scholarly journals Are some individuals generally more behaviorally plastic than others? An experiment with sailfin mollies

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e5454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julie Gibelli ◽  
Nadia Aubin-Horth ◽  
Frédérique Dubois
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Physiological Constraints ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Proximate Factors ◽  
Evolutionary Consequences ◽  
Sailfin Mollies

Individuals within the same population generally differ among each other not only in their behavioral traits but also in their level of behavioral plasticity (i.e., in their propensity to modify their behavior in response to changing conditions). If the proximate factors underlying individual differences in behavioral plasticity were the same for any measure of plasticity, as commonly assumed, one would expect plasticity to be repeatable across behaviors and contexts. However, this assumption remains largely untested. Here, we conducted an experiment with sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna) whose behavioral plasticity was estimated both as the change in their personality traits or mating behavior across a social gradient and using their performance on a reversal-learning task. We found that the correlations between pairwise measures of plasticity were weak and non-significant, thus indicating that the most plastic individuals were not the same in all the tests. This finding might arise because either individuals adjust the magnitude of their behavioral responses depending on the benefits of plasticity, and/or individuals expressing high behavioral plasticity in one context are limited by neural and/or physiological constraints in the amount of plasticity they can express in other contexts. Because the repeatability of behavioral plasticity may have important evolutionary consequences, additional studies are needed to assess the importance of trade-offs between conflicting selection pressures on the maintenance of intra-individual variation in behavioral plasticity.

Antipredatory Responses of Mosquito Pupae to Non-Lethal Predation Threat—Behavioral Plasticity Across Life-History Stages

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (5) ◽  
pp. 1032-1040
Author(s):  
Karthikeyan Chandrasegaran ◽  
Rasikapriyaa Sriramamurthy ◽  
Avehi Singh ◽  
Pooja Ravichandran ◽  
Suhel Quader
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Energy Expenditure ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Predation Threat ◽  
Life History Stages ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Spatial Use

Abstract Antipredatory behavioral responses tend to be energetically expensive, and prey species thus need to resolve trade-offs between these behaviors and other activities such as foraging and mating. While these trade-offs have been well-studied across taxa, less is known about how costs and benefits vary in different life-history contexts, and associated consequences. To address this question, we compared responses of the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti [Diptera: Culicidae]) to predation threat from guppy (Poecilia reticulata [Cyprinodontiformes: Poeciliidae]) across two life-history stages—larvae (data from previous study) and pupae (from this study). Pupae are motile but do not feed and are comparable to larvae in terms of behavior. To understand how physiological costs affect the threat sensitivity of pupae, we used sex (with size as a covariate) as a proxy for stored energy reserves, and quantified movement and space use patterns of male (small-sized) and female (large-sized) pupae when exposed to predation threat. We found that pupae did not alter movement when exposed to predator cues but instead altered spatial use by spending more time at the bottom of the water column. We found no effect of pupa sex (or size) on the behavioral responses we measured. We conclude that pupa behavior, both antipredatory and otherwise, is primarily targeted at minimizing energy expenditure, as compared with larval behavior, which appears to balance energy expenditure between the opposing pressures of foraging and of avoiding predation. We suggest that antipredatory defenses in metamorphosing prey are modulated by varying energetic trade-offs associated with different life-history stages.

scholarly journals Sex and boldness explain individual differences in spatial learning in a lizard

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1782) ◽  
pp. 20133275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pau Carazo ◽  
Daniel W. A. Noble ◽  
Dani Chandrasoma ◽  
Martin J. Whiting
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Performance ◽  
Spatial Learning ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Spatial Task ◽  
Individual Variability ◽  
Biologically Relevant ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Behavioural Types

Understanding individual differences in cognitive performance is a major challenge to animal behaviour and cognition studies. We used the Eastern water skink ( Eulamprus quoyii ) to examine associations between exploration, boldness and individual variability in spatial learning, a dimension of lizard cognition with important bearing on fitness. We show that males perform better than females in a biologically relevant spatial learning task. This is the first evidence for sex differences in learning in a reptile, and we argue that it is probably owing to sex-specific selective pressures that may be widespread in lizards. Across the sexes, we found a clear association between boldness after a simulated predatory attack and the probability of learning the spatial task. In contrast to previous studies, we found a nonlinear association between boldness and learning: both ‘bold’ and ‘shy’ behavioural types were more successful learners than intermediate males. Our results do not fit with recent predictions suggesting that individual differences in learning may be linked with behavioural types via high–low-risk/reward trade-offs. We suggest the possibility that differences in spatial cognitive performance may arise in lizards as a consequence of the distinct environmental variability and complexity experienced by individuals as a result of their sex and social tactics.

