IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/beheco/v24y2013i5p1081-1091..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Personality traits are related to ecology across a biological invasion

Author

Listed:
  • Carlos F. Carvalho
  • Ana V. Leitão
  • Caterina Funghi
  • Helena R. Batalha
  • Sandra Reis
  • Paulo Gama Mota
  • Ricardo J. Lopes
  • Gonçalo C. Cardoso

Abstract

Behavioral differences among individuals are common and are organized into personalities in a wide variety of species. Hypotheses for the coexistence of behavioral differences fall into 3 categories: variation in selection, frequency-dependent selection, and behavioral plasticity. We tested predictions of those hypotheses regarding geographic covariation of behavior with ecology, using a recent (≈40 years) biological invasion of common waxbills (Estrilda astrild). Behavior in tests for exploration and social interaction covaried among individuals, suggesting a behavioral syndrome, although we could only demonstrate within-individual repeatability in the test for social interaction. These 2 behaviors changed geographically with the ecology of sites (degree of climate variation) in an apparently adaptive way, rather than with the direction of invasion. We found behavioral plasticity but showed that short-term plastic effects do not explain geographic divergence. Differential dispersal does not explain geographic divergence either, which is orthogonal to the direction of invasion. Results are best interpreted either as evolved divergences, although a candidate-gene approach could not identify genetic correlates of behavior, or as long-term behavioral plasticity (e.g., effects of rearing environment). In this recent invasion, geographic differences in ecology and behavior equate to repeated and fast changes over time. Thus, fluctuations in ecological conditions, which are common in nature, may have a widespread role maintaining behavioral and personality differences via selection and/or long-term behavioral plasticity.

Suggested Citation

  • Carlos F. Carvalho & Ana V. Leitão & Caterina Funghi & Helena R. Batalha & Sandra Reis & Paulo Gama Mota & Ricardo J. Lopes & Gonçalo C. Cardoso, 2013. "Personality traits are related to ecology across a biological invasion," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 24(5), pages 1081-1091.
  • Handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:24:y:2013:i:5:p:1081-1091.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/art034
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mihai Valcu & Bart Kempenaers, 2010. "Spatial autocorrelation: an overlooked concept in behavioral ecology," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 21(5), pages 902-905.
    2. Jonathan W. Atwell & Gonçalo C. Cardoso & Danielle J. Whittaker & Samuel Campbell-Nelson & Kyle W. Robertson & Ellen D. Ketterson, 2012. "Boldness behavior and stress physiology in a novel urban environment suggest rapid correlated evolutionary adaptation," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(5), pages 960-969.
    3. Lynn B. Martin & Lisa Fitzgerald, 2005. "A taste for novelty in invading house sparrows, Passer domesticus," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 16(4), pages 702-707, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alice Exnerová & Dana Ježová & Pavel Štys & Lucia Doktorovová & Bibiana Rojas & Johanna Mappes, 2015. "Different reactions to aposematic prey in 2 geographically distant populations of great tits," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 26(5), pages 1361-1370.
    2. Peter Santema & Bart Kempenaers, 2023. "Experimentally advancing morning emergence time does not increase extra-pair siring success in blue tit males," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(3), pages 346-353.
    3. Michael P. Leung, 2021. "Rate-Optimal Cluster-Randomized Designs for Spatial Interference," Papers 2111.04219, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2022.
    4. Mamboleo, Abel Ansporthy & Doscher, Crile & Paterson, Adrian, 2021. "A computational modelling approach to human-elephant interactions in the Bunda District, Tanzania," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 443(C).
    5. Nick Ruktanonchai & David L. Smith & Colette M. St. Mary, 2014. "Selection of interdependent choice of 2 complementary resources," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 25(1), pages 35-43.
    6. Pan, Yingjiu & Chen, Shuyan & Niu, Shifeng & Ma, Yongfeng & Tang, Kun, 2020. "Investigating the impacts of built environment on traffic states incorporating spatial heterogeneity," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    7. Peter Santema & Bart Kempenaers, 2023. "Patterns of extra-territorial nest-box visits in a songbird suggest a role in extrapair mating," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 34(1), pages 150-159.
    8. Mitchell B. Stephenson & Derek W. Bailey, 2017. "Do Movement Patterns of GPS-Tracked Cattle on Extensive Rangelands Suggest Independence among Individuals?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(7), pages 1-17, July.
    9. Gesa Feenders & Kristel Klaus & Melissa Bateson, 2011. "Fear and Exploration in European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris): A Comparison of Hand-Reared and Wild-Caught Birds," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(4), pages 1-8, April.
    10. Jonathan W. Atwell & Gonçalo C. Cardoso & Danielle J. Whittaker & Samuel Campbell-Nelson & Kyle W. Robertson & Ellen D. Ketterson, 2012. "Boldness behavior and stress physiology in a novel urban environment suggest rapid correlated evolutionary adaptation," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(5), pages 960-969.
    11. Ping Huang & Kathryn E. Sieving & Colette M. St. Mary, 2012. "Heterospecific information about predation risk influences exploratory behavior," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 23(3), pages 463-472.
    12. Le Jiao & Yue Zhang & Tao Sun & Wei Yang & Dongdong Shao & Peng Zhang & Qiang Liu, 2021. "Spatial Analysis as a Tool for Plant Population Conservation: A Case Study of Tamarix chinensis in the Yellow River Delta, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(15), pages 1-15, July.
    13. Sarah L. Foltz & Allen E. Ross & Brenton T. Laing & Ryan P. Rock & Kathryn E. Battle & Ignacio T. Moore, 2015. "Get off my lawn: increased aggression in urban song sparrows is related to resource availability," Behavioral Ecology, International Society for Behavioral Ecology, vol. 26(6), pages 1548-1557.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:beheco:v:24:y:2013:i:5:p:1081-1091.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://academic.oup.com/beheco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.