearchBergenNorway
| | - Joseph L. Humble
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | | | - Skúli Skúlason
- Department of Aquaculture and Fish BiologyHólar UniversitySauðárkrókurIceland
- Icelandic Museum of Natural HistoryReykjavíkIceland
| | - Jan Lindström
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Neil B. Metcalfe
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Shaun S. Killen
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Kevin J. Parsons
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
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4
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Pilakouta N, O'Donnell PJ, Crespel A, Levet M, Claireaux M, Humble JL, Kristjánsson BK, Skúlason S, Lindström J, Metcalfe NB, Killen SS, Parsons KJ. A warmer environment can reduce sociability in an ectotherm. GLOBAL CHANGE BIOLOGY 2023; 29:206-214. [PMID: 36259414 DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv0v] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Revised: 08/15/2022] [Accepted: 09/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
The costs and benefits of being social vary with environmental conditions, so individuals must weigh the balance between these trade-offs in response to changes in the environment. Temperature is a salient environmental factor that may play a key role in altering the costs and benefits of sociality through its effects on food availability, predator abundance, and other ecological parameters. In ectotherms, changes in temperature also have direct effects on physiological traits linked to social behaviour, such as metabolic rate and locomotor performance. In light of climate change, it is therefore important to understand the potential effects of temperature on sociality. Here, we took the advantage of a 'natural experiment' of threespine sticklebacks from contrasting thermal environments in Iceland: geothermally warmed water bodies (warm habitats) and adjacent ambient-temperature water bodies (cold habitats) that were either linked (sympatric) or physically distinct (allopatric). We first measured the sociability of wild-caught adult fish from warm and cold habitats after acclimation to a low and a high temperature. At both acclimation temperatures, fish from the allopatric warm habitat were less social than those from the allopatric cold habitat, whereas fish from sympatric warm and cold habitats showed no differences in sociability. To determine whether differences in sociability between thermal habitats in the allopatric population were heritable, we used a common garden breeding design where individuals from the warm and the cold habitat were reared at a low or high temperature for two generations. We found that sociability was indeed heritable but also influenced by rearing temperature, suggesting that thermal conditions during early life can play an important role in influencing social behaviour in adulthood. By providing the first evidence for a causal effect of rearing temperature on social behaviour, our study provides novel insights into how a warming world may influence sociality in animal populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalie Pilakouta
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Patrick J O'Donnell
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Amélie Crespel
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Marie Levet
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Montreal, Montreal, Canada
| | - Marion Claireaux
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, Norway
| | - Joseph L Humble
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | | | - Skúli Skúlason
- Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Sauðárkrókur, Iceland
- Icelandic Museum of Natural History, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Jan Lindström
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Neil B Metcalfe
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Shaun S Killen
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Kevin J Parsons
- School of Biodiversity, One Health and Veterinary Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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5
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Hansen MJ, Krause S, Dhellemmes F, Pacher K, Kurvers RHJM, Domenici P, Krause J. Mechanisms of prey division in striped marlin, a marine group hunting predator. Commun Biol 2022; 5:1161. [PMID: 36316537 PMCID: PMC9622829 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03951-3] [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: 03/29/2022] [Accepted: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Many terrestrial group-hunters cooperate to kill prey but then compete for their share with dominance being a strong predictor of prey division. In contrast, little is known about prey division in group-hunting marine predators that predominately attack small, evasive prey (e.g. fish schools). We identified individual striped marlin (Kajikia audax) hunting in groups. Groups surrounded prey but individuals took turns attacking. We found that competition for prey access led to an unequal division of prey among the predators, with 50% of the most frequently attacking marlin capturing 70–80% of the fish. Neither aggression, body size nor variation in hunting efficiency explained this skewed prey division. We did find that newly arrived groups of marlin gained on average more access to the prey. This raises the possibility that newly arrived marlin were hungrier and more motivated to feed. However, this result does not necessarily explain the unequal prey division among the predators because the skew in prey captures was found at the level of these groups. Dynamic prey division is probably widespread but under-reported in marine group-hunters and the inability of individuals to monopolize prey until satiation likely reduces the importance of social hierarchies for prey division. Striped marlin use a dynamic prey division method when hunting as a group, taking turns to feed but without doing so equally.
