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Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish

Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish
Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish


Interest in animal personalities has generated a burgeoning literature on repeatability in individual traits such as boldness or exploration through time or across different contexts. Yet, repeatability can be influenced by the interactive social strategies of individuals, for example, consistent inter-individual variation in aggression is well documented. Previous work has largely focused on the social aspects of repeatability in animal behaviour by testing individuals in dyadic pairings. Under natural conditions, individuals interact in a heterogeneous polyadic network. However, the extent to which there is repeatability of social traits at this higher order network level remains unknown. Here, we provide the first empirical evidence of consistent and repeatable animal social networks. Using a model species of shark, a taxonomic group in which repeatability in behaviour has yet to be described, we repeatedly quantified the social networks of ten independent shark groups across different habitats, testing repeatability in individual network position under changing environments. To understand better the mechanisms behind repeatable social behaviour, we also explored the coupling between individual preferences for specific group sizes and social network position. We quantify repeatability in sharks by demonstrating that despite changes in aggregation measured at the group level, the social network position of individuals is consistent across treatments. Group size preferences were found to influence the social network position of individuals in small groups but less so for larger groups suggesting network structure, and thus, repeatability was driven by social preference over aggregation tendency.
Aggregation behaviour, Elasmobranch, Personality, Plasticity, Repeatability, Social traits
0340-5443
1995-2003
Jacoby, David M.P.
ca5d17dd-3b09-4eea-bf8b-aae586bd0e6c
Fear, Lauren N.
d70fe0eb-d805-4616-a059-25946f65f90f
Sims, David W.
7234b444-25e2-4bd5-8348-a1c142d0cf81
Croft, Darren P.
3c0c4507-58e7-45c6-abc4-59284a4594f1
Jacoby, David M.P.
ca5d17dd-3b09-4eea-bf8b-aae586bd0e6c
Fear, Lauren N.
d70fe0eb-d805-4616-a059-25946f65f90f
Sims, David W.
7234b444-25e2-4bd5-8348-a1c142d0cf81
Croft, Darren P.
3c0c4507-58e7-45c6-abc4-59284a4594f1

Jacoby, David M.P., Fear, Lauren N., Sims, David W. and Croft, Darren P. (2014) Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68 (12), 1995-2003. (doi:10.1007/s00265-014-1805-9).

Record type: Article

Abstract



Interest in animal personalities has generated a burgeoning literature on repeatability in individual traits such as boldness or exploration through time or across different contexts. Yet, repeatability can be influenced by the interactive social strategies of individuals, for example, consistent inter-individual variation in aggression is well documented. Previous work has largely focused on the social aspects of repeatability in animal behaviour by testing individuals in dyadic pairings. Under natural conditions, individuals interact in a heterogeneous polyadic network. However, the extent to which there is repeatability of social traits at this higher order network level remains unknown. Here, we provide the first empirical evidence of consistent and repeatable animal social networks. Using a model species of shark, a taxonomic group in which repeatability in behaviour has yet to be described, we repeatedly quantified the social networks of ten independent shark groups across different habitats, testing repeatability in individual network position under changing environments. To understand better the mechanisms behind repeatable social behaviour, we also explored the coupling between individual preferences for specific group sizes and social network position. We quantify repeatability in sharks by demonstrating that despite changes in aggregation measured at the group level, the social network position of individuals is consistent across treatments. Group size preferences were found to influence the social network position of individuals in small groups but less so for larger groups suggesting network structure, and thus, repeatability was driven by social preference over aggregation tendency.

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More information

Published date: December 2014
Keywords: Aggregation behaviour, Elasmobranch, Personality, Plasticity, Repeatability, Social traits
Organisations: Ocean and Earth Science

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 372415
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/372415
ISSN: 0340-5443
PURE UUID: ef6202ae-88c4-4a66-851b-aeed1597b2ef
ORCID for David W. Sims: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-0916-7363

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Date deposited: 03 Dec 2014 11:31
Last modified: 19 Jun 2024 01:44

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Contributors

Author: David M.P. Jacoby
Author: Lauren N. Fear
Author: David W. Sims ORCID iD
Author: Darren P. Croft

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