Abstract
BackgroundIndividual differences in social behaviour may have consequences for mate choice and sexual signalling, because partners should develop preferences for personalities that maximize reproductive output. Here we propose that behavioural traits involved in sexual advertisement may serve as good indicators of personality, which is fundamental for sexual selection to operate on temperament. Bird song has a prominent and well-established role in sexual selection, and it displays considerable variation among individuals with a potentially strong personality component. Therefore, we predicted that features of song would correlate with estimates of personality.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn a field study of free-living male collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, we characterised personality based on the exploration of an altered breeding environment, and based on the risk taken when a potential predator was approaching during a simulated territorial interaction. We found that explorative and risk-taker individuals consistently sang at lower song posts than shy individuals in the presence of a human observer. Moreover, males from lower posts established pair-bonds relatively faster than males from higher posts.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results may demonstrate that risk taking during singing correlates with risk taking during aggression and with exploration, thus personality may be manifested in different contexts involving sexual advertisement. These findings are in accordance with the hypothesis that the male's balance between investment in reproduction and risk taking is reflected in sexual displays, and it may be important information for choosy females that seek partners with personality traits enhancing breeding success.
Highlights
Personality, i.e. the consistency of behavioural responses displayed in different situations, determines how individuals generally cope with challenges in their physical and social environment [1,2,3]
The strongest relationship was found for song post exposure, which indicated that males that sang at relatively low posts were explorative in the altered breeding environment test (Figure 1A)
The relationship between different personality traits and song post exposure was similar when the effects of arrival date and time of observation were held constant, when we controlled for the co-variation between song variables, and when we factored out local breeding experience
Summary
Personality, i.e. the consistency of behavioural responses displayed in different situations, determines how individuals generally cope with challenges in their physical and social environment [1,2,3]. Personality traits may shape mating decisions, because certain behavioural characteristics indicate individual qualities that affect reproductive output [14,15,16]. In species with social monogamy and biparental care (such as in humans and many passerine birds), individuals can mate assortatively, because pair members may prefer matching their personalities in a way that promote efficient cooperation between them resulting in mutual reproductive benefits [18,19]. Individual differences in social behaviour may have consequences for mate choice and sexual signalling, because partners should develop preferences for personalities that maximize reproductive output. We predicted that features of song would correlate with estimates of personality
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