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Affiliation(s)
- M. J. Hansen
- grid.419247.d0000 0001 2108 8097Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - S. Krause
- grid.4562.50000 0001 0057 2672Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - F. Dhellemmes
- grid.419247.d0000 0001 2108 8097Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - K. Pacher
- grid.7468.d0000 0001 2248 7639Faculty of Life Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - R. H. J. M. Kurvers
- grid.419247.d0000 0001 2108 8097Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany ,grid.419526.d0000 0000 9859 7917Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - P. Domenici
- grid.5326.20000 0001 1940 4177IBF-CNR, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Area di Ricerca San Cataldo, Via G. Moruzzi N°1, 56124 Pisa, Italy ,IAS-CNR, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano Italy
| | - J. Krause
- grid.419247.d0000 0001 2108 8097Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany ,grid.6734.60000 0001 2292 8254Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence,” Technical University of Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany ,grid.7468.d0000 0001 2248 7639Present Address: Faculty of Life Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
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6
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Gokcekus S, Firth JA, Regan C, Cole EF, Lamers KP, Sheldon BC. Drivers of passive leadership in wild songbirds: species-level differences and spatio-temporally dependent intraspecific effects. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03103-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Collective behaviors are typical for many social species and can have fitness benefits for participating individuals. To maximize the benefits obtained from group living, individuals must coordinate their behaviors to some extent. What are the mechanisms that make certain individuals more likely to initiate collective behaviors, for example, by taking a risk to initially access a resource (i.e., to act as “leaders”)? Here, we examine leading behavior in a natural population of great tits and blue tits. We use automated feeding stations to monitor the feeder visits of tagged individuals within mixed-species flocks, with a small cost (waiting < 2 s) associated with the initial unlocking of the feeder. We find that great tits, males, and individuals with high activity levels were more likely to be leading in each of their feeder visits. Using a null model approach, we demonstrate that the effects of sex and activity on passive leading behavior can be explained by patterns of spatial and temporal occurrence. In other words, these effects can be explained by the times and locations of when individuals visit rather than the actual order of arrival. Hence, an analysis of the causes of leading behavior is needed to separate the effects of different processes. We highlight the importance of understanding the mechanisms behind leading behavior and discuss directions for future experimental work to gain a better understanding of the causes of leadership in natural populations.
Significance statement
Many species are social and engage in collective behaviors. To benefit from group actions, individuals need to fulfill different roles. Here, we examine leading behavior during feeding events; who feeds first when birds arrive at a resource? In mixed-species flocks of passerines, great tits (the larger and more dominant species), males, and individuals with higher levels of activity lead more often than blue tits, females, and individuals with lower levels of activity. While the species effect remains even when we control for the locations and dates of individual feeder visits, the effects of sex and activity are dependent on when and where birds choose to feed.
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7
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Jolles JW, King AJ, Killen SS. The Role of Individual Heterogeneity in Collective Animal Behaviour. Trends Ecol Evol 2020; 35:278-291. [DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2019.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 92] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2019] [Revised: 11/04/2019] [Accepted: 11/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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8
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Risk-taking and locomotion in foraging threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus): the effect of nutritional stress is dependent on social context. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2795-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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9
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Kent MIA, Lukeman R, Lizier JT, Ward AJW. Speed-mediated properties of schooling. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:181482. [PMID: 30891275 PMCID: PMC6408369 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2018] [Accepted: 01/23/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Collectively moving animals often display a high degree of synchronization and cohesive group-level formations, such as elongated schools of fish. These global patterns emerge as the result of localized rules of interactions. However, the exact relationship between speed, polarization, neighbour positioning and group structure has produced conflicting results and is largely limited to modelling approaches. This hinders our ability to understand how information spreads between individuals, which may determine the collective functioning of groups. We tested how speed interacts with polarization and positional composition to produce the elongation observed in moving groups of fish as well as how this impacts information flow between individuals. At the local level, we found that increases in speed led to increases in alignment and shifts from lateral to linear neighbour positioning. At the global level, these increases in linear neighbour positioning resulted in elongation of the group. Furthermore, mean pairwise transfer entropy increased with speed and alignment, implying an adaptive value to forming faster, more polarized and linear groups. Ultimately, this research provides vital insight into the mechanisms underlying the elongation of moving animal groups and highlights the functional significance of cohesive and coordinated movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maud I. A. Kent
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ryan Lukeman
- Department of Mathematics, Statistics, and Computer Science, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, Nova Scotia, CanadaB2G 2W5
| | - Joseph T. Lizier
- Complex Systems Research Group, Faculty of Engineering & IT, Centre for Complex Systems, The University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
| | - Ashley J. W. Ward
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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10
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Björnsson B, Karlsson H, Macrander A. Food searching behaviour in adult Atlantic cod Gadus morhua during acoustic training: social learning and leadership within a school. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2018; 93:814-829. [PMID: 30141190 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 08/15/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Food searching behaviour in a group of individually tagged 1-5 kg Atlantic cod Gadus morhua was studied in a set of three experiments in a sea cage with two underwater platforms, where restricted amounts of food was delivered several times per day during an acoustic training period. It took c. 1 week to train 20 naïve cod to associate low frequency (250 Hz) sound with food, whereas the training time was reduced to less than 2 days when 19 naïve G. morhua were accompanied with one trained fish. The fish formed a school that cruised between the platforms in search of food. Usually, there was one leader in the school, a fish that swam faster, arrived first at the platforms and visited the platforms more frequently than other members of the school. The leader spent more energy on swimming but also received more food and grew faster than the rest of the fish. At the start of the experiments, the leaders were not larger than the average fish but always among the leanest ones in the group. The study reveals how social learning can facilitate the acoustic training in adult G. morhua, information that may be useful in finding ways to aggregate valuable fish species for environmentally friendly fishing and ranching.
