Consistent Individual Differences in Movement-related Behaviour as Equalising And/or Stabilising Mechanisms for Species Coexistence

Consistent Individual Differences in Movement-related Behaviour as Equalising And/or Stabilising Mechanisms for Species Coexistence PDF Author: Annika Schirmer
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Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The Role of Species Interactions in Generating and Maintaining Consistent Individual Differences in Behavior

The Role of Species Interactions in Generating and Maintaining Consistent Individual Differences in Behavior PDF Author: Nicholas DiRienzo
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781339064406
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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The study of consistent individual differences in animal behavior, also known as animal personalities, has become a major focus of animal behavior over the past decade. Historically, behavior has been described in terms of population means, with variation around those means considered as noise. What personality research has demonstrated is that this noise is not random, and that instead individuals often consistently vary in their behavioral tendencies. The result is that some individuals are consistently more bold, active, or aggressive than others in the population. The progress made over the past decade has shown that personalities are present in a broad range of taxa, and that they can influence a range of larger ecological processes such as dispersal, social interactions, predator-prey, etc. My dissertation research has focused on the role of development in generating behavioral differences, as well as mechanisms that may maintain these differences. These questions are critically important as several factors should result in the reduction of behavioral variation over time. For one, personality research suggests that behavioral consistency may carry over into other contexts, and potentially be maladaptive. For example, boldness may be beneficial in the absence of predators, but maladaptive in an individual that lacks the plasticity to reduce boldness when predators are present. Second, many studies typically show greater fitness for one behavioral phenotype relative to the other, such that, for example, active individuals have higher fitness relative to inactive individuals. Together, these two ideas suggest that consistent between-individual differences in behavior should be eroded over evolutionary time, in favor of increased plasticity. However, personalities are typically associated with additive genetic variation and are pervasive in that they have been discovered in essentially every taxa. Several theoretical papers have suggested mechanisms that may maintain and generate differences in personality, but relatively few empirical studies have investigated these mechanisms. I have focused on two factors that may be responsible for both generating and maintaining behavioral differences in the face of factors selecting against behavioral variation. In Chapter 1, I investigated the role of experience during development in shaping subsequent adult personality. Early experience may result in individuals expressing developmental plasticity in order to match their later adult personality type to the "predicted' environment. For example, juveniles exposed to predator cues may express less bold personality types as adults relative to individuals not exposed to predator cues as juveniles. In other words, individuals may use the development period to express plasticity before "fixing" their personality type as adults. My research shows that such responses are indeed possible. First, in the field cricket, Gryllus integer, juveniles reared in the presence of conspecific acoustic cues, which simulates high population densities, are less aggressive than those reared in the absence of acoustic cues, which simulates low population densities. Thus, the average personality type in a population can be affected by developmental experience. In Chapter 2, I investigated the role of early exposure to pathogens, and how it may both influence the development of personality as well as the personality-immune function relationship. My results indicated that juveniles who experienced a single immune challenge lacked between-individual differences in boldness behavior as adults, while control individuals maintained the expected between-individual differences in behavior. Neither the average population-level behavior nor immune function were affected by treatment. Thus, these experiments demonstrated that experiences during development can influence both the average level of behavior in a population, as well as the presence/absence of personality. In Chapter 3 I investigated the role of behavioral interactions in maintaining personality differences between individuals within populations. The fitness of a personality type may be context-dependent and depend on the personality type of the individual is interacting with. Thus, I investigated the role of personality type interactions in a predator-prey system using the western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus, as a predator, and the field cricket, Gryllus integer, as prey. My results indicated that neither predator foraging boldness nor prey boldness alone predicted the outcome (live/die) of a predator encounter, but instead their interaction predicted the outcome. Thus, the fitness associated with a personality type varied depending on the personality type of the interacting individual, which could in turn equalize fitness between personality types. Collectively, my results suggest that experiences during development, as well as behavioral phenotype interactions may both generate and maintain, respectively, between-individual differences in behavior.

Geographic Variation in Behavior

Geographic Variation in Behavior PDF Author: Susan A. Foster
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0195359488
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 337

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Book Description
Studies of animal behavior often assume that all members of a species exhibit the same behavior. Geographic Variation in Behavior shows that, on the contrary, there is substantional variation within species across a wide range of taxa. Including work from pioneers in the field, this volume provides a balanced overview of research on behavioral characteristics that vary geographically. The authors explore the mechanisms by which behavioral differences evolve and examine related methodological issues. Taken together, the work collected here demonstrates that genetically based geographic variation may be far more widespread than previously suspected. The book also shows how variation in behavior can illuminate both behavioral evolution and general evolutionary patterns. Unique among books on behavior in its emphasis on geographic variation, this volume is a valuable new resource for students and researchers in animal behavior and evolutionary biology.

