TY - JOUR
T1 - Consistent individual differences in paternal behavior
T2 - A field study of three-spined stickleback
AU - Stein, Laura R.
AU - Bell, Alison M.
N1 - We are grateful to A. Fritzsche, L. Hostert, and M. Grobis for their help in the field. We also thank K. Laskowski, G. Kozak, K. McGhee, members of the Bell lab, and three reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript. This project was supported by the University of Illinois, National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (IOS 1210696) and an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship to LRS, and NSF IOS 1121980 and National Institutes of Health R01 GM082937 to AMB.
PY - 2015/2
Y1 - 2015/2
N2 - Consistent individual differences in parenting are widespread; however, we know little about why there is variation in parenting behavior among individuals within species. One possible explanation for consistent individual differences in parenting is that individuals invest in different aspects of parental care, such as provisioning or defense. In this field study, we measured consistent individual differences in parenting behavior and evaluated correlations between parenting and other behaviors in three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We repeatedly measured male parenting behavior and male behavior in the presence of three different types of live intruders: a female, a conspecific male, and a predator, meant to provoke courtship, aggressive, and antipredator behavior, respectively. While males plastically adjusted their reactions to different types of intruders, we found consistent individual differences in behavior (behavioral types) both within and across contexts, even after accounting for variation in body size and nest characteristics. Males that performedmore parenting behavior responded faster to all types of intruders. These results suggest that in nature, individual male sticklebacks exhibit robust parental behavioral types, and highly parental males are more attentive to their surroundings. Future studies are needed to examine the potential causes of individual variation in parental behavior in the field.
AB - Consistent individual differences in parenting are widespread; however, we know little about why there is variation in parenting behavior among individuals within species. One possible explanation for consistent individual differences in parenting is that individuals invest in different aspects of parental care, such as provisioning or defense. In this field study, we measured consistent individual differences in parenting behavior and evaluated correlations between parenting and other behaviors in three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). We repeatedly measured male parenting behavior and male behavior in the presence of three different types of live intruders: a female, a conspecific male, and a predator, meant to provoke courtship, aggressive, and antipredator behavior, respectively. While males plastically adjusted their reactions to different types of intruders, we found consistent individual differences in behavior (behavioral types) both within and across contexts, even after accounting for variation in body size and nest characteristics. Males that performedmore parenting behavior responded faster to all types of intruders. These results suggest that in nature, individual male sticklebacks exhibit robust parental behavioral types, and highly parental males are more attentive to their surroundings. Future studies are needed to examine the potential causes of individual variation in parental behavior in the field.
KW - Aggression
KW - Behavioral syndrome
KW - Field study
KW - Parental behavior
KW - Personality
KW - Territory defense
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U2 - 10.1007/s00265-014-1835-3
DO - 10.1007/s00265-014-1835-3
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84926636654
SN - 0340-5443
VL - 69
SP - 227
EP - 236
JO - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
JF - Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
IS - 2
ER -