The price of being bold? Relationship between personality and endoparasitic infection in a tree squirrel

Santicchia, Francesca; Romeo, Claudia; Ferrari, Nicola; Matthysen, Erik; Vanlauwe, Laure; Wauters, Luc A.; Martinoli, Adriano

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2019.04.007

Cited by 29 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 70 publications

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“…More explorative birds might forage more within this questing range and closer to the ground and, therefore, increase their encounter rate with ticks. Other research has argued that other parasite burdens than tick burden should increase with body mass instead of exploration (Santicchia et al 2019). Some studies have indeed found that parasite burdens can increase with body mass (Kiffner et al 2011; Kiffner et al 2013; Mysterud et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

Rollins¹,

Mouchet²,

Margos

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Ticks are parasites that feed on the blood of various vertebrate hosts, including many species of bird. Birds can disperse ticks over short and long distances, therefore impacting tick population dynamics. The likelihood that birds attract ticks should depend on their behaviour and the environment. We studied various key ecological variables (breeding density, human disturbance) and phenotypic traits (exploratory behaviour; body condition) proposed to predict tick burden in great tits (Parus major). Our study spanned over three years and 12 human-recreated plots, equipped with nest-boxes in southern Germany. Adult breeders were assessed for exploratory behaviour, tick burden, and body condition. For each plot, human disturbance was quantified as a human recreational pressure index during biweekly nest box inspections by scoring the number of recreants using the plots. Infestation probability but not tick burden increased with exploratory behaviour. We also found moderate support for a positive effect of recreational pressure on infestation probability. Further, body condition negatively predicted tick burden. Individuals were repeatable in tick burden across years. Our study implies that infestation probability and tick burden are governed by distinct ecological and phenotypic drivers. Our findings also highlight the importance of incorporating ecological and individual variation in host phenotypes to predict spatiotemporal distributions of ticks in nature.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

Rollins¹,

Mouchet²,

Margos

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Studies in natural populations based on capture–mark–recapture of animals can rely on the sampling method itself to obtain measure of individual behaviour and/or personality. Indeed, individual differences in willingness to enter a baited trap (trappability) can be considered as a measure of an animal's propensity for risk‐taking (Bisi et al., 2011; Boon et al., 2008; Boyer et al., 2010; Le Coeur et al., 2015; Montiglio et al., 2012; Réale et al., 2000; Santicchia, Gagnaison, et al., 2018; Santicchia et al., 2019). Reactions to risky situations, excluding any component of novelty which is exclusively related to exploration propensity (Réale et al., 2007), have been identified in literature as a measure of individual boldness (Réale et al., 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, also the number of different traps visited (trap‐diversity) can give insights about an animal's movements in the wild (Boyer et al., 2010; Brehm & Mortelliti, 2018; Santicchia, Gagnaison, et al., 2018; Santicchia et al., 2019; Vanden Broecke et al., 2018). This measure can be both informative of an individual's exploration tendency or its space use (Boyer et al., 2010; Réale et al., 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we used the OFT to measure activity, exploration and immobility in the Eurasian red squirrel ( Sciurus vulgaris ; Mazzamuto et al., 2019; Santicchia, Wauters, Piscitelli, et al., 2020; Wauters et al., 2019) and capture–mark–recapture data to calculate trappability and trap‐diversity indices (Santicchia, Gagnaison, et al., 2018; Santicchia et al., 2019). The main objective was to compare personality traits derived from different methodological approaches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Secondly, we tested if trappability correlates with personality traits from OFT. Since trappability in our study system reflects risk‐taking behaviour (boldness; Santicchia, Gagnaison, et al., 2018; Santicchia et al., 2019), we predicted that it will not correlate with any of the personality traits measured in the OFT, since the arena test we performed is not designed to measure boldness (discriminant validity, Carter et al., 2013). Lack of correlation would indeed indicate that trappability measures a different axis of personality variation than either activity, exploration or immobility from OFT, supporting the use of trappability as a proxy for boldness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring personality traits in Eurasian red squirrels: A critical comparison of different methods

