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Sex-specific associations between social behaviour, its predictability and fitness in a wild lizard964.03 kB
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Preprint
Sex-specific associations between social behaviour,its predictability and fitness in a wild lizard
EcoEvoRxiv, Vol.20 November 2023
Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology (SORTEE)
2023
Abstract
Social environments impose a number of constraints on individuals’ behaviour. These constraints have been hypothesized to generate behavioural variation among individuals, social responsiveness, and within-individual behavioural consistency (also termed ‘predictability’). In particular, the social niche hypothesis posits that higher levels of competition associated with higher population density should increase among-individual behavioural 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 on fitness consequences of behavioural predictability remain scarce. In this study, we investigated the associations between predictability of social behaviour 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. Females, which were more sociable than males, exhibited slightly higher levels of among-individual variation but similar social predictabilities as males. Females that were more sociable were also more predictable while no association was found between social behaviour and predictability in males. Finally, social behaviour and its predictability showed sex-specific associations with survival and reproductive success. These findings partly support predictions from the social niche hypothesis and highlight the importance of behavioural predictability in social evolution.
Details
- Title
- Sex-specific associations between social behaviour,its predictability and fitness in a wild lizard
- Authors
- Barbara Class (Corresponding Author) - Ludwig Maximilian University of MunichKasha Strickland (Author) - University of EdinburghDominique Potvin (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and EngineeringNicola Jackson (Author) - The University of QueenslandShinichi Nakagawa (Author) - UNSW AustraliaCeline Frere (Author) - The University of Queensland
- Publication details
- EcoEvoRxiv, Vol.20 November 2023
- Publisher
- Society for Open, Reliable, and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary biology (SORTEE)
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.32942/X2NS4Z
- Copyright note
- CC-BY Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
- Data Availability
- Data and R code used for this study are available on OSF: https://osf.io/3y6s7/?view_only=512a97f97623411781eacdd81bf2b6cd
- Organisation Unit
- School of Science and Engineering - Legacy; GeneCology Research Centre - Legacy; School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99982896702621
- Output Type
- Preprint
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