Individual- and condition-dependent effects on habitat choice and choosiness |
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Authors: | Jonathan N Pruitt Nicholas DiRienzo Simona Kralj-Fišer J Chadwick Johnson Andrew Sih |
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Institution: | (1) The Center for Population Biology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;(2) Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA;(3) Animal Behavior Graduate Group, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA;(4) Biozentrum Grindel, University of Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;(5) Institute of Biology, Scientific Research Centre, Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, SI 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia;(6) Division of Mathematical and Natural Sciences (2352), Arizona State University, West Thunderbird Rd., Glendale, AZ 85306, USA;(7) Department of Environmental Science and Policy, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA |
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Abstract: | Research on consistent individual differences in behavior, or “behavioral syndromes”, continues to grow rapidly, and yet,
the aspects of behavior under consideration have remained remarkably limited. Here, we consider individual variation in consistency
of choice (termed here “choosiness”), as expressed during habitat choice. We repeatedly tested the responses of female Western
Black Widows, Latrodectus hesperus, to two cues of habitat quality: prey chemical cues and variation in web site illuminance. We estimated females’ response
by the distance they positioned themselves from (1) the source of prey chemical cues and (2) the darkest edge of our test
arena. Individuals with low variance in their responses are deemed more “choosy”, whereas individuals with high variance are
deemed less “choosy”. Generally, most females initiated web construction near the source of the prey chemical cues and tended
to place themselves in low-light conditions. However, we detected strong, repeatable differences in females’ intensity of
response, and within-individual variance of response (i.e., choosiness) was correlated across situations: females with highly
consistent responses towards cricket chemical cues also exhibited highly consistent responses towards variation in light conditions.
When deprived of food for extended periods, females were indistinguishable in their responses towards prey chemical cues,
but tended to initiate web construction in brighter lighting conditions. Food-deprived females universally exhibited higher
variance and diminished consistency in their responses (i.e., they were less choosy). Additionally, higher choosiness was
associated with greater mass loss during choice trials, suggesting choosiness is energetically costly. Our results demonstrate
that consistency of response to environmental cues is yet another element of behavior that varies among individuals and variation
in choosiness could beget speed/quality trade-offs during animal decision making. |
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