Date: April 8, 2019
Source: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Bold
great tits lay their eggs earlier when under threat, the shy ones put it off.
Such personality differences help maintain the biological variation essential
for the survival of populations, as Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitaet (LMU) in
Munich biologists have now shown.
Bird
populations can adapt to environmental change, as revealed by their flexible
choice of the optimal time for rearing their chicks. Thus high temperatures
induce them to begin nest building and egg-laying early in the year. In colder
years, they tend to postpone the whole business until later. Natural selection
favors such behavioral adaptability -- provided that the required variation is
available, i.e. genetic variants are present that confer 'phenotypic
plasticity' on local populations. A study of great tits (Parus major), carried
out by LMU behavioral biologist Niels Dingemanse and his doctoral student Robin
Abbey-Lee, has now shown that this adaptability is in part attributable to
differences in character and 'personality' between individuals. Their findings
appear in the online journal Nature Communications.
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