Personality-dependent passage behaviour of an aquatic invasive species at a barrier to dispersal
Personality-dependent passage behaviour of an aquatic invasive species at a barrier to dispersal
Intraspecific variation in personality traits is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of invasion success and is associated with the dispersal ability of several invasive species. However, previous studies have focused on the dispersal of invasive species through continuous habitats, despite the high levels of anthropogenic fragmentation in modern environments. This study investigated how personality influences the behaviour of aquatic invasive species at an anthropogenic barrier to dispersal, using the passage behaviour of American signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, at an experimental Crump weir as a model system. Personality was characterized by determining the repeatability of boldness, activity and sociability, with correlations between traits indicating behavioural syndromes, while passage behaviour was quantified as motivation and subsequent ability to pass the weir. Boldness and activity were repeatable and positively correlated, indicating a boldness–activity syndrome. However, sociability was not repeatable and was therefore not classified as a personality trait, potentially as a result of the confounding effects of social hierarchy formation. Bolder individuals tended to be more motivated to pass the weir, although motivation was not related to activity. Few individuals passed the weir, and personality was not related to passage success. This study evidences the presence of behavioural syndromes in signal crayfish and demonstrates that personality can influence the motivation of invasive species to expand their range in a fragmented habitat. Although no relationship with passage success was observed, the higher levels of motivation in bold individuals may lead to differential passage success in natural situations where the time to attempt passage is not constrained by experimental conditions.
alien species, animal personality, biodiversity loss, bold–shy continuum, gauging weir, habitat fragmentation, instream infrastructure, non-native species, river engineering, secondary spread
63-74
Daniels, Jack
2e982641-df35-412e-8aaa-876d9bec0760
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
October 2022
Daniels, Jack
2e982641-df35-412e-8aaa-876d9bec0760
Kemp, Paul
9e33fba6-cccf-4eb5-965b-b70e72b11cd7
Daniels, Jack and Kemp, Paul
(2022)
Personality-dependent passage behaviour of an aquatic invasive species at a barrier to dispersal.
Animal Behaviour, 192, , [22-00124].
(doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.07.005).
Abstract
Intraspecific variation in personality traits is increasingly recognized as an important determinant of invasion success and is associated with the dispersal ability of several invasive species. However, previous studies have focused on the dispersal of invasive species through continuous habitats, despite the high levels of anthropogenic fragmentation in modern environments. This study investigated how personality influences the behaviour of aquatic invasive species at an anthropogenic barrier to dispersal, using the passage behaviour of American signal crayfish, Pacifastacus leniusculus, at an experimental Crump weir as a model system. Personality was characterized by determining the repeatability of boldness, activity and sociability, with correlations between traits indicating behavioural syndromes, while passage behaviour was quantified as motivation and subsequent ability to pass the weir. Boldness and activity were repeatable and positively correlated, indicating a boldness–activity syndrome. However, sociability was not repeatable and was therefore not classified as a personality trait, potentially as a result of the confounding effects of social hierarchy formation. Bolder individuals tended to be more motivated to pass the weir, although motivation was not related to activity. Few individuals passed the weir, and personality was not related to passage success. This study evidences the presence of behavioural syndromes in signal crayfish and demonstrates that personality can influence the motivation of invasive species to expand their range in a fragmented habitat. Although no relationship with passage success was observed, the higher levels of motivation in bold individuals may lead to differential passage success in natural situations where the time to attempt passage is not constrained by experimental conditions.
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Accepted/In Press date: 29 May 2022
e-pub ahead of print date: 27 August 2022
Published date: October 2022
Additional Information:
Funding Information:
The project was funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Centre for Doctoral Training in Sustainable Infrastructure Systems ( EP/L01582X/1 ). We thank Nicky Green for her invaluable help with collecting crayfish and advice on crayfish husbandry.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors
Keywords:
alien species, animal personality, biodiversity loss, bold–shy continuum, gauging weir, habitat fragmentation, instream infrastructure, non-native species, river engineering, secondary spread
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Local EPrints ID: 470155
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/470155
ISSN: 0003-3472
PURE UUID: 5495cc5c-6805-47d1-97ca-30079f78d3e2
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Date deposited: 04 Oct 2022 16:37
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:54
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Author:
Jack Daniels
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