Heterogeneous selection on exploration behavior within and among West European populations of a passerine bird

Heterogeneous selection is often proposed as a key mechanism maintaining repeatable behavioral variation (“animal personality”) in wild populations. Previous studies largely focused on temporal variation in selection within single populations. The relative importance of spatial versus temporal varia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS 2021-07, Vol.118 (28), p.1-6
Main Authors: Mouchet, Alexia, Cole, Ella F., Matthysen, Erik, Nicolaus, Marion, Quinn, John L., Roth, Allison M., Tinbergen, Joost M., van Oers, Kees, van Overveld, Thijs, Dingemanse, Niels J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adaptation
Animal behavior
Animal Migration - physiology
Animals
Behavior
Biological Sciences
Dispersal
Europe
Exploration
Exploratory behavior
Exploratory Behavior - physiology
Nonlinear Dynamics
Passeriformes - physiology
Phenotypes
Population studies
Populations
Spatial variations
Temporal variations
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Summary:Heterogeneous selection is often proposed as a key mechanism maintaining repeatable behavioral variation (“animal personality”) in wild populations. Previous studies largely focused on temporal variation in selection within single populations. The relative importance of spatial versus temporal variation remains unexplored, despite these processes having distinct effects on local adaptation. Using data from >3,500 great tits (Parus major) and 35 nest box plots situated within five West-European populations monitored over 4 to 18 y, we show that selection on exploration behavior varies primarily spatially, across populations, and study plots within populations. Exploration was, simultaneously, selectively neutral in the average population and year. These findings imply that spatial variation in selection may represent a primary mechanism maintaining animal personalities, likely promoting the evolution of local adaptation, phenotype-dependent dispersal, and nonrandom settlement. Selection also varied within populations among years, which may counteract local adaptation. Our study underlines the importance of combining multiple spatiotemporal scales in the study of behavioral adaptation.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.2024994118