Experimental evidence that adult antipredator behaviour is heritable and not influenced by behavioural copying in a wild bird

Knowledge of the relative importance of genetics and behavioural copying is crucial to appraise the evolvability of behavioural consistencies. Yet, genetic and non-genetic factors are often deeply intertwined, and experiments are required to address this issue. We investigated the sources of variati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2012-04, Vol.279 (1732), p.1380-1388
Main Authors: Bize, Pierre, Diaz, Claris, Lindström, Jan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adults
Animal models
Animals
Antipredator Behaviour
antipredatory behavior
Apus
Aves
Behavioral genetics
Behavioural Syndromes
Biological Evolution
Bird nesting
Birds - genetics
Birds - physiology
conception
Cross-Fostering Experiment
eggs
Evolution
Female
females
foster care
Foster parents
Genetic variation
Heritability
Male
maternal effect
Models, Genetic
Models, Psychological
nests
parents
Personality
Predatory Behavior - physiology
progeny
Regression Analysis
Swifts
Tachymarptis melba
Temperament
wild birds
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Summary:Knowledge of the relative importance of genetics and behavioural copying is crucial to appraise the evolvability of behavioural consistencies. Yet, genetic and non-genetic factors are often deeply intertwined, and experiments are required to address this issue. We investigated the sources of variation of adult antipredator behaviour in the Alpine swift (Apus melba) by making use of long-term behavioural observations on parents and cross-fostered offspring. By applying an ‘animal model’ approach to observational data, we show that antipredator behaviour of adult Alpine swifts was significantly repeatable over lifetime (r = 0.273) and heritable (h2 = 0.146). Regression models also show that antipredator behaviours differed between colonies and sexes (females were more tame), and varied with the hour and year of capture. By applying a parent–offspring regression approach to 59 offspring that were exchanged as eggs or hatchlings between pairs of nests, we demonstrate that offspring behaved like their biological parents rather than like their foster parents when they were adults themselves. Those findings provide strong evidence that antipredator behaviour of adult Alpine swifts is shaped by genetics and/or pre-hatching maternal effects taking place at conception but not by behavioural copying.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
1471-2945
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2011.1789