Individual Life Histories Research Articles

When personality matters: personality and social structure in wild bottlenose dolphins, Tursiops truncatus

There is increasing evidence that animal personality can affect many aspects of an individual's behaviour, life history and fitness. However, there have been few studies about the link between personality and social organization in the context of wild mammals in their own natural environments. This article reports on ecologically relevant data, linking experimental data from the wild to long-term social association data in a socially and cognitively complex mammal species (bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus). Here, I used behavioural data to describe personality differences between bottlenose dolphins and social network analysis to assess the relationship between personality and social structure. First, I measured the reaction of photo-identified individuals over time and across contexts as a trade-off between a novelty-seeking behaviour (boldness) and a novelty-averse behaviour (shyness). Second, I applied social network analysis to understand the link between the observed shy–bold continuum and social organization, while controlling for other factors that could contribute to affiliation. This study presents for the first time consistent individual differences in behavioural response to novelty, as a proxy for the shy–bold continuum, in wild bottlenose dolphins. Bold individuals had a central role in the social network with stronger associations than shy individuals, suggesting that bold individuals may play an important role in group cohesion, group stability and the spread of information through the network. Together, these findings provide insights into how a social network is structured by personality in wild bottlenose dolphins, with potential fitness consequences. Furthermore, this study provides additional evidence of the existence of social personalities in nonhuman animals and contributes to the understanding of the role of personality in determining the extent to which mammals associate with others.

Population dynamics and life history traits of Daphnia magna across thermal regimes of environments

The consequences of raising temperatures have been intensively studied by biologists and ecologists for the past few decades. However, current climatic changes also include many anomalous weather events, such as intra-seasonal heatwaves followed by immediate decreases in temperature. In this study, the responses of population development and life history traits to different thermal regimes were investigated. The freshwater water flea Daphnia magna (Cladocera, Crustacea) was used as a model organism. Daphnia magna populations were monitored under temperature regimes of warm (25 °C), cold (5 °C), synchronous (gradual changes between 25 °C and 5 °C) or stochastic (random changes between 25 °C and 5 °C). Population size of D. magna populations decreased with unpredictability of thermal conditions; the highest density of D. magna was found in the warm environment and the lowest density in the stochastic environment. Thermal regime had significant impact on the prevalence of asexual and sexual reproduction of D. magna. Under a synchronous regime, an accumulation of asexual reproduction was observed during cold episodes; this was followed by a phase of population disturbance, manifesting itself in high fluctuations of asexual reproduction and a pattern of sexual reproduction typical of a cold regime. Under a stochastic regime, the population disturbances were observed throughout the duration of the experiment. Daily observations of individual life history traits revealed that the development of populations under different thermal regimes resulted from the regime-specific survivability of neonates. Population development was also affected by the frequency of reproduction, which consisted of the number of broods carried per lifetime. The results indicate that not only temperature but also shifts in thermal conditions have an important influence on individual life history traits and population dynamics of D. magna. It is important to consider the effects of shifts in water temperature on demographic and individual traits simultaneously because the impact of thermal changes on population traits can be modified by individual life histories.

Insulin-like growth factor 1 is related to the expression of plumage traits in a passerine species

Avian plumage colors and ornaments are excellent models to study the endocrine mechanisms linking sexually selected traits and individual parameters of quality and condition. Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is an evolutionarily highly conserved peptide hormone. Its regulatory role in cell proliferation and differentiation and its high sensitivity to the nutritional state of individuals suggest it as an interesting candidate, possibly providing a link between body condition and individual capacity to grow elaborated ornamental features. We investigated whether IGF-1 levels during molting correlate with the expression of multiple ornaments in a sexually dichromatic passerine species, the bearded reedling (Panurus biarmicus). We collected blood samples of males and females shortly before the molting completed and measured the size and colors of ornamental traits. Our results indicate that in males, structural plumage colors, the size of the melanin-based ornament (beard), and tail length are independent traits. IGF-1 levels are associated with the length of the tail and the expression of male structural plumage components (UV coloration), but not the melanin-based ornament. In females, plumage color and tail length were independent traits, which were not related to IGF-1 levels. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence that IGF-1 could play a role in the development of secondary sexual characters in a bird species.Significance statementIGF-1 is an evolutionarily highly conserved peptide hormone, which recently entered the center stage of research enquiry in evolutionary biology. It is considered as one of the key factors shaping individual life histories, but little is known about its effects on sexually selected traits. We investigated whether IGF-1 levels during molting predict the elaboration of multiple ornamental plumage traits in male and female bearded reedlings (Panurus biarmicus). Our results indicate that higher IGF-1 levels had positive effects on male structural plumage colors and tail feather length. This is the first study, bringing indication for a potential role of IGF-1 in the expression of plumage ornaments in a bird species. Our findings suggest that IGF-1 might serve as an ideal candidate to study the mechanisms linking condition and the capacity to develop sexually selected ornaments.

