Sex-Specific Associations between Social Behavior, Its Predictability, and Fitness in a Wild Lizard

Barbara Class; Kasha Strickland; Dominique Potvin; Nicola Jackson; Shinichi Nakagawa; Celine Frere

doi:10.1086/732178

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Sex-Specific Associations between Social Behavior, Its Predictability, and Fitness in a Wild Lizard

Journal article

Peer reviewed

Sex-Specific Associations between Social Behavior, Its Predictability, and Fitness in a Wild Lizard

Barbara Class, Kasha Strickland, Dominique Potvin, Nicola Jackson, Shinichi Nakagawa and Celine Frere

The American Naturalist, Vol.204(5), pp.501-516

2024

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1086/732178

Abstract

social behaviour

predictability

fitness

agamid

wild population

sexual dimorphism

Social environments impose a number of constraints on individuals' behavior. These constraints have been hypothesized to generate behavioral variation among individuals, social responsiveness, and within-individual behavioral consistency (also termed "predictability"). In particular, the social niche specialization hypothesis posits that higher levels of competition associated with higher population density should increase among-individual behavioral variation and individual predictability as a way to reduce conflicts. Being predictable should hence have fitness benefits in group-living animals. However, to date empirical studies of the fitness consequences of behavioral predictability remain scarce. In this study, we investigated the associations between social behavior, its predictability, and fitness in the eastern water dragon (Intellagama lesueurii), a wild gregarious lizard. Since this species is sexually dimorphic, we examined these patterns both between sexes and among individuals. Although females were more sociable than males, there was no evidence for sex differences in among-individual variation or predictability. However, females exhibited positive associations between social behavior, its predictability, and survival, while males exhibited only a positive association between mean social behavior and fitness. These findings hence partly support predictions from the social niche specialization hypothesis and suggest that the function of social predictability may be sex dependent.

Details

Title: Sex-Specific Associations between Social Behavior, Its Predictability, and Fitness in a Wild Lizard
Authors: Barbara Class (Corresponding Author) - Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Kasha Strickland - University of Edinburgh
Dominique Potvin - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Nicola Jackson - University of Queensland
Shinichi Nakagawa - UNSW Sydney
Celine Frere - University of Queensland
Publication details: The American Naturalist, Vol.204(5), pp.501-516
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Date published: 2024
DOI: 10.1086/732178
ISSN: 1537-5323
Data Availability: Data and R code used for this study are available on OSF (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/3Y6S7; Class et al. 2024).
Grants: Animal social behaviour and emerging infectious fungal diseases in nature, FT200100192, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Grant note: This work was supported by C.F.’s internal funding from the University of the Sunshine Coast
Organisation Unit: School of Science, Technology and Engineering
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991067191802621
Output Type: Journal article