Search results for "Behavioral syndrome"

Pace-of-life in a social insect: behavioral syndromes in ants shift along a climatic gradient

2017

Lay SummaryLinks between behavioral traits can shift with the local climate. We show that behavioral associations with temperature not only occur across, but also within populations. At warmer sites ant colonies increased their exploration and foraging activity, but were less aggressive. Moreover, at these warmer sites, more positive links were found between behaviors within populations compared to colder sites, where more negative links prevailed. Our study suggests that associations between behaviors shift along climatic gradients.

Behavioral syndrome in a native and an invasive hymenoptera species

2014

Recent studies have focused on the role of behavior in biological invasions. Individuals may differ consistently in time for several behavioral traits (personality) which covary(behavioralsyndrome)resultingindifferentbehavioraltypes,someofthemfavoring invasion. Social hymenopterans have a strong potential to be invaders and their success depends primarily on the foundresses' ability to found viable colonies. They are expected to be active, explorative and bold for optimally establishing their nest. In Europe, 2 hornet species coexist: the native Vespa crabro and the invasive Vespa velutina. These 2 species may compete for nesting sites and we suggest that the initial success of V. velutina …

Boldness-exploration behavioral syndrome: interfamily variability and repeatability of personality traits in the young of the convict cichlid (Amatit…

2015

9 pages; International audience; In recent years, considerable research interest in behavioral ecology has focused on characterizing and understanding individual differences in behavior that are consistent over time and across contexts, termed animal “personalities,” and correlations between various behaviors across contexts, termed behavioral syndromes. Although there is some evidence that differences in personality among individuals within populations can be genetically based and adaptive, when and how individual personality differences emerge in a population is not well understood, but of considerable general interest. Here, using juveniles of the convict cichlid (Amatitlania siquia) as …

Parasite infection in a central sensory organ of fish does not affect host personality

2016

Among the ecological factors acting on the evolution and expression of animal personalities and behavioral syndromes, parasitism has received comparatively little attention. However, infection and host behavior are often strongly intertwined, because host behavior can predict the risk of infection and can also be changed by an infection. We conducted a controlled experimental infection study to explore the effects of infection on host boldness, exploration and activity using rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and its trematode parasite Diplostomum pseudospathaceum, which infects a central sensory organ of the fish, the eye lens. Contrary to our expectation, infection did not change the withi…

Contrasting coping styles meet the wall: A dopamine driven dichotomy in behavior and cognition

2017

Individual variation in the ability to modify previously learned behaviour is an important dimension of trait correlations referred to as coping styles, behavioral syndromes or personality. These trait clusters have been shaped by natural selection, and underlying control mechanisms are often conserved throughout vertebrate evolution. In teleost fishes, behavioral flexibility and coping style have been studied in the high (HR) and low-responsive (LR) rainbow trout lines. Generally, proactive LR trout show a behaviour guided by previously learned routines, while HR trout show a more flexible behaviour relying on environmental cues. In mammals, routine dependent vs flexible behavior has been …

Break in volition: a virtual reality study in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

2013

Research in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) produced inconsistent results in demonstrating an association between patients’ symptom severity and their cognitive impairments. The process involved in volition aspects of behavioral syndromes can be extensively analyzed using specific tests developed in virtual environments, more suitable to manipulate rules and possible breaks of the normal task execution with different, confusing or stopping instructions. The study involved thirty participants (15 OCD patients and 15 controls) during task execution and the relative interferences. At this purpose, the virtual version of Multiple Errands Test was used. Virtual reality setting, with a higher…

2014

Division of labor is a defining characteristic of social insects and fundamental to their ecological success. Many of the numerous tasks essential for the survival of the colony must be performed at a specific location. Consequently, spatial organization is an integral aspect of division of labor. The mechanisms organizing the spatial distribution of workers, separating inside and outside workers without central control, is an essential, but so far neglected aspect of division of labor. In this study, we investigate the behavioral mechanisms governing the spatial distribution of individual workers and its physiological underpinning in the ant Myrmica rubra. By investigating worker personali…

Shaping the antipredator strategy: flexibility, consistency, and behavioral correlations under varying predation threat

2014

9 pages; International audience; Recent ecological and evolutionary research emphasizes the importance of adaptive trait integration. For instance, antipredator defenses are built up of several morphological and behavioral components in many species, yet their functional relationships are still poorly documented. Using field-collected freshwater crustaceans Gammarus fossarum in a within-subject design, we investigated the flexibility and consistency of refuge use, photophobia, and exploration behavior as well as their associations, quantified both when predation risk was absent or artificially simulated. In agreement with the "threat-sensitivity" hypothesis, both refuge use and photophobia …