Dataset Information

Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis).

ABSTRACT: Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is 'anchored' to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condition, physiological performance) and expected to be affected by short-term environmental change. Yet, whether short-term environmental shifts affect behavioural consistency during adulthood remains questionable. Here, by employing a full-factorial laboratory experiment, we explored if quantity of food (low vs. high) and time available for thermoregulation (3h vs. 10h per day) had an effect on activity and risk-taking of reproductive adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis). We focussed on different components of behavioural variation: (i) strength of behavioural consistency (repeatability for animal personality; between-individual correlation for behavioural syndrome), (ii) behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and (iii) behavioural predictability (within-individual behavioural variation). Activity was repeatable in all treatments. Risk-taking was repeatable only in the low basking treatments. We found significant between-individual correlation only in the low food × long basking time group. The treatments did not affect behavioural type, but affected behavioural predictability. Activity predictability was higher in the short basking treatment, where it also decreased with size (? age). Risk-taking predictability in the short basking treatment increased with size under food limitation, but decreased when food supply was high. We conclude that short-term environmental change can alter various components of behavioural consistency. The effect could be detected in the presence/absence patterns of animal personality and behavioural syndrome and the level of individual behavioural predictability, but not in behavioural type.

SUBMITTER: Horvath G

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5675404 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis).

Horváth Gergely G Mészáros Boglárka B Urszán Tamás János TJ Bajer Katalin K Molnár Orsolya O Garamszegi László Zsolt LZ Herczeg Gábor G

PloS one 20171107 11

Understanding the background mechanisms affecting the emergence and maintenance of consistent between-individual variation within population in single (animal personality) or across multiple (behavioural syndrome) behaviours has key importance. State-dependence theory suggests that behaviour is 'anchored' to individual state (e.g. body condition, gender, age) and behavioural consistency emerges through behavioural-state feedbacks. A number of relevant state variables are labile (e.g. body condit ...[more]

PMID: 29112964

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Project description:The available range of habitats and suitable abiotic conditions like temperature and radiation tends to be narrower toward the periphery of the distribution range of species. Peripheral populations of generalist species could then be more specialized and have a smaller and differentiated realized niche (habitat niche in our study) compared to populations at the core. Likewise, patterns of microhabitat selection can differ between periphery and core. In our study, we compared niche size and microhabitat selection among core (Bulgaria) and northern peripheral (Germany, Czech Republic) populations of Lacerta viridis and estimated niche differentiation among regions. We collected data on vegetation structure and abiotic parameters at the microhabitat scale in each region. In order to compare niche size among regions and estimate niche differentiation, we built multidimensional niche hypervolumes. We applied generalized linear mixed models and model averaging, accounting for spatial autocorrelation when necessary, to analyze microhabitat differences among regions and microhabitat selection in each region. Peripheral populations were more specialized, having a smaller niche than core ones, and their niche differed from that in the core (Sørensen overlap in all comparisons <0.3). Microhabitats at the periphery had lower radiation and soil compaction and less structured vegetation. Microhabitat selection at the core depended solely on abiotic parameters, while at the periphery it was defined by only vegetation structure (Czech Republic) or a combination of both, vegetation structure, and abiotic factors (Germany). Thus, peripheral populations seem to compensate for overall harsher climatic conditions by responding to different parameters of the microhabitat compared to core populations. We suggest specific conservation measures for L. virids in each studied region and point out the general implications of a higher specialization degree of peripheral populations in relation to climate change and habitat fragmentation.

Project description:Lacerta viridis and Lacerta bilineata are sister species of European green lizards (eastern and western clades, respectively) that, until recently, were grouped together as the L. viridis complex. Genetic incompatibilities were observed between lacertid populations through crossing experiments, which led to the delineation of two separate species within the L. viridis complex. The population history of these sister species and processes driving divergence are unknown. We constructed the first high-quality de novo genome assemblies for both L. viridis and L. bilineata through Illumina and PacBio sequencing, with annotation support provided from transcriptome sequencing of several tissues. To estimate gene flow between the two species and identify factors involved in reproductive isolation, we studied their evolutionary history, identified genomic rearrangements, detected signatures of selection on non-coding RNA, and on protein-coding genes. Here we show that gene flow was primarily unidirectional from L. bilineata to L. viridis after their split at least 1.15 million years ago. We detected positive selection of the non-coding repertoire; mutations in transcription factors; accumulation of divergence through inversions; selection on genes involved in neural development, reproduction, and behavior, as well as in ultraviolet-response, possibly driven by sexual selection, whose contribution to reproductive isolation between these lacertid species needs to be further evaluated. The combination of short and long sequence reads resulted in one of the most complete lizard genome assemblies. The characterization of a diverse array of genomic features provided valuable insights into the demographic history of divergence among European green lizards, as well as key species differences, some of which are candidates that could have played a role in speciation. In addition, our study generated valuable genomic resources that can be used to address conservation-related issues in lacertids.

Dataset Information

Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis).

Publications

Environment-dependence of behavioural consistency in adult male European green lizards (Lacerta viridis).

Similar Datasets

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