Evolution of personality and locomotory performance traits during a late Pleistocene island colonization in a tree frog

Abstract

Recent empirical and theoretical studies suggest that personality and locomotory performance traits linked to dispersal abilities are crucial components of the dispersal syndromes, and that they can evolve during range expansions and colonization processes. Island colonization is one of the best characterised processes in dispersal biogeography, and its implication in the evolution of phenotypic traits has been investigated over a wide range of temporal scales. However, the effect of island colonization on personality and performance traits of natural populations, and how these traits could drive island colonization, has been little explored. Noteworthy, no studies have addressed these processes in the context of late-Pleistocene range expansions. Here, we investigated the contribution of island colonization s triggered by post-glacial range expansions to intraspecific variation in personality and locomotory performance traits. We compared boldness, exploration, jumping performance, and stickiness abilities, in populations from three equidistant areas of the Tyrrhenian tree frog Hyla sarda, two from the main island (Corsica Island) and one from the recently colonized island of Elba. Individuals from Elba were significantly bolder than individuals from Corsica, as they emerged sooner from a shelter (p=0.028), while individuals from Corsica showed markedly higher jumping and stickiness performance (both p<0.001), resulting as more performant than those of Elba. We discuss these results in the context of the major microevolutionary processes at play during range expansion, including selection, spatial sorting, founder effects and their possible interaction with local adaptation processes.

The timid invasion: behavioural adjustments and range expansion in a non-native rodent

“…We focused on two aspects of behaviour which are likely to influence individuals' success during the various stages of colonization ( sensu [ 23 ]), i.e. the amount of exploration in an unfamiliar environment and the propensity to take risks, or boldness [ 24 ]. Bolder individuals are expected to reap greater rewards in terms of mates and/or resources, and thus to have better chances to navigate novel or potentially hostile environments (e.g.…”

First brain de novo transcriptome of the Tyrrhenian tree frog, Hyla sarda, for the study of dispersal behavior

“…The postglacial loss of this land bridge prevented subsequent gene flow between the Corsican and Sardinian populations. Interestingly, the genetic and phenotypic legacies of this range expansion event can still be detected in the existing populations of H. sarda (Liparoto, 2020;Canestrelli et al, 2021;Bisconti et al, 2022). Indeed, substantial personality trait variation has been observed among Corsica, Sardinia, and Elba populations, i.e., tree frogs from Corsica showed a shyer personality than tree frogs from Sardinia and Elba (Liparoto et al, 2020;Bisconti et al, 2022).…”

“…Interestingly, the genetic and phenotypic legacies of this range expansion event can still be detected in the existing populations of H. sarda (Liparoto, 2020;Canestrelli et al, 2021;Bisconti et al, 2022). Indeed, substantial personality trait variation has been observed among Corsica, Sardinia, and Elba populations, i.e., tree frogs from Corsica showed a shyer personality than tree frogs from Sardinia and Elba (Liparoto et al, 2020;Bisconti et al, 2022). Thus, H. sarda is an interesting candidate to study the genetic underpinnings of phenotypic trait evolution during range expansion.…”

“…To test the boldness and shyness of individuals, two tests were performed: first to test the propensity of individuals to explore a novel environment and second to measure the latency to exit from a shelter as a proxy for willingness to take risks. Details of the sampling procedures and behavioral tests are described in Bisconti et al (2022). The behavioral phenotypes of each individual are presented in Table 1.…”

Behavioral, physiological, and genetic drivers of coping in a non-human primate

“…Personality, i.e., consistent inter-individual differences, 20 are similar in constructs to coping styles and of significant adaptive value. 4 , 5 , 28 , 29 , 30 While both personality and coping styles can be attributed to individual-level differences, the question remains whether coping styles are mere reflections of personalities in stressful contexts. Scientific research in humans predominantly keeps these two concepts fundamentally distinct, and their associations are studied extensively.…”