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Affiliation(s)
- Björn Björnsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Aquaculture Division, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Hjalti Karlsson
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Aquaculture Division, Reykjavík, Iceland
| | - Andreas Macrander
- Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, Aquaculture Division, Reykjavík, Iceland
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Petkova I, Abbey-Lee RN, Løvlie H. Parasite infection and host personality: Glugea-infected three-spined sticklebacks are more social. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018; 72:173. [PMID: 30369708 PMCID: PMC6182751 DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2586-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2018] [Revised: 09/20/2018] [Accepted: 09/24/2018] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Abstract The existence of animal personality is now well-documented, although the causes and consequences of this phenomenon are still largely unclear. Parasite infection can have pervasive effects on hosts, including altering host behaviour, and may thus contribute to differences in host personality. We investigated the relationship between the three-spined stickleback and its common parasite Glugea anomala, with focus on differences in host personality. Naturally infected and uninfected individuals were assayed for the five personality traits activity, exploration, boldness, sociability, and aggression. If infected fish behaved differently from uninfected, to benefit this parasite with horizontal transmission, we predicted behaviour increasing interactions with other sticklebacks to increase. Infection status explained differences in host personality. Specifically, Glugea-infected individuals were more social than uninfected fish. This confirms a link between parasite infection and host behaviour, and a relationship which may improve the horizontal transmission of Glugea. However, future studies need to establish the consequences of this for the parasite, and the causality of the parasite-host personality relationship. Significance statement Parasite infection that alters host behaviour could be a possible avenue of research into the causes of animal personality. We studied the link between infection and personality using the three-spined stickleback and its parasite Glugea anomala. We predicted that infected individuals would be more prone to interact with other sticklebacks, since this would improve transmission of this parasite. The personality of uninfected and naturally infected fish was measured and we observed that Glugea-infected sticklebacks were more social. Our results confirm a link between parasitism and variation in host personality. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00265-018-2586-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irina Petkova
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
- School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX UK
| | - Robin N. Abbey-Lee
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
| | - Hanne Løvlie
- Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology, IFM Biology, Linköping University, SE-581 83 Linköping, Sweden
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12
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Spatial structure of foraging meerkat groups is affected by both social and ecological factors. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-018-2490-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
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13
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Metabolic Costs of Feeding Predictively Alter the Spatial Distribution of Individuals in Fish Schools. Curr Biol 2018; 28:1144-1149.e4. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2018.02.043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Revised: 01/22/2018] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
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14
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Killen SS, Marras S, Nadler L, Domenici P. The role of physiological traits in assortment among and within fish shoals. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2018; 372:rstb.2016.0233. [PMID: 28673911 PMCID: PMC5498295 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/02/2017] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals of gregarious species often group with conspecifics to which they are phenotypically similar. This among-group assortment has been studied for body size, sex and relatedness. However, the role of physiological traits has been largely overlooked. Here, we discuss mechanisms by which physiological traits—particularly those related to metabolism and locomotor performance—may result in phenotypic assortment not only among but also within animal groups. At the among-group level, varying combinations of passive assortment, active assortment, phenotypic plasticity and selective mortality may generate phenotypic differences among groups. Even within groups, however, individual variation in energy requirements, aerobic and anaerobic capacity, neurological lateralization and tolerance to environmental stressors are likely to produce differences in the spatial location of individuals or associations between group-mates with specific physiological phenotypes. Owing to the greater availability of empirical research, we focus on groups of fishes (i.e. shoals and schools). Increased knowledge of physiological mechanisms influencing among- and within-group assortment will enhance our understanding of fundamental concepts regarding optimal group size, predator avoidance, group cohesion, information transfer, life-history strategies and the evolutionary effects of group membership. In a broader perspective, predicting animal responses to environmental change will be impossible without a comprehensive understanding of the physiological basis of the formation and functioning of animal social groups. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals’.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaun S Killen
