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Are behavioral syndromes invariant? Spatiotemporal variation in shy/bold behavior in squid

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Abstract

Behavioral syndromes are correlated suites of behavior, analogous to human personality traits. Most work to date has been taken from limited “snapshots” in space and time, with the implicit assumption that a behavioral syndrome is an invariant property, fixed by evolutionary constraints or adaptations. However, directional selection on two mechanistically independent traits (selective covariance) could also result in correlated behaviors. Previously, we have shown that shy/bold behavior in Southern dumpling squid (Euprymna tasmanica) across predator encounter and feeding risk contexts is genetically and phenotypically uncoupled, and hence potentially free to vary independently. Here, we collected data on shy/bold behaviors from two independent wild populations of squid in two different years to test whether behavioral correlations across these same two functional contexts vary through time and space. We detected significant influences of population, sex, and body size on the expression of boldness in squid within each functional context, and this was coupled with significant differences in relative population density and adult sex ratio. Despite these changes in behavior and demographic parameters, we found that correlations between boldness scores across the two functional contexts were largely absent in both wild populations of squid in both years. Our work suggests that some animal groups may be largely characterized by context-specific behavioral expression. A theoretical framework which conceptualizes behavioral syndromes resulting from context-specific behavioral rules may be needed to fully understand why behaviors are sometimes correlated, and why sometimes they are not.

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Acknowledgements

This work was conducted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for D.L. Sinn's PhD degree at the University of Tasmania. Funding was provided by a Holsworth Wildlife Research Fund grant (M0013237) and Australian International Postgraduate Research scholarship to DLS. Tom Fox-Smith, Jonothan Newman, and Colin Johnson provided essential logistical support in the field. Kees van Oers, Piet Drent, and Luc Alain-Giraldeau provided helpful discussions; Alison Bell, Jo McEvoy, and two anonymous reviewers gave constructive criticism on earlier drafts that greatly improved the final version. Experimental methods for all squid conformed to Australian law and the standards set by the University of Tasmania Animal Ethics Committee (2003).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Aquaculture, University of Tasmania, Launceston, Tasmania

    David L. Sinn & Natalie A. Moltschaniwskyj

  2. School of Plant Science, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania

    David L. Sinn

  3. School of Zoology, University of Tasmania, Private Bag 5, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia

    David L. Sinn & Erik Wapstra

  4. Centre for Ecology & Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter, Cornwall Campus, Penryn, UK

    Sasha R. X. Dall

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  1. David L. Sinn
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  2. Natalie A. Moltschaniwskyj
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  3. Erik Wapstra
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  4. Sasha R. X. Dall
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Correspondence to David L. Sinn.

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Communicated by T. Bakker

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Sinn, D.L., Moltschaniwskyj, N.A., Wapstra, E. et al. Are behavioral syndromes invariant? Spatiotemporal variation in shy/bold behavior in squid. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64, 693–702 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0887-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-009-0887-2

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