Personality traits and behavioral syndromes in differently urbanized populations of house sparrows (Passer domesticus).

Veronika Bókony,András Liker,Zoltán Tóth,Anna Kulcsár,Kevin Mcgraw

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0036639

Veronika Bókony, András Liker + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0036639

Copy DOI

Abstract

Urbanization creates novel environments for wild animals where selection pressures may differ drastically from those in natural habitats. Adaptation to urban life involves changes in various traits, including behavior. Behavioral traits often vary consistently among individuals, and these so-called personality traits can be correlated with each other, forming behavioral syndromes. Despite their adaptive significance and potential to act as constraints, little is known about the role of animal personality and behavioral syndromes in animals' adaptation to urban habitats. In this study we tested whether differently urbanized habitats select for different personalities and behavioral syndromes by altering the population mean, inter-individual variability, and correlations of personality traits. We captured house sparrows (Passer domesticus) from four different populations along the gradient of urbanization and assessed their behavior in standardized test situations. We found individual consistency in neophobia, risk taking, and activity, constituting three personality axes. On the one hand, urbanization did not consistently affect the mean and variance of these traits, although there were significant differences between some of the populations in food neophobia and risk taking (both in means and variances). On the other hand, both urban and rural birds exhibited a behavioral syndrome including object neophobia, risk taking and activity, whereas food neophobia was part of the syndrome only in rural birds. These results indicate that there are population differences in certain aspects of personality in house sparrows, some of which may be related to habitat urbanization. Our findings suggest that urbanization and/or other population-level habitat differences may not only influence the expression of personality traits but also alter their inter-individual variability and the relationships among them, changing the structure of behavioral syndromes.

Highlights

Urbanized areas are expanding and developing at an accelerating rate throughout the world, and this process has profound effects on wildlife [1,2,3,4]
Individuals’ responses were consistent between corresponding situations, as feeding latencies tended to correlate positively between the novel object test and the novel food test (Table 2; P = 0.064 after false discovery rate (FDR) correction), and correlated significantly between the control test and the raptor test (Table 2). This situational consistency implies that latencies in the novelty tests are manifestations of a personality trait related to the explorationavoidance axis whereas latencies in the risky situations express another personality trait related to the bold-shy axis
We have found individual consistency in three behavioral traits in house sparrows, which correspond to three main dimensions of animal personality, namely exploration-avoidance, shyness-boldness, and activity [18]

Summary

Introduction

Urbanized areas are expanding and developing at an accelerating rate throughout the world, and this process has profound effects on wildlife [1,2,3,4]. Urbanization exposes animals to a variety of novel opportunities and risks such as novel food sources [12,13], alternative breeding sites [14,15], and an altered fauna of predators compared to natural habitats [16]. Behavioral adaptations to these challenges may play a crucial role in successful ‘‘city life’’. Behavioral traits often differ among individuals and are expressed consistently over time and across situations; such traits have been termed personality traits or temperament traits [17,18]

Methods

Results

Conclusion