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Graham Kerr Building, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
| | - Stefano Marras
- IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - Lauren Nadler
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA
| | - Paolo Domenici
- IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
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15
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Krause J, Herbert-Read JE, Seebacher F, Domenici P, Wilson ADM, Marras S, Svendsen MBS, Strömbom D, Steffensen JF, Krause S, Viblanc PE, Couillaud P, Bach P, Sabarros PS, Zaslansky P, Kurvers RHJM. Injury-mediated decrease in locomotor performance increases predation risk in schooling fish. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2017; 372:20160232. [PMID: 28673910 PMCID: PMC5498294 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2016.0232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The costs and benefits of group living often depend on the spatial position of individuals within groups and the ability of individuals to occupy preferred positions. For example, models of predation events for moving prey groups predict higher mortality risk for individuals at the periphery and front of groups. We investigated these predictions in sardine (Sardinella aurita) schools under attack from group hunting sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) in the open ocean. Sailfish approached sardine schools about equally often from the front and rear, but prior to attack there was a chasing period in which sardines attempted to swim away from the predator. Consequently, all sailfish attacks were directed at the rear and peripheral positions of the school, resulting in higher predation risk for individuals at these positions. During attacks, sailfish slash at sardines with their bill causing prey injury including scale removal and tissue damage. Sardines injured in previous attacks were more often found in the rear half of the school than in the front half. Moreover, injured fish had lower tail-beat frequencies and lagged behind uninjured fish. Injuries inflicted by sailfish bills may, therefore, hinder prey swimming speed and drive spatial sorting in prey schools through passive self-assortment. We found only partial support for the theoretical predictions from current predator-prey models, highlighting the importance of incorporating more realistic predator-prey dynamics into these models.This article is part of the themed issue 'Physiological determinants of social behaviour in animals'.
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Affiliation(s)
- J Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - J E Herbert-Read
- Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - F Seebacher
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - P Domenici
- IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - A D M Wilson
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - S Marras
- IAMC-CNR, Istituto per l'Ambiente Marino Costiero, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Località Sa Mardini, 09170 Torregrande, Oristano, Italy
| | - M B S Svendsen
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark
| | - D Strömbom
- Department of Mathematics, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Department of Biology, Lafayette College, Easton, 18042 PA, USA
| | - J F Steffensen
- Marine Biological Section, University of Copenhagen, Strandpromenaden 5, 3000 Helsingør, Denmark
| | - S Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - P E Viblanc
- Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - P Couillaud
- Département de la Licence Sciences et Technologies, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, 4 place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
| | - P Bach
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 248 MARBEC, Ob7, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France
| | - P S Sabarros
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, UMR 248 MARBEC, Ob7, Avenue Jean Monnet, CS 30171, 34203 Sète Cedex, France
| | - P Zaslansky
- Julius Wolff Institute for Biomechanics and Musculoskeletal Regeneration, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Haus 11, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - R H J M Kurvers
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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Abstract
Abstract
Humbug damselfish, Dascyllus aruanus, are a common coral reef fish that form stable social groups with size-based social hierarchies. Here we caught whole wild groups of damselfish and tested whether social groups tended to be comprised of animals that are more similar to one another in terms of their behavioural type, than expected by chance. First we found that individuals were repeatable in their level of activity and exploration, and that this was independent of both absolute size and within-group dominance rank, indicating that animals were behaviourally consistent. Secondly, despite the fact that individuals were tested independently, the behaviour of members of the same groups was significantly more similar than expected under a null model, suggesting that individual behaviour develops and is shaped by conformity to the behaviour of other group members. This is one of the first studies to demonstrate this group-level behavioural conformity in wild-caught groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alicia L.J. Burns
- a Animal Behaviour Lab, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- bTaronga Conservation Society Australia, Bradleys Head Road, Mosman, NSW, Australia
| | - Timothy M. Schaerf
- a Animal Behaviour Lab, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- cSchool of Science and Technology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW, Australia
| | - Ashley J.W. Ward
- a Animal Behaviour Lab, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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