Sexual horn dimorphism predicts the expression of active personality trait: males perform better only in the sexually horn dimorphic Onthophagus dung beetle

Kerman, Kaan; Isaia, Marco; Rolando, Antonio; Palestrini, Claudia

doi:10.1007/s10164-023-00782-5

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 140 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…All the behavioural traits measured were repeatable, confirming the consistency of behaviour over time. The present finding suggested that the dung beetle Copris umbilicatus expresses personality, keeping with what has been found in other studies on personality related to locomotory activity in Callosobruchus maculatus [20], Tribolium castaneum [18] and Nebria brevicollis [12], and thanatosis in Tribolium confusum [24], Phaedon cochleariae [19], Tenebrio molitor [76], Onthophagus furcatus and O. ruficapillus [53].…”

Section: Evidence Of Personalitysupporting

confidence: 92%

“…In keeping with former studies [ 53 ], we examined dung beetle personality and behavioural syndromes to investigate the case of Copris umbilicatus Abeille de Perrin, 1901 ( Figure 1 ), which is an optimal model for behavioural research because species of this genus exhibit complex behaviour in a sub-social context [ 31 , 32 , 47 ]. This coprophagous species is a medium-sized (15–22 mm) tunneller dung beetle with a discontinuous distribution in southeastern Europe [ 54 , 55 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Behavioural Repeatability and Behavioural Syndrome in the Dung Beetle Copris umbilicatus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

Natta

Laini

Roggero

et al. 2023

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although personality studies have primarily focused on vertebrates, the evidence showing invertebrates to be capable of displaying personalities has been steadily growing in recent years. In this study, we investigated the behavioural repeatability (repetition of a behaviour over time) and behavioural syndromes (a set of correlated behaviours) in Copris umbilicatus, which is a dung beetle species showing complex sub-social behaviour. We analysed three behaviours (activity, thanatosis and distress call emission) by measuring seven distinct behavioural traits (i.e., three activity-, one thanatosis- and three distress call-related traits). We found moderate to high levels of individual repeatability in all behavioural traits considered. The duration of thanatosis was inversely correlated with two activity traits, hinting a behavioural syndrome for thanatosis and activity, with bolder individuals exhibiting shorter thanatosis and higher locomotor activity in contrast with fearful individuals, which display longer thanatosis and poor locomotor activity. No relationships were found between the behavioural traits and body size or sex. Results of the principal component analysis (PCA) suggested personality differences among individuals. Dung beetles provide an impressive variety of ecosystem services. Since the provision of these services may depend on the personalities represented in local populations and communities, studies on the ecology of personality in dung beetles should be encouraged in future research.

show abstract

Section: Evidence Of Personalitysupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural Repeatability and Behavioural Syndrome in the Dung Beetle Copris umbilicatus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

Natta

Laini

Roggero

et al. 2023

Insects

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Behavioral repeatability in dung beetles is not limited to subsocial and sexual horn dimorphic species: the case of Geotrupes mutator (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae)

Natta,

Roggero,

Zanon

et al. 2024

Current Zoology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The study of temperament and behavioural syndromes in insects is still in its early stage, and research conducted to date has mainly focused on locomotor activity and thanatosis. Dung beetles have been the subject of extensive behavioural studies; however, very few studies have addressed the expression of temperament. Those doing so only looked at subsocial and sexual horn dimorphic species, suggesting subsociality and/or sexual horn-dimorphism as possible facilitators of temperament expression. To test this assumption, we conducted a temperament study in a hornless, non-subsocial species, namely Geotrupes mutator (Marsham, 1802). We set up laboratory tests to evaluate three behaviours (activity, thanatosis, and distress calls) through the measurement of seven distinct behavioural traits (three activity-, one thanatosis- and three call-related traits). We found high levels of individual repeatability in all activity- and thanatosis-related traits. We also identified behavioural differences between individuals, which may reflect differences in temperament. Statistical analyses revealed a negative correlation between activity and thanatosis. These results show that the temperament and behavioural syndromes related to activity and thanatosis may also be expressed in dung beetle species that are neither subsocial nor sexual horn dimorphic. By contrast, we only found one of three sound-related traits tested (frequency) to be clearly repeatable. Males and females presented a different structure of the stridulatory apparatus, suggesting that morphology may affect the frequency of sounds emitted. These results indicate that certain sound traits might not be good descriptors of individual temperament revealing the need for future research addressing the role of bioacoustics.

show abstract

Sexual horn dimorphism predicts the expression of active personality trait: males perform better only in the sexually horn dimorphic Onthophagus dung beetle

Cited by 2 publications

References 140 publications

Behavioural Repeatability and Behavioural Syndrome in the Dung Beetle Copris umbilicatus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

Behavioural Repeatability and Behavioural Syndrome in the Dung Beetle Copris umbilicatus (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae)

Behavioral repeatability in dung beetles is not limited to subsocial and sexual horn dimorphic species: the case of Geotrupes mutator (Coleoptera, Geotrupidae)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About