Islamization of Melayu-Nusantara Society through Language Approach according to Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas

One of the approaches used as an instrument of dakwah as well as islamization in Malay-Nusantara community is language approach. In general, islamization using language approach was carried out in two types, namely by adopting the Arabic words into Malay (lafzhi) and by maintaining the native words of Malay patterned with Hindu-Buddhist nuances but having meaningful Islamic values (maknawi). The objective of this research is to analyze islamization of Malay-Nusantara community through the language approach according to Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas. This research used qualitative method with an individual life history approach. All sorts of data were collected from the biographical books of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas, literature study, documentaries, and various written and physical works of Syed Muhammad Naquib Al-Attas. The process of data collection was done by collecting, reducing, presenting, and formulating conclusion.The results show that islamization by language approach, both lafzhi and maknawi, had a significant influence on islamic society of Malay-Nusantara, especially in Indonesia. It is proven by the establishment of formal Indonesia language that used Arabic and Malay words and patterns and adopted some of those words in the five principles of Pancasila.

Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid: The Pioneer of Islamic Education in Lombok Community West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

This study aims to analyze the role of Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid as a prominent scholar and pioneer of Islamic education for the people of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara Indonesia, and its relevance to modern education today. This study used a qualitative method with an individual life history approach. All data were collected through the character's curriculum vitae, literature, documentation, and evidence of the works left in writing and physically. Data collection is done by collecting, reducing, presenting, and closing with drawing conclusions. Overall, there are four clear pieces of evidence of Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid's role as a pioneer of Islamic education in Lombok society, first; founded the Nahdlatul Wathan Diniyah Islamiyah (NWDI) educational institution in 1937, second; the integration of the curriculum used refers to the style of education in the al-Saulatiyah Madrasah in Makkah, third; transition from classical to classical education (modern), fourth; the application of a tiered education system such as public schools such as the education model in the colonial period. With the establishment of educational institutions, the integration of the curriculum and the style of organizing this education, it has recorded a new history for the world of Islamic education in the people of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara. The emergence of the renewal of Islamic education carried out by Muhammad Zainuddin Abdul Madjid has aroused the enthusiasm of the people of Lombok to establish various Islamic educational institutions with classical and modern styles.

NILAI-NILAI KONSELING PADA PRIBADI KH. ACH HARIRI ABDUL ADHIM

Guidance counseling services or counseling there are several foundations, principles and asaz that must be considered by a counselor as well as supporting personality values. Therefore, the personality of the counselor becomes a support in the continuation of the process of Islamic counseling guidance services for counselees. This study uses a qualitative approach to the study of figures or often also called research figures or research on individual life history (individual life history). The counselor's personality in KH. Hariri Abdul Adhim namely having a pious, patient, compassionate personality to the santri and communicative. While the behavioral change techniques used by KH. Hariri Abdul Adhim told students to use several techniques, namely the technique of candidate for hasanah or advice, the technique of istikomah in giving uswatun hasanah, men'zir to students who were naughty or violating, giving awards or praise to students who excel and pray for students.