scholarly journals Plasticity as panacea? Nerves, hormones, and the currencies of trade-offs

2015 ◽  
Vol 61 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-264 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Bastiaans ◽  
Elizabeth Bastiaans
Keyword(s):  
Life History ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Behavioral Traits ◽  
Short Term Plasticity ◽  
Trade Offs

Abstract Phenotypic plasticity is nearly universal among organisms, and evidence indicates that plasticity can exhibit additive genetic variation and respond to selection. These findings have important implications for our understanding of how plasticity may be constrained and how its mechanistic structure may affect its evolution. Many life history trade-offs may be conceptualized as plastic traits, with individuals varying in their position along trade-off axes due to genetic differences, developmental plasticity, or short-term plasticity occurring throughout an individual’s lifetime. Behavioral plasticity is key to understanding when organisms are likely to encounter trade-offs, whether those trade-offs can be mitigated, and how the trade-offs affect the ecology and evolution of populations. In this review, we discuss hormonal and neural mechanisms that may influence how plastic behavioral traits are expressed and evolve. We also outline a classification of life history trade-offs and their mechanistic bases and discuss the currencies most likely to mediate each category of trade-off and how they are tied to the mechanisms by which animals express their behaviors.

Elaborating the role of reflection and individual differences in the study of folk-economic beliefs

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin Arceneaux
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Individual Differences ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
History Of ◽  
Economic Beliefs

AbstractIntuitions guide decision-making, and looking to the evolutionary history of humans illuminates why some behavioral responses are more intuitive than others. Yet a place remains for cognitive processes to second-guess intuitive responses – that is, to be reflective – and individual differences abound in automatic, intuitive processing as well.

Interest as the Missing Motivator in Self-Regulation

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 175-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Sansone ◽  
Dustin B. Thoman
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Close Relationships ◽  
Self Regulation ◽  
Goal Pursuit ◽  
Drop Out ◽  
Goal Striving ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
And Performance

Abstract. Typically, models of self-regulation include motivation in terms of goals. Motivation is proposed to fluctuate according to how much individuals value goals and expect to attain them. Missing from these models is the motivation that arises from the process of goal-pursuit. We suggest that an important aspect of self-regulation is monitoring and regulating our motivation, not just our progress toward goals. Although we can regulate motivation by enhancing the value or expectancy of attaining the outcome, we suggest that regulating the interest experience can be just as, if not more, powerful. We first present our model, which integrates self-regulation of interest within the goal-striving process. We then briefly review existing evidence, distinguishing between two broad classes of potential interest-enhancing strategies: intrapersonal and interpersonal. For each class of strategies we note what is known about developmental and individual differences in whether and how these kinds of strategies are used. We also discuss implications, including the potential trade-offs between regulating interest and performance, and how recognizing the role of the interest experience may shed new light on earlier research in domains such as close relationships, psychiatric disorders, and females' choice to drop out of math and science.

scholarly journals Research on Mediating Mechanisms and the Impact on Food Provision Services in Poor Areas from the Perspective of Stakeholders

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (19) ◽  
pp. 10510
Author(s):  
Tianwei Geng ◽  
Hai Chen ◽  
Di Liu ◽  
Qinqin Shi ◽  
Hang Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
The Loess Plateau ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Mediating Mechanisms ◽  
The Common ◽  
Food Provision ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Exploring and analyzing the common demands and behavioral responses of different stakeholders is important for revealing the mediating mechanisms of ecosystem service (ES) and realizing the management and sustainable supply of ES. This study took Mizhi County, a poverty-stricken area on the Loess Plateau in China, as an example. First, the main stakeholders, common demands, and behavioral responses in the food provision services were identified. Second, the relationship among stakeholders was analyzed. Finally, this study summarized three types of mediating mechanisms of food provision services and analyzed the influence of the different types of mediating mechanisms. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) Five main stakeholders in the study area were identified: government, farmers, enterprises, cooperatives, and middlemen. (2) Increasing farmers’ income is the common demand of most stakeholders in the study area, and this common demand has different effects on the behavioral responses of different stakeholders. (3) There are three types of mediating mechanisms in the study area: government + farmers mediating corn and mutton, government + enterprises mediating millet, and government + cooperatives mediating apples. On this basis, the effects of the different types of mediating mechanisms on variations in food yield, and trade-offs and synergies in typical townships, were analyzed.

