Focusing on one group of animals can bring interesting results regarding our attitudes toward them and show the key features that our evaluation of such animals is based on. Thus, we designed a study of human perception of all reptiles focusing on the relationship between perceived fear, disgust, and aesthetic preferences and differences between snakes and other reptiles. Two sets containing 127 standardized photos of reptiles were developed, with one species per each subfamily. Respondents were asked to rate the animals according to fear, disgust, and beauty on a seven-point Likert scale. Evaluation of reptile species shows that people tend to perceive them as two clearly distinct groups based on their similar morphotype. In a subset of lizards, there was a positive correlation between fear and disgust, while disgust and fear were both negatively correlated with beauty. Surprisingly, a positive correlation between fear and beauty of snakes was revealed, i.e., the most feared species also tend to be perceived as beautiful. Snakes represent a distinct group of animals that is also reflected in the theory of attentional prioritization of snakes as an evolutionary relevant threat.
In a fluctuating environment, the optimal level of exploratory behavior depends on the proportion of current risks and benefits. The exploratory behavior is, therefore, often subjected to heterogenous selection. In populations of commensal rodents living in close proximity of humans, this pressure is further increased by pest management. We hypothesize that the black rat (Rattus rattus) responds to this pressure by either high behavioral flexibility or by development of personality types. The aim of this study was to analyze exploratory behavior and boldness of wild black rats and its changes over time to determine whether exploratory behavior is a personality trait in black rats. Studies on animals with unreduced variability are necessary for determination of normal range of behaviors. The behavior in the open field and hole board tests yielded 1 multivariate variable representing exploratory behavior and 1 representing boldness. The hole board test additionally provided an axis representing exploratory behavior. Exploratory behavior showed moderate to high repeatability, even though we observed a considerable effect of habituation. Exploratory behavior was also strongly correlated across contexts; therefore, our results suggest that the black rat responds to heterogenous selection pressure by developing personality types. We also found a strong effect of litter identity on some aspects of the exploratory behavior. Boldness was less repeatable, which we interpret as high behavioral flexibility in this behavioral trait. In concordance with our hypothesis, the personality types in exploratory behavior, but not in boldness, are possibly maintained by heterogenous selection pressure created by human pest management. (PsycINFO Database Record
Recent studies of animal personality have focused on its proximate causation and ecological and evolutionary significance in particular, but the question of its development was largely overlooked. The attributes of personality are defined as between-individual differences in behaviour, which are consistent over time (differential consistency) and contexts (contextual generality) and both can be affected by development. We assessed several candidates for personality variables measured in various tests with different contexts over several life-stages (juveniles, older juveniles, subadults and adults) in the Northern common boa. Variables describing foraging/feeding decision and some of the defensive behaviours expressed as individual average values are highly repeatable and consistent. We found two main personality axes—one associated with foraging/feeding and the speed of decision, the other reflecting agonistic behaviour. Intensity of behaviour in the feeding context changes during development, but the level of agonistic behaviour remains the same. The juveniles and adults have a similar personality structure, but there is a period of structural change of behaviour during the second year of life (subadults). These results require a new theoretical model to explain the selection pressures resulting in this developmental pattern of personality. We also studied the proximate factors and their relationship to behavioural characteristics. Physiological parameters (heart and breath rate stress response) measured in adults clustered with variables concerning the agonistic behavioural profile, while no relationship between the juvenile/adult body size and personality concerning feeding/foraging and the agonistic behavioural profile was found. Our study suggests that it is important for studies of personality development to focus on both the structural and differential consistency, because even though behaviour is differentially consistent, the structure can change.
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