Social environment determines the effect of boldness and activity on survival

Populations of animals are composed of individuals that differ in ecologically relevant behaviors. Building evidence also suggests that individuals occupy different social niches. Here, in a mark–recapture experiment, we show evidence of an interacting effect of behavior and social niche on survival...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethology 2019-12, Vol.125 (12), p.855-862
Main Authors: Pearish, Simon, Bensky, Miles K., Bell, Alison M., Goymann, Wolfgang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
boldness
Environmental effects
exploratory behavior
Gasterosteus aculeatus
maintenance of variation
Natural selection
Niches
Social behavior
Social environment
Social organization
Survival
three‐spined stickleback
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Summary:Populations of animals are composed of individuals that differ in ecologically relevant behaviors. Building evidence also suggests that individuals occupy different social niches. Here, in a mark–recapture experiment, we show evidence of an interacting effect of behavior and social niche on survival in the wild: Bold individuals had higher survival if they were initially captured in groups, while shy, inactive individuals had higher survival if they were initially captured when alone. These findings provide support for the hypothesis that behavioral type–environment correlations can be favored by natural selection.
ISSN:0179-1613
1439-0310
DOI:10.1111/eth.12939