The effect of social context on measures of boldness: Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are bolder when housed individually

Kerman, Kaan; Miller, Lindsey; Sewall, Kendra B.

doi:10.1016/j.beproc.2018.08.007

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

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“…We highlight these validations because neophobia experiments sometimes lack multiple novel object or control trials, which can make results difficult to interpret [33]. Matched-phenotype pairing indicated a marginal negative effect ( p = 0.07) of having a cage mate on feeding likelihood in the presence of a novel object (congruent with [13,17,19,21,39] but see [14,16]). This is not an effect of competition to feed because this was not observed during control trials (no object).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Novel object trials are commonly used to evaluate social effects on individual exploratory behaviour in many taxa, including fish [9][10][11], mammals [12,13] and birds [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. In a social environment, fish [10,11] and birds [14,19,22] generally behave more similarly to other animals in that environment (social conformity hypothesis [23]) rather than emphasizing individual differences to reduce competition and increase social coordination (social facilitation hypothesis [24]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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No, you go first: phenotype and social context affect house sparrow neophobia

et al. 2020

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Novel object trials are commonly used to assess aversion to novelty (neophobia), and previous work has shown neophobia can be influenced by the social environment, but whether the altered behaviour persists afterwards (social learning) is largely unknown in wild animals. We assessed house sparrow ( Passer domesticus ) novel object responses before, during and after being paired with a conspecific of either similar or different behavioural phenotype. During paired trials, animals housed with a similar or more neophobic partner demonstrated an increased aversion to novel objects. This change did not persist a week after unpairing, but neophobia decreased after unpairing in birds previously housed with a less neophobic partner. We also compared novel object responses to non-object control trials to validate our experimental procedure. Our results provide evidence of social learning in a highly successful invasive species, and an interesting asymmetry in the effects of social environment on neophobia behaviour depending on the animal's initial behavioural phenotype.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

No, you go first: phenotype and social context affect house sparrow neophobia

et al. 2020

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“…Although cliff swallows might sort into different colony sites based on where they fall within the exploration-avoidance personality axis (as measured by Latency to enter nest), we cannot rule out that the observed behavioral variation among sites was instead shaped by the social environment after birds had already settled within a colony [85]. Behavioral plasticity shaped by changes in the social environment has been described in several birds [86–92], and most show a decrease in individual neophobia when in a group setting. King, Williams, and Mettke-Hofmann [93] found that individual Gouldian finches ( Erythrura gouldiae ) adjusted their boldness behavior to be more similar to that of their partner.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Variation in neophobia among cliff swallows at different colonies

2019

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Animal groups often represent nonrandom subsets of individuals, and increasing evidence indicates that individuals may sort among groups based on their personalities. The size of a group can predict its personality composition in some species due to differential suitability of a personality for groups of certain sizes, and the group itself may function more effectively if particular personality types are present. We quantified cliff swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) behavioral measures using linear and generalized linear mixed models to identify whether they: (1) varied among individuals within colonies and among colonies, (2) were related to reproductive success, and (3) predicted levels of parental care. Significant among-individual and among-colony site variation in a cliff swallow’s latency to enter its nest when presented with a novel stimulus was revealed. We also found significant among-individual variation in the number of attacks directed toward a novel stimulus at the nest and in the response to broadcast of a cliff swallow alarm call recording, but among site variation in these measures was not significant. We did not find evidence for behavioral syndromes linking the personalities measured. Differences among individuals in latency to enter the nest and the number of attacks were not significantly related to reproductive success or to the extent to which birds fed their nestlings. However, extent of nestling feeding was significantly predicted by the number of mist net captures. The limited evidence in general of systematic variation in the behavior we measured among cliff swallow colonies may reflect the different and sometimes opposing selection pressures on behavior in different social environments. Future work should perhaps examine variation in other behavioral traits, such as foraging, in cliff swallow colonies of different sizes.

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“…In terms of plasticity in novelty responses across contexts, studies spanning a variety of species have demonstrated that the intensity of neophobia expressed is influenced by whether an individual is with a conspecific or not (Dally et al, 2008;Galhardo et al, 2012;Griffin et al, 2013;Kareklas et al, 2018;Kelly et al, 2020;Kerman et al, 2018;Miller et al, 2015;Overington et al, 2009;Stöwe, Bugnyar, Heinrich at al., 2006; see also Table 1 in Forss et al, 2017). It has been hypothesized that being in a group decreases fear resulting in reduced neophobic responses (Galhardo et al, 2012;Stöwe, Bugnyar, Heinrich et al, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does the presence of a conspecific increase or decrease fear? Neophobia and habituation in zebra finches

2021

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Neophobia, defined as the fear of novelty, can be exhibited when individuals encounter unfamiliar stimuli in their environment. Neophobia has been shown to both increase and decrease when individuals are with conspecifics. An increase in latency to contact new objects can be explained by the negotiation hypothesis, which proposes that individuals in groups will negotiate who will approach novelty first, thereby delaying the first contact. This negotiation process could co-occur with and mask a potential effect of risk dilution, where individuals in groups should approach novel objects faster due to lower perceived risk in a social than non-social context. Here, we aimed to test the risk dilution hypothesis using an experimental set-up that precluded negotiation among group members by physically separating dyads during social trials.We presented zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) with different novel objects in both social and non-social contexts. We also repeated the presentation of each object to investigate, for the first time to our knowledge, the effect of social context on the change in neophobia over repeated encounters (i.e., habituation). We found that social context increased the latency to approach a novel object upon first presentation of objects (i.e., increased neophobia), but these latencies decreased faster over repeated presentations of the objects (i.e., faster habituation) compared to the non-social context. These results do not provide support for the risk dilution hypothesis regarding first encounters with objects (neophobia) but seem to support it over repeated object presentations (habituation). This suggests that the effect of social context is different on neophobia and habituation, possibly because they recruit different cognitive mechanisms. Future studies should investigate the impact of ecological and social conditions on decision-making upon first versus subsequent encounters with a novel object in social animals, as both processes can impact fitness costs and benefits of novelty responses.

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The effect of social context on measures of boldness: Zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) are bolder when housed individually

Cited by 12 publications

References 46 publications

No, you go first: phenotype and social context affect house sparrow neophobia

No, you go first: phenotype and social context affect house sparrow neophobia

Variation in neophobia among cliff swallows at different colonies

Does the presence of a conspecific increase or decrease fear? Neophobia and habituation in zebra finches

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