| Literature DB >> 33841782 |
Joseph D Bailey1, Andrew J King2, Edward A Codling1, Ashley M Short2, Gemma I Johns2, Ines Fürtbauer2.
Abstract
Many animal personality traits have implicit movement-based definitions and can directly or indirectly influence ecological and evolutionary processes. It has therefore been proposed that animal movement studies could benefit from acknowledging and studying consistent interindividual differences (personality), and, conversely, animal personality studies could adopt a more quantitative representation of movement patterns.Using high-resolution tracking data of three-spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we examined the repeatability of four movement parameters commonly used in the analysis of discrete time series movement data (time stationary, step length, turning angle, burst frequency) and four behavioral parameters commonly used in animal personality studies (distance travelled, space use, time in free water, and time near objects).Fish showed repeatable interindividual differences in both movement and behavioral parameters when observed in a simple environment with two, three, or five shelters present. Moreover, individuals that spent less time stationary, took more direct paths, and less commonly burst travelled (movement parameters), were found to travel farther, explored more of the tank, and spent more time in open water (behavioral parameters).Our case study indicates that the two approaches-quantifying movement and behavioral parameters-are broadly equivalent, and we suggest that movement parameters can be viewed as "micropersonality" traits that give rise to broad-scale consistent interindividual differences in behavior. This finding has implications for both personality and movement ecology research areas. For example, the study of movement parameters may provide a robust way to analyze individual personalities in species that are difficult or impossible to study using standardized behavioral assays.Entities:
Keywords: Gasterosteus aculeatus; animal personality; interindividual differences; stickleback fish; tracking; trajectories
Year: 2021 PMID: 33841782 PMCID: PMC8019044 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.7275
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Ecol Evol ISSN: 2045-7758 Impact factor: 2.912
FIGURE 1(a) Female Gasterosteus aculeatus; (b) Set‐up. Fish were observed in a 78 × 55 × 16 cm plastic tank, filled to 12 cm with water. The fish were observed with either two shelters (plants 1 and 2), three shelters (plants 1–3), or five shelters (plants 1–5)
FIGURE 2Using high‐resolution tracking data of three‐spined stickleback fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we examined the repeatability of four movement parameters commonly used in the analysis of discrete time series movement data and four behavioral parameters commonly used in animal personality studies. Movement parameters shown quantify precise characteristics of fish trajectories, while behavioral parameters indicate overall patterns of activity and space use
Agreement repeatability estimates (R), with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and corresponding p value, estimates using the rptR package in R (Stoffel et al., 2017). Variation (V) attributed to repeatable interindividual differences (ID) and the environment (Env), are also provided
| Parameter |
| 95% CI |
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time stationary | 0.43 | 0.16. 0.62 | <.001 | 0.56 |
| Step length | 0.75 | 0.51, 0.87 | <.001 | 0.74 |
| Turn angle | 0.27 | 0.04. 0.49 | .003 | 0.36 |
| Burst frequency | 0.25 | 0.02, 0.46 | .003 | 0.41 |
| Distance travelled | 0.44 | 0.17, 0.64 | <.001 | 0.91 |
| Space use | 0.58 | 0.30, 0.76 | <.001 | 0.66 |
| Time in free water | 0.28 | 0.04, 0.49 | .001 | 0.01 |
| Time near objects | 0.11 | 0.00, 0.30 | .100 | 0.01 |
All parameters except for Time Near Objects were repeatable. Comparison of variation (V) attributed to repeatable interindividual differences (ID) and the environment (Env) based on output of fitting ID and ID × Env as random effects (Dingemanse et al., 2010) and calculated V ID/V Env are also shown; values close to 0 indicate when V ID is negligible. Values imply V ID is not negligible compared to V Env for all parameters except Time in Free Water and Time near Objects.
Adjusted repeatability values (i.e., repeatability values calculated conditioned on the fixed effects) and 95% CIs (in brackets) given in italics across the main diagonal
| Time stationary | Step length | Turn angle | Burst frequency | Distance travelled | Space use | Time in free water | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time stationary |
| −0.08 (−0.68, 0.56) |
|
|
|
|
|
| Step length |
| 0.07 (−0.60, 0.72) | −0.31 (−0.90, 0.34) |
|
| 0.32 (−0.32, 0.86) | |
| Turn angle |
|
| 0.39 (−0.27, 0.96) | 0.42 (−0.19, 0.92) |
| ||
| Burst frequency |
| −0.53 (−1.00, 0.11) |
|
| |||
| Distance travelled |
|
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| Space use |
|
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| Time in free water |
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Correlations between parameters along with 95% CI are given above the diagonal. Values are calculated by sampling 4,000 models from the MCMC chain at 1,000‐generation intervals (Hertel et al., 2019). Due to the Bayesian nature of calculating the correlation, values were considered significant if the CIs did not cross 0, and these are shown in bold. Where CIs were close to crossing 0 are underlined.
FIGURE 3Statistically significant between‐individual correlations among movement parameters and behavioral parameters (Table 2). Parameters are scaled (mean = 0, SD = 1) with the dots and error bars representing individual mean averages ± standard error (taken from the posteriors of the random effects from the multivariate MCMCglmm model; Table S2). Regression lines fitted to data are estimated by dividing the covariance of the traits by the variance of the trait on the x‐axis (Hertel et al., 2019; Houslay & Wilson, 2017)
Eigendecomposition on the between‐individual covariance matrix to investigate major axis of among‐individual variation (following Houslay & Wilson, 2017) indicative of a single latent behavior (Hertel et al., 2019; White et al., 2019)
| Parameter | EV1 | EV2 |
|---|---|---|
| Time stationary | 0.35 (0.01, 0.64) | 0.41 (−0.33, 0.78) |
| Step length | −0.43 (−0.88, −0.01) | 0.79 (−0.10, 0.90) |
| Turn angle | −0.23 (−0.48, 0.05) | −0.36 (−0.75, 0.36) |
| Burst frequency | 0.26 (−0.01, 0.47) | 0.20 (−0.44, 0.65) |
| Distance travelled | −0.45 (−0.67, −0.11) | −0.04 (−0.62, 0.56) |
| Space use | −0.52 (−0.74, −0.17) | 0.01 (−0.62, 0.58) |
| Time in free water | −0.30 (−0.51, −0.02) | −0.17 (−0.64, 0.43) |
| Time near objects | 0.07 (−0.07, 0.18) | −0.06 (−0.31, 0.25) |