Abstract
When individuals are measured more than once in the same context they do not behave in exactly the same way each time. The degree of predictability differs between individuals, with some individuals showing low levels of variation around their behavioural mean while others show high levels of variation. This intra-individual variability in behaviour has received much less attention than between-individual variability in behaviour, and very little is known about the underlying mechanisms that affect this potentially large but understudied component of behavioural variation. In this study, we combine standardized behavioural tests in a chicken intercross to estimate intra-individual behavioural variability with a large-scale genomics analysis to identify genes affecting intra-individual behavioural variability in an avian population. We used a variety of different anxiety-related behavioural phenotypes for this purpose. Our study shows that intra-individual variability in behaviour has a direct genetic basis that is largely unique compared to the genetic architecture for the standard behavioural measures they are based on (at least in the detected quantitative trait locus). We identify six suggestive candidate genes that may underpin differences in intra-individual behavioural variability, with several of these candidates having previously been linked to behaviour and mental health. These findings demonstrate that intra-individual variability in behaviour appears to be a heritable trait in and of itself on which evolution can act.
Highlights
Individuals within a population are often repeatable in many aspects of their behaviour [1]
By combining quantitative trait locus (QTL) and expression QTL analyses of the brains of an advanced intercross based on Red Junglefowl and domestic White leghorn chickens we identify putative genes underlying phenotypic differences in intra-individual behavioural variability and to what degree these differ between behavioural trait
We find that intra-individual variability (IIV) in behaviour is replicable between separate traits measured in the same behavioural test and to some extent between traits in different behavioural tests, of similar contexts
Summary
Individuals within a population are often repeatable in many aspects of their behaviour [1]. The degree of intra-individual variation differs between individuals, with some individuals showing low levels of variation around their behavioural mean while others show high levels of variation [4]. Whereas proximate and ultimate causes of inter-individual variation in behaviour has been an area of intense research interest across animal taxa [6], intra-individual variation in behaviour has previously been assumed to be homogenous across individuals. Interest in this field has increased, . Knowledge of the genetic basis of intra-individual behavioural variability can help understand the link between personality and behavioural variability, and to what extent and how intra-individual behavioural variability is consistent in different situations
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