Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Behavioral repeatability and personality in pit-building antlion larvae under differing environmental contexts

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology volume 68, pages 1985–1993 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Over the last decades, there has been growing interest among behavioral ecologists in exploring animal personalities. However, while the foraging behavior of active foragers has been extensively studied, only little is known about that of sit-and-wait predators within the personality framework. We investigated the existence of repeatability and personality in pit-building antlion larvae in the context of foraging (pit construction) and habitat selection (relocation distance and direction) over time and under three environmental contexts: thermal conditions, sand depth, and soil type. Over time, repeatability was much stronger for relocation distance than for movement directionality. Additionally, we observed positive correlations across the two levels of sand depth and soil type but not between thermal conditions. Change in substrate type may induce faster decision-making in these sand-dwelling insects or could be perceived by such insects as a more drastic alteration in their habitat. We suggest that different individuals indeed possess distinct personalities. We also suggest that repeatability should be measured at two levels: the amount of energy expenditure (distances and pit construction) and the pattern of energy expenditure (directionality). Finally, our study illustrates how differing environmental conditions can result in differing levels of plasticity, while largely preserving individual personalities.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Abràmoff MD, Magalhães PJ, Ram SJ (2004) Image processing with. Image J Biophotonics Intern 11:36–43

    Google Scholar 

  • Alcalay Y, Barkae ED, Ovadia O, Scharf I (2014) Consequences of the instar stage for behaviour in a pit-building antlion. Behav Process 103:105–111

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Angilletta MJ, Wilson RS, Navas CA, James RS (2003) Tradeoffs and the evolution of thermal reaction norms. Trends Ecol Evol 18:234–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Archard G, Braithwaite V (2010) The importance of wild populations in studies of animal temperament. J Zool 281:149–160

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkae ED, Scharf I, Abramsky Z, Ovadia O (2012) Jack of all trades, master of all: a positive association between habitat niche breadth and foraging performance in pit-building antlion larvae. PLoS One 7:e33506

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Barkae ED, Abramsky Z, Ovadia O (2014) Can models of density-dependent habitat selection be applied for trap-building predators? Popul Ecol 56:175–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell A (2005) Behavioural differences between individuals and two populations of stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). J Evol Biol 18:464–473

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bell AM (2007) Future directions in behavioural syndromes research. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 274:755–761

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell AM, Hankison SJ, Laskowski KL (2009) The repeatability of behaviour: a meta-analysis. Anim Behav 77:771–783

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Biro PA, Stamps JA (2010) Do consistent individual differences in metabolic rate promote consistent individual differences in behavior? Trends Ecol Evol 25:653–659

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Briffa M, Bridger D, Biro PA (2013) How does temperature affect behaviour? Multilevel analysis of plasticity, personality and predictability in hermit crabs. Anim Behav 86:47–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burns JG (2008) The validity of three tests of temperament in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). J Comp Psychol 122:344–356

  • Careau V, Garland T (2012) Performance, personality, and energetics: correlation, causation, and mechanism. Physiol Biochem Zool 85:543–571

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Careau V, Thomas D, Humphries M, Réale D (2008) Energy metabolism and animal personality. Oikos 117:641–653

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chmiel K, Herberstein ME, Elgar MA (2000) Web damage and feeding experience influence web site tenacity in the orb-web spider Argiope keyserlingi Karsch. Anim Behav 60:821–826

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dall SRX, Kotler BP, Bouskila A (2001) Attention, ‘apprehension’ and gerbils searching in patches. Ann Zool Fenn 38:15–23

    Google Scholar 

  • Dall SRX, Houston AI, McNamara JM (2004) The behavioural ecology of personality: consistent individual differences from an adaptive perspective. Ecol Lett 7:734–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Danin A (1978) Plant species diversity and plant succession in a sandy area in the Northern Negev. Flora 167:409–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Devetak D (2008) Substrate particle size preference of wormlion Vermileo vermileo (Diptera: Vermileonidae) larvae and their interaction with antlions. Eur J Entomol 105:631–635

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Devetak D, Špernjak A, JanžekoviČ F (2005) Substrate particle size affects pit building decision and pit size in the antlion larvae Euroleon nostras (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae). Physiol Entomol 30:158–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dingemanse NJ, Wolf M (2010) Recent models for adaptive personality differences: a review. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 365:3947–3958