scholarly journals The neurogenomic transition from territory establishment to parenting in a territorial female songbird

BMC Genomics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra B. Bentz ◽  
Douglas B. Rusch ◽  
Aaron Buechlein ◽  
Kimberly A. Rosvall
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Neural Plasticity ◽  
Behavioral Plasticity ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
Expression Of Genes ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Glucocorticoid Signaling ◽  
Seasonally Breeding ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background The brain plays a critical role in upstream regulation of processes central to mating effort, parental effort, and self-maintenance. For seasonally breeding animals, the brain is likely mediating trade-offs among these processes within a short breeding season, yet research thus far has only explored neurogenomic changes from non-breeding to breeding states or select pathways (e.g., steroids) in male and/or lab-reared animals. Here, we use RNA-seq to explore neural plasticity in three behaviorally relevant neural tissues (ventromedial telencephalon [VmT], hypothalamus [HYPO], and hindbrain [HB]), comparing free-living female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) as they shift from territory establishment to incubation. We additionally highlight changes in aggression-related genes to explore the potential for a neurogenomic shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression, a critical behavior both in establishing and maintaining a territory and in defense of offspring. Results HB had few differentially expressed genes, but VmT and HYPO had hundreds. In particular, VmT had higher expression of genes related to neuroplasticity and processes beneficial for competition during territory establishment, but down-regulated immune processes. HYPO showed signs of high neuroplasticity during incubation, and a decreased potential for glucocorticoid signaling. Expression of aggression-related genes also shifted from steroidal to non-steroidal pathways across the breeding season. Conclusions These patterns suggest trade-offs between enhanced activity and immunity in the VmT and between stress responsiveness and parental care in the HYPO, along with a potential shift in the mechanisms regulating aggression. Collectively, these data highlight important gene regulatory pathways that may underlie behavioral plasticity in females.

scholarly journals Association of COMT val158met and DRD2 G>T genetic polymorphisms with individual differences in motor learning and performance in female young adults

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 628-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fatemeh Noohi ◽  
Nate B. Boyden ◽  
Youngbin Kwak ◽  
Jennifer Humfleet ◽  
David T. Burke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Motor Learning ◽  
Genetic Polymorphisms ◽  
Sequence Learning ◽  
Learning Task ◽  
Striatal Dopamine ◽  
Motor Sequence Learning ◽  
Motor Sequence ◽  
Comt Val158met ◽  
Adaptation Task

Individuals learn new skills at different rates. Given the involvement of corticostriatal pathways in some types of learning, variations in dopaminergic transmission may contribute to these individual differences. Genetic polymorphisms of the catechol- O-methyltransferase (COMT) enzyme and dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) genes partially determine cortical and striatal dopamine availability, respectively. Individuals who are homozygous for the COMT methionine ( met) allele show reduced cortical COMT enzymatic activity, resulting in increased dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex as opposed to individuals who are carriers of the valine ( val) allele. DRD2 G-allele homozygotes benefit from a higher striatal dopamine level compared with T-allele carriers. We hypothesized that individuals who are homozygous for COMT met and DRD2 G alleles would show higher rates of motor learning. Seventy-two young healthy females (20 ± 1.9 yr) performed a sensorimotor adaptation task and a motor sequence learning task. A nonparametric mixed model ANOVA revealed that the COMT val-val group demonstrated poorer performance in the sequence learning task compared with the met-met group and showed a learning deficit in the visuomotor adaptation task compared with both met-met and val-met groups. The DRD2 TT group showed poorer performance in the sequence learning task compared with the GT group, but there was no difference between DRD2 genotype groups in adaptation rate. Although these results did not entirely come out as one might predict based on the known contribution of corticostriatal pathways to motor sequence learning, they support the role of genetic polymorphisms of COMT val158met (rs4680) and DRD2 G>T (rs 1076560) in explaining individual differences in motor performance and motor learning, dependent on task type.

Behavioral Responses of a Generalist Mammalian Folivore to the Physiological Constraints of a Chemically Defended Diet

2006 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 1133-1147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha L. Wiggins ◽  
Clare McArthur ◽  
Noel W. Davies ◽  
Stuart McLean
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Physiological Constraints
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document