et al. 2020

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Animal personality, behavioural differences among individuals which are consistent through time and contexts, is generally described by one or more traits. Different methods are used to measure these traits, such as behavioural observations and trapping indices. Comparing several methods allows to validate different tests and to better identify which aspect of an animal's personality is being measured. Here, we measured activity, exploration and immobility of Eurasian red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) using observations from the open field test (OFT), and compared them with trappability and trap-diversity indices calculated from capture-mark-recapture data in six independent study sites. Trappability measures the willingness to enter a baited trap (boldness), while trap-diversity can be a proxy for exploration tendency. Our first aim was to test their repeatability, thus their appropriateness as candidate measures of personality traits. Next, we explored the predictions that (i) trappability, measuring boldness, does not correlate with any of the OFT personality traits, since risk-taking cannot be expressed in our arena test; and (ii) trap-diversity correlates with exploration obtained from the OFT. Considering the species ecology and study design, we used multivariate Bayesian models based on different time intervals (session/year) and habitat types (alpine/plain). We found significant repeatabilities for trappability, for trap-diversity and for most OFT personality traits, except exploration in the plain sites. Independently from habitat type or time interval, trappability did not correlate with either activity, exploration or immobility from OFT, thus measuring a different personality axis, which we considered a proxy for boldness. Trap-diversity did not correlate with exploration from OFT, but seems related to a different aspect of red squirrels' exploration tendency. Our study emphasizes that caution is needed when using behaviours from OFT to measure multiple personality traits and that applying extra methods based on animals' responses to trapping can provide reliable proxies for boldness and exploration tendency.

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Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

Rollins

Mouchet

Margos

et al. 2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Ecological factors and individual-specific traits affect parasite infestation in wild animals. Ixodid ticks are important ectoparasites of various vertebrate hosts, which include passerine bird species such as the great tit (Parus major). We studied various key ecological variables (breeding density, human disturbance) and phenotypic traits (exploratory behaviour, body condition) proposed to predict tick infestation probability and burden in great tits. Our study spanned 3 years and 12 nest box plots located in southern Germany. Breeding, adult great tits were assessed for exploration behaviour, body condition, and tick burden. Plots were open to human recreation; human disturbance was quantified in each plot as a recreation pressure index from biweekly nest box inspections. Infested individuals were repeatable in tick burden across years. These repeatable among-individual differences in tick burden were not attributable to exploration behaviour. However, faster explorers did have a higher infestation probability. Furthermore, body condition was negatively correlated to tick burden. Recreation pressure was correlated to increased infestation probability, although this relationship was just above the threshold of statistical significance. Our study implies that avian infestation probability and tick burden are each determined by distinct phenotypic traits and ecological factors. Our findings highlight the importance of animal behaviour and human disturbance in understanding variation in tick burden among avian hosts. Significance statement Various abiotic and biotic factors, including personality type, influence tick parasitism in birds, but exactly how all these factors interplay remains unclear. We studied a wild population of great tits over a 3-year period and assessed birds for their exploration behaviour and tick infestation. We found that more explorative great tits were more likely to be infested with ticks. By contrast, faster explorers did not have higher tick burdens. Tick burden was nevertheless moderately repeatable among individuals. Our results imply that animal personality influences the probability of parasite infestation, and that infestation likelihood versus intensity are determined by distinct mechanisms. Our work highlights the importance of animal behaviour to understand parasite infestation in wild populations.

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The price of being bold? Relationship between personality and endoparasitic infection in a tree squirrel

Abstract: The price of being bold? Relationship betw een personality and endoparasitic infection in a tree squirrel Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde -

Cited by 29 publications

References 70 publications

Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

Measuring personality traits in Eurasian red squirrels: A critical comparison of different methods

Repeatable differences in exploratory behaviour predict tick infestation probability in wild great tits

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