    Article  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dingemanse NJ, Both C, Drent PJ, van Oers K, van Noordwijk AJ (2002) Repeatability and heritability of exploratory behaviour in great tits from the wild. Anim Behav 64:929–938

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth RA (2006) Behavioral correlations across breeding contexts provide a mechanism for a cost of aggression. Behav Ecol 17:1011–1019

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eltz T (1997) Foraging in the ant-lion Myrmeleon mobilis hagen 1888 (neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae): behavioral flexibility of a sit-and-wait predator. J Insect Behav 10:1–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evenari M (1982) The Negev: the challenge of a desert. Harvard University Press, Harvard

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Falconer D, Mackay T (1996) Introduction to quantitative geneticss, 4th edn. Pearson/Prentice Hall, Harlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Franks NR, Mallon EB, Bray HE, Hamilton MJ, Mischler TC (2003) Strategies for choosing between alternatives with different attributes: exemplified by house-hunting ants. Anim Behav 65:215–223

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilchrist GW (1996) A quantitative genetic analysis of thermal sensitivity in the locomotor performance curve of Aphidius ervi. Evolution 50:1560–1572

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillespie RG, Caraco T (1987) Risk-sensitive foraging strategies of two spider populations. Ecology: 68:887–899

  • Goldreich Y (2003) The climate of Israel: observation, research, and application. Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gosling SD (2001) From mice to men: what can we learn about personality from animal research? Psychol Bull 127:45–86

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gotelli NJ (1993) Ant lion zones: causes of high-density predator aggregations. Ecology 74:226–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes JP, Jenkins SH (1997) Individual variation in mammals. J Mammal 78:274–293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann AA, Merilä J (1999) Heritable variation and evolution under favourable and unfavourable conditions. Trends Ecol Evol 14:96–101

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hollander FA, Van Overveld T, Tokka I, Matthysen E (2008) Personality and nest defence in the great tit (Parus major). Ethology 114:405–412

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klokočovnik V, Devetak D, Orlačnik M (2012) Behavioral plasticity and variation in pit construction of antlion larvae in substrates with different particle sizes. Ethology 118:1102–1110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kolluru GR (1999) Variation and repeatability of calling behavior in crickets subject to a phonotactic parasitoid fly. J Insect Behav 12:611–626

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kralj-Fišer S, Schuett W (2014) Studying personality variation in invertebrates: why bother? Anim Behav 91:41–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loria R, Scharf I, Subach A, Ovadia O (2008) The interplay between foraging mode, habitat structure, and predator presence in antlions. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 62:1185–1192

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh AC (1987) Thermal responses and temperature tolerance of a dessert ant-lion larva. J Therm Biol 12:295–300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muller H, Grossmann H, Chittka L (2010) ‘Personality’ in bumblebees: individual consistency in responses to novel colours? Anim Behav 80:1065–1074

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nakata K, Ushimaru A (1999) Feeding experience affects web relocation and investment in web threads in an orb-web spider, Cyclosa argenteoalba. Anim Behav 57:1251–1255

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nolet BA, Mooij WM (2002) Search paths of swans foraging on spatially autocorrelated tubers. J Anim Ecol 71:451–462

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noy-Meir I (1973) Desert ecosystems: environment and producers. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 4:25–51

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Price T, Langen T (1992) Evolution of correlated characters. Trends Ecol Evol 7:307–310

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pruitt JN, Riechert SE (2012) The ecological consequences of temperament in spiders. Curr Zool 58:589–596

    Google Scholar 

  • Pruitt JN, Demes KW, Dittrich‐Reed DR (2011a) Temperature mediates shifts in individual aggressiveness, activity level, and social behavior in a spider. Ethology 117:318–325

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pruitt JN, DiRienzo N, Kralj-Fišer S, Johnson JC, Sih A (2011b) Individual-and condition-dependent effects on habitat choice and choosiness. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65:1987–1995

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Réale D, Reader SM, Sol D, McDougall PT, Dingemanse NJ (2007) Integrating animal temperament within ecology and evolution. Biol Rev 82:291–318

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roberts BW, DelVecchio WF (2000) The rank-order consistency of personality traits from childhood to old age: a quantitative review of longitudinal studies. Psychol Bull 126:3–25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ruxton G, Hansell M (2009) Why are pitfall traps so rare in the natural world? Evol Ecol 23:181–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Ovadia O (2006) Factors influencing site abandonment and site selection in a sit-and-wait predator: a review of pit-building antlion larvae. J Insect Behav 19:197–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Filin I, Golan M, Buchshtav M, Subach A, Ovadia O (2008a) A comparison between desert and Mediterranean antlion populations: differences in life history and morphology. J Evol Biol 21:162–172

