0000000001311626
AUTHOR
Yannick Auclair
Assessing short- and long-term repeatability and stability of personality in captive zebra finches using longitudinal data
11 pages; International audience; Assessing behavioural consistency is crucial to understand the evolution of personality traits. In the present study, we examined the short- and long-term repeatability and stability of two unrelated personality traits - exploratory tendencies and struggling rate - using captive female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata). We performed two experimental sessions of behavioural tests with a 7-mo interval, which represents up to one quarter of a zebra finch's life expectancy. We showed that, overall, exploratory tendencies and struggling rate were significantly repeatable in the short term. However, only exploratory tendencies were repeatable in the long term. …
Personality and body condition have additive effects on motivation to feed in Zebra Finches Taeniopygia guttata
Several hypotheses have been proposed to account for the adaptive evolution of person-ality, defined as inter-individual differences in behaviour that are consistent over timeand across situations. For instance, the ‘pace-of-life syndrome’ hypothesis suggests thatpersonality evolved as a behavioural correlate of life-history trajectories that vary withinpopulations. Thus, proactivity, corresponding to higher exploratory tendencies or higherboldness levels, has been linked to higher productivity or mortality rates. However, theextent to which proactivity is associated with a higher motivation to forage remainspoorly understood. Moreover, although personality and its effects on foraging behavi…
Pairing context determines condition-dependence of song rate in a monogamous passerine bird.
Condition-dependence of male ornaments is thought to provide honest signals on which females can base their sexual choice for genetic quality. Recent studies show that condition-dependence patterns can vary within populations. Although long-term association is thought to promote honest signalling, no study has explored the influence of pairing context on the condition-dependence of male ornaments. In this study, we assessed the influence of natural variation in body condition on song rate in zebra finches ( Taeniopygia guttata ) in three different situations: during short and long encounters with an unfamiliar female, and within heterosexual mated pairs. We found consistent individual diff…
Personality predicts social dominance in female zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, in a feeding context.
6 pages; International audience; Although personality has been defined as a suite of correlated behaviours, most studies of animal personality actually consider correlations between a few traits. We examined the repeatability and correlational structure of five potential personality traits (activity, neophobia, exploratory tendencies, risk-taking behaviour and obstinacy), in female zebra finches. In addition, we assessed to what extent personality influenced social dominance in a feeding context in this gregarious species. All personality traits were found to be highly repeatable within individuals. In addition, except for obstinacy, all of them were related to each other, thus defining a b…
Data from: Pairing context determines condition-dependence of song rate in a monogamous passerine bird
Condition-dependence of male ornaments is thought to provide honest signals on which females can base their sexual choice for genetic quality. Recent studies show that condition-dependence patterns can vary within populations. Although long-term association is thought to promote honest signalling, no study has explored the influence of pairing context on the condition-dependence of male ornaments. In this study, we assessed the influence of natural variation in body condition on song rate in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) in three different situations: during short and long encounters with an unfamiliar female, and within heterosexual mated pairs. We found consistent individual differe…