Sources and Consequences of Intraspecific Trait Variation in Movement Behaviour

Sources and Consequences of Intraspecific Trait Variation in Movement Behaviour PDF Author: Alexander Benedikt Milles
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Variation in traits permeates and affects all levels of biological organisation, from within individuals to between species. Yet, intraspecific trait variation (ITV) is not sufficiently represented in many ecological theories. Instead, species averages are often assumed. Especially ITV in behaviour has only recently attracted more attention as its pervasiveness and magnitude became evident. The surge in interest in ITV in behaviour was accompanied by a methodological and technological leap in the field of movement ecology. Many aspects of behaviour become visible via movement, allowing us to observe inter-individual differences in fundamental processes such as foraging, mate searching, predation or migration. ITV in movement behaviour may result from within-individual variability and consistent, repeatable among-individual differences. Yet, questions on why such among-individual differences occur in the first place and how they are integrated with life-history have remained open. Furthermore, consequences of ITV, especially of ...

The Nature of Plant Communities

The Nature of Plant Communities PDF Author: J. Bastow Wilson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 110848221X
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 373

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Book Description
Provides a comprehensive review of the role of species interactions in the process of plant community assembly.

Testing Models of the Adaptive Evolution of Consistent Individual Differences in Behavior Using Sticklebacks

Testing Models of the Adaptive Evolution of Consistent Individual Differences in Behavior Using Sticklebacks PDF Author:
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ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Consistency of Behaviors and Stress Physiology in Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus Cyanocephalus)

Consistency of Behaviors and Stress Physiology in Pinyon Jays (Gymnorhinus Cyanocephalus) PDF Author: Juan F. Duque
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781392750421
Category : Pinyon jay
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
You wake up to a sunny, bright day and decide to work at cafe. You dress accordingly in shorts and tank top, and walk to do your work. When returning home, a torrential downpour soaks you and all of your belongings, ruining essential paperwork in the process. What is true at one time, in one context may not be true at other times or contexts. Studies of animal personality explore consistent individual differences yet many studies only quantify behavior at limited times or in a few contexts. Like your ruined paperwork shows, for a claim of consistency to be made, the trait of interest must first be tested across various time delays and contexts. Among studies of animal personality, relatively little is known regarding individual consistency among corvids. In Chapter 1, I test various ecologically-relevant behaviors in pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus Cyanocephalus) across both short and long time delays, and in a nonsocial and social context. Results indicate that these jays are considerably consistent in their behavior, and highlight the importance of validating behavioral consistency by testing at multiple timepoints and in multiple contexts.Stress physiology impacts behavior across many contexts, including during stressful and non-stressful periods, and thus differences in stress physiology could underlie behavioral differences. In Chapter 2, I investigate whether the same individuals also show consistent differences in stress physiology, namely in how corticosterone (CORT) changes in response to two different stressors. Results indicate that these jays also exhibit consistent differences in their CORT response to stress, raising the possibility that individual differences in behavior may, in part, be driven by differences in stress physiology. In Chapter 3, I explore whether the previously identified behavioral and CORT differences covary, then test whether these data are predictive of sociability. Pinyon jays are highly social, relying on their social group in many contexts, such as foraging and nest defense. Despite consistency in each, results indicate little covariation between stress and behavior, and neither was predictive of sociability. Together, the thesis provides a comprehensive view of how to explore behavioral and physiological differences and their relation to other traits of interest.

Handbook of Trait-Based Ecology

Handbook of Trait-Based Ecology PDF Author: Francesco de Bello
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108472915
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 311

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Book Description
Trait-based ecology is rapidly expanding. This comprehensive and accessible guide covers the main concepts and tools in functional ecology.

The Evolution of Social Behaviour

The Evolution of Social Behaviour PDF Author: Michael Taborsky
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108788637
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 446

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Book Description
How can the stunning diversity of social systems and behaviours seen in nature be explained? Drawing on social evolution theory, experimental evidence and studies conducted in the field, this book outlines the fundamental principles of social evolution underlying this phenomenal richness.To succeed in the competition for resources, organisms may either 'race' to be quicker than others, 'fight' for privileged access, or 'share' their efforts and gains. The authors show how the ecology and intrinsic attributes of organisms select for each of these strategies, and how a handful of straightforward concepts explain the evolution of successful decision rules in behavioural interactions, whether among members of the same or different species. With a broad focus ranging from microorganisms to humans, this is the first book to provide students and researchers with a comprehensive account of the evolution of sociality by natural selection.

Distribution Ecology

Distribution Ecology PDF Author: Marcelo Hernán Cassini
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461464153
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
This book brings together a set of approaches to the study of individual-species ecology based on the analysis of spatial variations of abundance. Distribution ecology assumes that ecological phenomena can be understood when analyzing the extrinsic (environmental) or intrinsic (physiological constraints, population mechanisms) that correlate with this spatial variation. Ecological processes depend on geographical scales, so their analysis requires following environmental heterogeneity. At small scales, the effects of biotic factors of ecosystems are strong, while at large scales, abiotic factors such as climate, govern ecological functioning. Responses of organisms also depend on scales: at small scales, adaptations dominate, i.e. the ability of organisms to respond adaptively using habitat decision rules that maximize their fitness; at large scales, limiting traits dominate, i.e., tolerance ranges to environmental conditions.​