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Subach A, Ovadia O (2008b) Foraging behaviour and habitat selection in pit-building antlion larvae in constant light or dark conditions. Anim Behav 76:2049–2057

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Filin I, Ben-Yehoshua D, Ovadia O (2009a) Phenotypic plasticity and variation in morphological and life-history traits of antlion adults across a climatic gradient. Zoology 112:139–150

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Filin I, Ovadia O (2009b) A trade-off between growth and starvation endurance in a pit-building antlion. Oecologia 160:453–460

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Barkae ED, Ovadia O (2010) Response of pit-building antlions to repeated unsuccessful encounters with prey. Anim Behav 79:153–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Lubin Y, Ovadia O (2011) Foraging decisions and behavioural flexibility in trap‐building predators: a review. Biol Rev 86:626–639

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Modlmeier AP, Fries S, Tirard C, Foitzik S (2012a) Characterizing the collective personality of ant societies: aggressive colonies do not abandon their home. PLoS One 7:e33314

    Article  CAS  PubMed Central  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scharf I, Ovadia O, Foitzik S (2012b) The advantage of alternative tactics of prey and predators depends on the spatial pattern of prey and social interactions among predators. Popul Ecol 54:187–196

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schuett W, Godin JGJ, Dall SRX (2011) Do female zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, choose their mates based on their ‘personality’? Ethology 117:908–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Kats LB, Maurer EF (2003) Behavioural correlations across situations and the evolution of antipredator behaviour in a sunfish–salamander system. Anim Behav 65:29–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Bell A, Johnson JC (2004a) Behavioral syndromes: an ecological and evolutionary overview. Trends Ecol Evol 19:372–378

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Bell AM, Johnson JC, Ziemba RE (2004b) Behavioral syndromes: an integrative overview. Q Rev Biol 79:241–277

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sih A, Cote J, Evans M, Fogarty S, Pruitt J (2012) Ecological implications of behavioural syndromes. Ecol Lett 15:278–289

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simon D (1988) Ant-lions (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) of the coastal plain: systematical, ecological, and zoogeographical aspects with emphasis on the coexistence of a species guild of the unstable dunes. PhD thesis, Tel-Aviv University, Israel

  • Sinn DL, Moltschaniwskyj NA, Wapstra E, Dall SRX (2010) Are behavioral syndromes invariant? Spatiotemporal variation in shy/bold behavior in squid. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64:693–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stahlschmidt Z, O’Leary ME, Adamo S (2014) Food limitation leads to risky decision making and to tradeoffs with oviposition. Behav Ecol 25:223–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stamps J, Groothuis TG (2010) The development of animal personality: relevance, concepts and perspectives. Biol Rev 85:301–325

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watanabe NM, Stahlman WD, Blaisdell AP, Garlick D, Fast CD, Blumstein DT (2012) Quantifying personality in the terrestrial hermit crab: different measures, different inferences. Behav Process 91:133–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson DS (1998) Adaptive individual differences within single populations. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 353:199–205

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson RS, Franklin CE (2002) Testing the beneficial acclimation hypothesis. Trends Ecol Evol 17:66–70

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf M, Weissing FJ (2012) Animal personalities: consequences for ecology and evolution. Trends Ecol Evol 27:452–461

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wray MK, Seeley TD (2011) Consistent personality differences in house-hunting behavior but not decision speed in swarms of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 65:2061–2070

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Aziz Subach for his help in the experimental design, Naama Snir for her assistance in the laboratory, and Naomi Paz for editorial assistance. The research leading to this manuscript was partially funded by the People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under an REA grant agreement no. (333442) to IS.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, 84105, Beer-Sheva, Israel

    Yehonatan Alcalay & Ofer Ovadia

  2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel

    Inon Scharf

Authors
  1. Yehonatan Alcalay
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ofer Ovadia
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Inon Scharf
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Yehonatan Alcalay or Ofer Ovadia.

Additional information

Communicated by W. O. H. Hughes

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Alcalay, Y., Ovadia, O. & Scharf, I. Behavioral repeatability and personality in pit-building antlion larvae under differing environmental contexts. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 1985–1993 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1804-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1804-x

Keywords

search

Navigation