Flockmate or loner? Identifying the genes behind sociality in chickens

Date:  May 3, 2018

Source:  Linköping University

Five genes that affect sociality-related behaviour in chickens have been identified by researchers at Linköping University in Sweden. Several of the genes have been previously linked to nervous system function or behaviour. The new study, which is published in Genetics, is the first that assigns these genes a role in sociality.

Sociality and social behaviour covers a wide range of behaviours. Dogs seeking human contact and honeybees using complex waggle dances to exchange information on where to find good food sources are two examples from the animal world. But what actually governs social behaviour?

"By identifying the genes responsible for the variation in such sociality we can understand how sociality is formed and how social behaviour is controlled at a genetic level. Why some people or animals are more gregarious by nature and others more independent is just one such example," says Dominic Wright, senior lecturer at the Department of Physics, Chemistry and Biology (IFM), who has led the study.

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Birds choose their neighbors based on personality

Date: May 7, 2017

Source: University of Oxford

Birds of a feather nest together, according to a new study which has found that male great tits (Parus major) choose neighbours with similar personalities to their own.

Oxford University researchers investigated whether the personality of birds influences their social lives -- in particular who they choose to nest near. The study involved analysing social network structure in a population of wild great tits at Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire, over six consecutive breeding seasons.

Lead author and doctoral student Katerina Johnson explained: 'We found that males, but not females, were picky about personalities, with males opting for like-minded neighbours. Our results emphasise that social interactions may play a key role in animal decisions.'

This tendency for males to associate with other males of similar personality may be particularly important during the breeding season when aggression peaks. Males fiercely defend their territories and compete for opportunities to mate with females and so shyer males may avoid setting up home near bolder, more aggressive individuals. Females, however, likely choose where to nest based on the attractive qualities of males.

The results also showed that this personality assortment amongst males was not affected by local environmental conditions. 'Just like students choosing their flatmates," Katerina commented, 'birds may pay more attention to who they share their living space with than simply location." She added: "Animal personalities can influence their social organisation and humans are likewise known to form social networks based on shared attributes including personality.'

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Being social: Learning from the behavior of birds

Date:

September 17, 2014

Source:

National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS)

Summary:

Science has learned a great deal about complex social behavior by studying nonhuman mammals and primates, but parrots might have something to teach too. A new study -- the first to quantify the social lives of parrots using social network analysis -- provides intriguing new insights into parrot sociality revealing a sophisticated social structure with layers of relationships and complex interactions.

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Wild Sparrow Study Traces Social Behaviors in the Field to Specific Gene

Jan. 14, 2014 — A unique study of the white-throated sparrow has identified a biological pathway connecting variation in the birds' aggression and parenting behaviors in the wild to variation in their genome.

The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) is publishing the results of the experiments, conducted by the lab of neuroscientist Donna Maney in Emory's Department of Psychology.

The research, which comprised behavioral observations of the study subjects in the field and laboratory analyses of their gene expression in the brain, showed that variation in the expression of the estrogen receptor alpha (ER-alpha) gene strongly predicts the birds' behavior.

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