Linking behavioral thermoregulation, boldness, and individual state in male Carpetan rock lizards

Abstract

Mechanisms affecting consistent interindividual behavioral variation (i.e., animal personality) are of wide scientific interest. In poikilotherms, ambient temperature is one of the most important environmental factors with a direct link to a variety of fitness‐related traits. Recent empirical evidence suggests that individual differences in boldness are linked to behavioral thermoregulation strategy in heliothermic species, as individuals are regularly exposed to predators during basking. Here, we tested for links between behavioral thermoregulation strategy, boldness, and individual state in adult males of the high‐mountain Carpetan rock lizard (Iberolacerta cyreni). Principal component analysis revealed the following latent links in our data: (i) a positive relationship of activity with relative limb length and color brightness (PC1, 23% variation explained), (ii) a negative relationship of thermoregulatory precision with parasite load and risk‐taking (PC2, 20.98% variation explained), and (iii) a negative relationship between preferred body temperature and relative limb length (PC3, 19.23% variation explained). We conclude that differences in boldness and behavioral thermoregulatory strategy could be explained by both stable and labile state variables. The moderate link between behavioral thermoregulatory strategy and risk‐taking personality in our system is plausibly the result of differences in reproductive state of individuals or variation in ecological conditions during the breeding season.

Impact of haemogregarine parasite infections on the behaviour of Podarcis lizards

“…When studying the effects of Hepatozoon sp. in lacertids, Horváth et al (2016Horváth et al ( , 2020 identified a positive correlation between boldness and intensity of infection, with boldness increasing gradually with the intensity of infection.…”

“…The presence of multiple parasites in the same system also adds an extra layer of complexity, with mixed infections producing different effects than single infections of either parasite taxa involved (e.g. Marzal et al, 2017), although this aspect often remains uninvestigated (Horváth et al, 2020;Paranjpe et al, 2014). Furthermore, the lack of a resolved phylogeny and related taxonomy of haemogregarine parasites of reptiles (Megía-Palma et al, 2023a;Parejo-Pulido et al, 2023) and widespread reliance on a single, slow-evolving molecular marker (18S rRNA) to screen for haemogregarines means that parasite diversity present in these systems cannot be fully assessed and is likely to be underestimated.…”

“…Studies of haemogregarine parasites impact on lacertid lizard hosts have often identified effects in the thermoregulation capabilities (Horváth et al, 2020;Scholnick et al, 2010), and also on blood oxygenation and haematocrit (Oppliger et al, 1996), regenerative capabilities (Oppliger & Clobert, 1997), and reproductive and risk-taking behaviour (Horváth et al, 2016;Sorci et al, 1996). However, other assessments find no apparent effects regarding host survival (Sorci et al, 1996), physiology (Damas-Moreira et al, 2022;Huyghe et al, 2010), or behaviour (Damas-Moreira et al, 2014;Ekner-Grzyb et al, 2013).…”

Environmental and Molecular Modulation of Motor Individuality in Larval Zebrafish

“…Behavioral variation is observed in diverse species and behavioral modalities ( Byrne et al, 2004 ; Elnitsky and Claussen, 2006 ; Cauchard et al, 2013 ; Horváth et al, 2020 ). In zebrafish, even complex neuromodulatory processes such as startle habituation display inter-individual variation with distinguishable ‘habituation types’ ( Pantoja et al, 2016 , 2020 ).…”

“…Inter-individual variation, or individuality, is a hallmark of nearly all animal species and contributes to the population’s fitness and ability to adapt when confronted with environmental change ( Dingemanse et al, 2004 ; Klein et al, 2017 ; Horváth et al, 2020 ). One form of inter-individual variation is sensory and motor biases.…”