Searching for intermediaries An iterative structural deconstruction of personal networks

Sociologists attempt to compare personal networks in order to identify explanatory factors that mayindicatedifferences betweenthem, aboveand beyond individual life histories. However, the usual indicators distinguish a single structural characteristic. In this article we attempt to find a more satisfactory way of explaining the structure of personal networks. We propose an iterative deconstruction of personal networks focused on betweenness centrality which is recalculated by an algorithm at each stage of the process. When applied to a sample of 287 cases gathered by direct interviews, it allows us to establish the betweennesses that are otherwise concealed by higher values, to determine the intermediaries at each stage, to record their exit rank, to characterise all the alters by several criteria and, finally, to take into consideration the number of stages required to deconstruct the network, thereby creating a new indicator of network stratification. These results are coherent with what we know about the evolutions of personal network structures and social roles along the life cycle. In a way, they reflect the imprints that time and life events have left on Ego’s network.

Structure of the Mini-K-J and Its Utility for Measuring Fast Life History Traits in Japanese Undergraduate Students.

Life history theory is useful for taking an evolutionary approach to individual differences. An individual's life history strategy (LHS), based on life history theory, can be measured using the Arizona Life History Battery or a part of it-the Mini-K-as the K-factor. In this study, I examined two research questions regarding the Japanese version of the Mini-K (i.e., Mini-K-J). First, I assessed the construct validity and invariance between sexes of the Mini-K-J because there existed issues with the factor structure of the original Mini-K. These issues were addressed in the original Mini-K, but not in the Japanese version. In particular, I examined whether the instrument consists of a single higher order factor (K-factor) and whether sex invariance exists in the factor structure, following Richardson et al. Second, I assessed criterion validity of the Mini-K-J. In particular, I examined whether the Mini-K-J could capture fast LHS traits in Japanese undergraduates because the Mini-K-J has been validated only using slow LHS traits. The results showed that (1) the Mini-K-J generated a single higher order factor (i.e., K-factor) and five first-order factors, (2) there existed sex invariance of the factor structure, and (3) the higher order K-factor mean might have a different meaning between sexes. These results predominately support Richardson et al. Further, the higher order K-factor of the Mini-K-J could capture fast LHS personality traits. These results suggest that the Mini-K-J would be useful for future studies related to LHS.

İşləyən və evdar qadınların stressə dayanıqlılığının xüsusiyyətləri

In psychology, stress is a feeling of strain and pressure. Small amounts of stress may be desired, beneficial, and even healthy. Positive stress helps improve athletic performance. It also plays a factor in motivation, adaptation, and reaction to the environment. Excessive amounts of stress, however, may lead to bodily harm. Stress can be external and related to the environment, but may also be created by internal perceptions that cause an individual to experience anxiety or other negative emotions surrounding a situation, such as pressure, discomfort, etc., which they then deem stressful. The level of resistance to stress manifests itself at different levels in individual individuals. On the one hand, it has to do with an individual's life history, on the other hand, the environment around him, the type, character, and even sex of the individual's nervous system. In the article, we talked about the stress resistance characteristics of working and non-working women.

Lines of approach for a theory of care/cure in psychoanalysis

Objectives“Mental health” is a crucial issue for today’ societies. But the clinical status of the disorders under consideration is up for debate, thereby complexifying the decision of which therapies to recommend. This article is in dialogue with the current controversies. Its objective is to clarify the conceptual operators of a psychoanalytical theory of care/cure, and to situate them in relation to those of other approaches – focused on the brain, symptoms, or individual experiences. MethodDrawing on an epistemological perspective attentive to clinical practices and basing my reflection on a review of the case reports in Freud's complete works (1886–1939), I propose to extract the “operational schemas” of Freudian psychoanalysis, seen as a renewed form of psychotherapy. ResultsThese “operational schemas” can be divided into two groups, according to the two sides of Freudian practice: the schemas of “caring” and those of “curing.” The first make it possible to focus clinical attention on the universality, typicalness, and uniqueness of each patient. The second, enabling the identification of the onset and genesis of disorders, provides dynamic starting points to achieve improvements or even recoveries, in the psychic sense. DiscussionDefining a Freudian care/cure theory makes it possible to reopen the debate on different forms of therapy. A clinician focusing on the brain or on symptoms alone may neglect the historical, social, and, above all, psychological contextuality (linked to the individual's life history) of so-called “mental” disorders. Focusing on immediate individual experiences, the clinician may likewise neglect the role played by the unconscious, as well as the typical nature of the sufferings addressed – thus disqualifying her/his listening, despite the fact that listening is the foundation of cure/care. ConclusionsGiven these two obstacles, Freudian psychoanalysis provides a holistic and integrative approach. Focusing on the psychodynamic dimension, it offers tailored, pragmatic, inventive, and surprising treatments – the efficiency of which is today measurable and also measured. Even if its concepts are part of the human (and not experimental) sciences, this is why psychoanalysis remains an attractive reference tool for clinicians in training and for a large part of the most experienced practitioners.

Labour's Hidden Soul: Religion at the Intersection of Labour and the Environment

This study examines the intersection of individual life-histories, organisational histories and societal histories and reveals how religion, in several different expressions, serves to provide a connection between justice for workers and justice for the environment in the work of trade unionists. The trade union movement is generally seen as secular, and thus in our life-history interviews finding religion as a backdrop to labour activists’ formation was unexpected. Religion becomes manifest in various ways, partly through experiences in the present or at formative periods in unionists’ lives, but also through its cultural embeddedness in language and collective memory. In this way it serves to provide subtle influences on beliefs, concepts of social justice and daily action.

Continuous Monocyclic and Polycyclic Age Structured Models of Population Dynamics

This paper focuses on the study of continuous age-structured models, or more general, physiologically structured models, which used for detailed and accurate study of population dynamics in many ecological, biological applications and medicine. In contrast to simpler unstructured models, these models allow us to relate the individual life-histories described as fertility and mortality rates of an individual at a given age with population dynamics. Depending from the particularity of reproduction mechanism continuous age-structured models are divided into monocyclic (reproduction occurs only at the one fixed age of individuals) and polycyclic (reproduction occurs with age-dependent probability at some age reproductive window) models. The linear monocyclic age-structured models are used often in cell cycles modelling, in population dynamics of plants, etc. In this case continuous age-structured models allow for obtaining the exact analytical solution. Since the linear and non-linear polycyclic age-structured models are more general then monocyclic models, they coverwider range of applications in life science. But in this case solution of model can be obtained only in the form of recurrent formulae and can be used only in numerical algorithms. Both solutions obtained in this work allow us to study numerically the important dynamical regimes population outbreaks of three types: oscillations with large magnitude, pulse sequence and single pulse. Thus, analysis of continuous age-structured models of population dynamics provides insight into features and particularities of complex dynamical regimes of populations in many applications in biology, ecology and medicine.

Territorial landscapes: incorporating density-dependence into wolf habitat selection studies.

Habitat selection is a process that spans space, time and individual life histories. Ecological analyses of animal distributions and preferences are most accurate when they account for inherent dynamics of the habitat selection process. Strong territoriality can constrain perception of habitat availability by individual animals or groups attempting to colonize or establish new territory. Because habitat selection is a function of habitat availability, broad-scale changes in habitat availability or occupancy can drive density-dependent habitat functional responses. We investigated density-dependent habitat selection over a 19-year period of grey wolf (Canis lupus) recovery in Michigan, USA, using a generalized linear mixed model framework to develop a resource selection probability function (RSPF) with habitat coefficients conditioned on random effects for wolf packs and random year intercepts. In addition, we allowed habitat coefficients to vary as interactions with increasing wolf density over space and time. Results indicated that pack presence was driven by factors representing topography, human development, winter prey availability, forest structure, roads, streams and snow. Importantly, responses to many of these predictors were density-dependent. Spatio-temporal dynamics and population changes can cause considerable variation in wildlife–habitat relationships, possibly confounding interpretation of conventional habitat selection models. By incorporating territoriality into an RSPF analysis, we determined that wolves' habitat use in Michigan shifted over time, for example, exhibiting declining responses to winter prey indices and switching from positive to negative responses with respect to stream densities. We consider this an important example of a habitat functional response in wolves, driven by colonization, density-dependence and changes in occupancy during a time period of range expansion and population increase.

Can Temptation Explain Housing Choices in Later Life?

We use individual life history data from 12 European countries, and duration analysis that controls for unobserved heterogeneity, to investigate whether observed patterns of investment in illiquid assets and housing are consistent with predictions based on "temptation preferences". A motivating model takes into account the standard motives for saving, but also recognises that illiquid financial assets and housing may be used by individuals who find it hard to control the temptation linked to abundant cash on hand. Even controlling for many possible motives for purchasing housing, and for unobserved heterogeneity, a large fraction of individuals become significantly more likely to buy housing after investing in illiquid assets; this finding is consistent with the predictions of the model.

Last Claims: Sexuality and Sexual Imagination in Old Age

Drawing on literary fiction from North and Latin America, England and India, the paper analyzes the intersecting layers of possessive desire and soulful longing in the sexual imagination of the aged protagonists of the novels as they seek to navigate the still powerful current of Eros in the last stage of their lives. The sexual imagination of the elderly person is not only an artifact of individual life history and the stage of his life cycle but also of her cultural narratives that valorize one or the other intersections of desire and longing.The paper also suggests that because of its iconic existence for centuries and a wealth of mythology around it, the Indian lingam, combining both male and female sexual energies, is perhaps better suited than the Lacanian phallus as a symbol that counteracts the loss of sexual vitality.

Can temptation explain housing choices over the life cycle?

AbstractWe use individual life history data from 12 European countries, and duration analysis that controls for unobserved heterogeneity, to investigate whether observed patterns of investment in illiquid assets and housing are consistent with predictions based on “temptation preferences”. A motivating model takes into account the standard motives for saving, but also recognises that illiquid financial assets and housing may be used by individuals who find it hard to control the temptation linked to abundant cash on hand. Even controlling for many possible motives for purchasing housing, and for unobserved heterogeneity, a large fraction of individuals become significantly more likely to buy housing after investing in illiquid assets; this finding is consistent with the predictions of the model.

DIURNAL AND NOCTURNAL HABITAT USE IN RETICULATE COLLARED LIZARDS (CROTAPHYTUS RETICULATUS)

Patterns of habitat use in animals can vary over time and space in predictable ways. For ectotherms, behavioral cycles are tightly linked to varying temperatures in the environment such that microhabitat availability can constrain individual performance, fitness, and life history. A long history of research on diurnal microhabitat use in lizards exists; however, comparatively little is known about nocturnal microhabitat use that might also constrain individual lizard performance, fitness, and life history. In this study, we compared diurnal and nocturnal microhabitat sites of the reticulate collared lizard (Crotaphytus reticulatus), a threatened species in Texas, to available microhabitat sites. We found significant differences between diurnal and nocturnal microhabitat characteristics, and both of these were significantly different from random microhabitat sites available. We observed that C. reticulatus used diurnal and nocturnal microhabitats with a gravel substrate and scattered boulders that were covered by a short overstory of woody and succulent plants rather than more heavily vegetated sites with dense grasses and forbs. We also observed that diurnal microhabitats were moderately open, shallow gravel slopes compared with nocturnal microhabitats that contained dense thickets of woody and succulent plants. The open, gravelly characteristics of diurnal microhabitats with occasional vegetative structure were more consistent with microhabitat descriptions of other Crotaphytids, which as a group are visual predators. However, the daily shift to dense, thorny plant cover at night appears unique to C. reticulatus among Crotaphytids in general. This study suggests that private land stewardship across the C. reticulatus distribution in Texas has benefitted the species by maintaining habitat used by the lizard, and it suggests that future conservation actions for the species will be most successful with continued engagement with private landowners.

Wild zebra finches that nest synchronously have long-term stable social ties.

Many animals live and breed in colonies, and yet, with just a few exceptions, the value of the social bonds between colony members has rarely been examined. Social ties are important for group coordination at collective tasks, and social coordination can facilitate synchronized reproduction among colony members. Synchronized reproduction in turn can amplify the benefits of coloniality, such as social foraging and predator avoidance. We conducted a field study to investigate whether synchronized reproduction among individuals in replicated colonies is linked to the strength of their social bond, and whether these strong bonds are maintained beyond the reproductive period. We PIT-tagged wild zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata), monitoring their reproduction and social foraging over two consecutive years. We then used social network analysis to characterize the strength of social bonds among birds in the population. We show that birds that are more synchronized in their reproductive timing (and breed in the same colony) had significantly stronger social ties both during and after reproduction than expected by chance. Our long-term sampling also revealed that the strong social ties between synchronized breeders were carried over across years. Our study reveals a strong correspondence between synchronized breeding and the social structure of the breeding colony. This suggests that the synchrony between pairs is not a simple process based on opportunity, but a mechanism underpinned by more complex sociality, which could be carried over to other behavioural contexts. The maintenance of cross-contextual social ties across years suggests that social structure could have extensive consequences on the overall life history of individuals in addition to playing a key role for the reproductive dynamics of colonial breeders.

Esquisse d’une théorie du soin en psychanalyse

Objectives“Mental health” is today a crucial issue for our societies. But the clinical understanding of the disorders concerned is still under debate, making it more difficult to assess which therapies are to be recommended. This article is part of the current controversies. Its objective is to clarify the conceptual operators of a psychoanalytical theory of care/cure, and to situate them in relation to those of other approaches – focused on the brain, symptoms, or individual experiences. MethodDrawing on an epistemological perspective attentive to clinical practices and basing our reflexion on a review of the case reports in Freud's complete works (1886–1939), we propose to extract the “operator schemes” of Freudian psychoanalysis, seen as a renewed form of psychotherapy. ResultsThese “operator schemes” can be divided into two groups, according to the two sides of Freudian practice: the schemes of “caring” and those of “curing”. The first make it possible to focus clinical attention on the universality, typicality and uniqueness of each patient. The second, enabling the identification of the onset and genesis of disorders provides dynamic starting-points to achieve improvements or even recoveries, in the psychic sense. DiscussionDefining a Freudian care/cure theory makes it possible to reopen the debate on the different forms of therapy. A clinician focusing on the brain or symptoms alone may neglect the historical, social and above all psychological contextuality (linked to the individual's life history) of so-called “mental” disorders. Focusing on immediate individual experiences, the clinician may likewise neglect the unconscious part, as well as the typical nature of the sufferings addressed – thus disqualifying his/her listening, despite the fact that listening is the foundation of cure/care. ConclusionsGiven these two obstacles, Freudian psychoanalysis provides a holistic and integrative approach. Focusing on the psychodynamic dimension, it offers tailored, pragmatic, inventive and surprising treatments – the efficiency of which is today measurable and also measured. Even if its concepts are part of the human (and not experimental) sciences, this is why psychoanalysis remains an attractive reference tool for clinicians in training and for a large part of the most experienced practitioners.

Individual variation in early-life telomere length and survival in a wild mammal.

Individual variation in survival probability due to differential responses to early-life environmental conditions is important in the evolution of life histories and senescence. A biomarker allowing quantification of such individual variation, and which links early-life environmental conditions with survival by providing a measure of conditions experienced, is telomere length. Here, we examined telomere dynamics among 24 cohorts of European badgers (Meles meles). We found a complex cross-sectional relationship between telomere length and age, with no apparent loss over the first 29months, but with both decreases and increases in telomere length at older ages. Overall, we found low within-individual consistency in telomere length across individual lifetimes. Importantly, we also observed increases in telomere length within individuals, which could not be explained by measurement error alone. We found no significant sex differences in telomere length, and provide evidence that early-life telomere length predicts lifespan. However, while early-life telomere length predicted survival to adulthood (≥1 year old), early-life telomere length did not predict adult survival probability. Furthermore, adult telomere length did not predict survival to the subsequent year. These results show that the relationship between early-life telomere length and lifespan was driven by conditions in early-life, where early-life telomere length varied strongly among cohorts. Our data provide evidence for associations between early-life telomere length and individual life history, and highlight the dynamics of telomere length across individual lifetimes due to individuals experiencing different early-life environments.