Integrating animal temperament within ecology and evolution
Abstract Temperament describes the idea that individual behavioural differences are repeatable over time and across situations. This common phenomenon covers numerous traits, such as aggressiveness, avoidance of novelty, willingness to take risks, exploration, and sociality. The study of temperament is central to animal psychology, behavioural genetics, pharmacology, and animal husbandry, but relatively few studies have […]
Do More Sociable Dogs Gaze Longer to the Human Face than Less Sociable Ones?
Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) are especially skillful in communicating with humans, and they rely on special abilities to do that. One of these skills involves gazing at human faces in cases of uncertainty or when seeking for something out of reach. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between dogs’ sociability level and the ability […]
Social Personality Traits in Chimpanzees: Temporal Stability and Structure of Behaviourally Assessed Personality Traits in Three Captive Populations
Animals of many species show consistency in behaviour across time and contexts that differs from other individuals’ behaviour in the same population. Such ‘personality’ affects fitness and has therefore become an increasingly relevant research topic in biology. However, consistent variation in social behaviour is understudied. In socially living species, behaviour occurs in a social environment […]
Trade-offs between feeding and social companionship in cattle: Intra-animal consistency over short and extended periods
Abstract The conflict between sociability and foraging motivation in animals is considered to be of potential value for use in the management of grassland systems to improve grazing pattern of livestock over grasslands. However, individual differences in behaviors relating to this conflict have not been fully explored. Three experiments with two test repeats 1–3 days […]
In the company of cowbirds, Molothrus ater ater: Robust patterns of sociability predict reproductive performance
Many species exhibit behavioral tendencies that are stable over time and across contexts. Robust variation in sociability, or the propensity to approach others, is widespread across the vertebrates. Nonetheless, the influence of sociability on reproductive performance is largely unknown. In this study, we explore the relationship between sociability and reproductive behavior in flocks of Brown-headed […]
Choice of conflict resolution strategy is linked to sociability in dog puppies
Measures that are likely to increase sociability in dog puppies, such as appropriate socialisation, are considered important in preventing future fear or aggression related problems. However, the interplay between sociability and conflict behaviour has rarely been investigated. Moreover, while many studies have addressed aggression in domestic dogs, alternative, non-aggressive conflict resolution strategies have received less […]
Capuchin monkeys with similar personalities have higher-quality relationships independent of age, sex, kinship and rank
Social relationships vary in content, quality and patterning. Most researchers focus on whether and how nondispositional factors, including age, sex, kinship and rank, predict variance in the content, quality and patterning of relationships. However, within a species, these factors do not always predict partner choice. We examined whether similarity in any of five personality traits, […]
Autonomic nervous system reactivity in a free-ranging mammal: effects of dominance rank and personality
Modulation of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity allows animals to effectively respond to internal and external stimuli in everyday challenges via changes in, for example, heart and respiration rate. Various factors, ranging from social such as dominance rank to internal such as personality or affective states can impact animal physiology. Our knowledge of the […]
Chimpanzee sociability is associated with vasopressin (Avpr1a) but not oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) variation
The importance of genes in regulating phenotypic variation of personality traits in humans and animals is becoming increasingly apparent in recent studies. Here we focus on variation in the vasopressin receptor gene 1a (Avpr1a) and oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and their effects on social personality traits in chimpanzees. We combine newly available genetic data on […]