Evolution Of Animal Personalities

FLORA AND FAUNA

The evolutionary origins of "animal personality"-defined as consistent behavior over time and in different situations-is poorly understood.

by Staff Writers
Santa Fe NM (SPX) Jun 04, 2007
Animals differ strikingly in character and temperament. Yet only recently has it become evident that personalities are a widespread phenomenon in the animal kingdom. Animals as diverse as spiders, mice and squids appear to have personalities. Personality differences have been described in more than 60 species, including primates, rodents, birds, fish, insects and mollusks.

New work by Max Wolf (University of Groningen; currently at the Santa Fe Institute), Santa Fe Institute Postdoctoral Fellow Sander van Doorn, Franz Weissing (University of Groningen), and Olof Leimar (Stockholm University) offers an explanation for the evolution of animal personalities. Their findings are detailed in "Life-history trade-offs favour the evolution of animal personalities" in the May 31 issue of Nature.

The evolutionary origins of "animal personality"-defined as consistent behavior over time and in different situations-is poorly understood. Why do different personality types exist within a single population given that, at first sight, one would expect one type to be more successful than another" Why are individuals not more flexible considering that personality rigidity sometimes leads to seemingly inefficient behavior" Why do we find the same types of traits correlated with each other in very different kinds of animals"

The authors argue that in many cases personalities are shaped by a simple underlying principle: the more an individual stands to lose (in terms of future reproduction) the more cautiously it is likely to behave, in all kinds of situations and consistently over time.

They begin with two basic observations. First, variation in personalities is often structured according to differences in the overall willingness to take risks. Second, individuals are often confronted with a trade-off between current and future reproduction: the more an individual currently invests in reproduction, the less resources are left to invest in future opportunities, and vice versa. Using a mathematical model the authors demonstrate that this fundamental trade-off can give rise to populations where some individuals put more emphasis on future reproduction than others. Individuals who invest in future reproductive success evolve to be consistently risk-averse in different behavioral contexts (e.g. encounters with predators and aggressive interactions), whereas individuals who put emphasis on current reproductive success evolve a more risk-prone personality.

The researchers intend to continue their collaborative work on the evolution of animal personalities. Currently, at the Santa Fe Institute, Max Wolf and Sander van Doorn are developing alternative ideas on structuring properties of personalities.

Email This Article

FLORA AND FAUNA

Wildlife Talks Focus On Survival And Human Livelihood As Asian Trade Booms

The Hague (AFP) June 03, 2007
Representatives from 171 nations, monitored by a small army of wildlife advocates, began debating dozens of sharply contested measures Sunday on how best to regulate the global trade in wildlife. "You are making policy for the biodiversity of the future," Gerda Verburg, chairwoman and Dutch agriculture and nature minister, told some 2,500 delegates from the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, better known as CITES.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT Locals Block Work At Indonesian Mud Volcano Steel Dam Plan To Plug Indonesian Mud Volcano Chinese Space Agency Joins The International Charter Space And Major Disasters LSU And Los Alamos Team Up To Improve Evacuation Plans	CLIMATE SCIENCE EU, US Agree 15 Years Left To Avert Climate Disaster Climate Change Burning Issue At G8 Summit As US Claims Leadership Role Australia Sets Carbon Trading Date In 2012 But Prefers An Aspirational Target Only Japan Pours Cold Water On German G8 Proposals As US Makes Counter-Proposal
EARTH OBSERVATION US Experts Predict Nine Atlantic Hurricanes This Season Space Systems/Loral Awarded NASA Contract For Landsat Data Continuity Mission Accommodation Study Tracking A Hot Spot In The Center Of The Biggest Ocean On Earth MetOp-A Takes Up Service	ENERGY TECH GE's Jenbacher Engine Powers Commercial Landfill Gas Conversion Plant Supplying Fuel For Public Vehicles GE Unit To Double Renewable Energy Investing And Disclose Greenhouse Gas Emissions Airline Sector Puts Global Warming High On Meeting Agenda EON To Halve Carbon Emissions By 2030
EPIDEMICS US Firm To Trial Bird Flu Vaccine In Indonesia And Hong Kong Avian Influenza Survivor Antibodies Effective At Neutralising H5N1 Strain System To Pinpoint Airline Passengers Who Contaminate Cabins AIDS Remains Global Worry	FLORA AND FAUNA Wildlife Talks Focus On Survival And Human Livelihood As Asian Trade Booms Evolution Of Animal Personalities Belgian Troops Deployed To Battle Marauding Caterpillars Eating Ammonia
FROTH AND BUBBLE Kenyan Ingenuity Takes A Byte Out Of E-Waste Satellites Track Human Exposure To Fine Particle Pollution Serious Health Risk In Naples Area As Garbage System Backs Up Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova Choking On Toxic Waste	ABOUT US Upright Walking May Have Begun In The Trees Amazon Tribesman Takes Rainforest Message To Japan Color Vision Drove Primates To Develop Red Skin And Hair Northrop Grumman Dedicates Habitat For Humanity House

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2006 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA PortalReports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additionalcopyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement