1 Citation 159 Views 17 Downloads
Although consistent between-individual differences in behaviour (i.e.
animal personality) are ubiquitous in natural populations, relatively few
studies have examined how personalities influence the formation of social
relationships. Yet, behavioural characteristics of both sexes might be key
when it comes to pair-bond formation, and the cooperation with partners to
successfully rear offspring. We here use a wild population of dunnocks
(Prunella modularis) to first investigate whether individuals mate
non-randomly (i.e. assortative mating) with regard to four behavioural
traits – flight-initiation distance (FID), provisioning, activity, and
vigilance – that differ in repeatability and have previously been
associated with mating patterns and fitness in other species. Second, we
test whether an individual’s FID is associated with variability in the
dunnocks’ mating system (i.e. monogamous pairs vs. polygamous groups).
Finally, we determine whether FID and provisioning of males and females
associate with their reproductive success. We found no statistical support
for assortative mating in FID between males and females. Interestingly, in
polygamous groups, co-breeding males differed in their FIDs with dominant
alpha-males having significantly shorter FIDs compared to subordinate
beta-males. Moreover, there was evidence for assortative mating in
provisioning for alpha-males and females in polygamous groups. We also
found that male provisioning influenced reproductive success of both
sexes, while female provisioning rates only positively correlated with her
own but not their partner(s) reproductive output. Our results suggest that
personality differences may have important implications for social
relationships, the emergence of different mating patterns and ultimately
reproductive success within populations.
159 views reported since publication in 2021.