Is there a linkage between metabolism and personality in small mammals? The root vole (Microtus oeconomus) example

Lantová, Petra; Zub, Karol; Koskela, Esa; Šíchová, Klára; Borowski, Zbigniew

doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.04.017

Cited by 49 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…Our weak support for a functional link between exploration behaviour and basal metabolic rate adds to the inconclusive support provided by three other studies in natural populations, which found no link (Timonin et al 2011), a positive link, but only in females and only during the non‐reproductive season (Lantová et al 2011), or no link, but correlational selection (Le Galliard et al 2013). At present, we can only speculate as to why between‐individual variation in personality measures shows no straightforward correlation with variation in metabolic rate measures.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Personality and basal metabolic rate in a wild bird population

Bouwhuis

Quinn

Sheldon

et al. 2013

Oikos

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Personality and metabolic rate are predicted to show covariance on methodological and functional grounds, but empirical studies at the individual level are rare, especially in natural populations. Here we assess the relationship between exploration behaviour, an important axis of personality, and basal metabolic rate (BMR) for 680 free‐living great tits Parus major, studied over three years. We find that exploration behaviour is weakly negatively related to BMR among female, but not male, birds. Moreover, we find exploration behaviour to be independent of methodological aspects of BMR measurements (e.g. activity levels, time to acclimatize) which have been suggested to be indicative of personality‐related activity or stress levels during measurement. This suggests that the weak link between exploration behaviour and BMR found here is functional rather than methodological. We therefore test the hypothesis that selection favours covariance between exploration behaviour and metabolic rate, but find no evidence for correlational survival or fecundity selection. Our data therefore provide at best only very weak evidence for a functional link between personality and metabolic rate, and we suggest that studies of personality and metabolic strategies, or personality and daily energy expenditure, are required to further resolve the link between personality and metabolic rate.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 73%

Personality and basal metabolic rate in a wild bird population

Bouwhuis

Quinn

Sheldon

et al. 2013

Oikos

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“…However, this is not uncommon with behavioral tests [37], [45]–[47]. In fact, the four PC:s extracted explained 62.9% of the total variance, which is considerably higher than observed in several comparative studies on chicken behavior (for example, [37], [45]).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 53%

Effects of Hatching Time on Behavior and Weight Development of Chickens

Løtvedt

Jensen

2014

PLoS ONE

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The length of the embryonic period varies both among and within species and can affect the individual phenotype in many ways, both physiologically and behaviorally. In chickens, the hatch window may last 24–48 hours (up to 10% of the incubation time), and studies have shown that incubation length may affect post-hatch growth and physiology. However, little is known about effects on behavior. We therefore investigated how behavior variation correlates with hatching time in the early life of chickens. We also measured egg weight and egg weight loss in relation to hatching time, as well as post-hatch growth. For females, there was a negative correlation between hatch time and body weight from day 4 and throughout the experiment. For males, such a correlation was only observed when testing all hatched males up until day 10. The birds were exposed to a number of behavioral tests, and a principal components analysis was performed on the variables, resulting in four components. For the largest component, termed “Passivity”, a tendency of a difference was found between early and middle male hatchers. Furthermore, a significant difference between early and middle male hatchers was found in the second component, termed “Response to novelty”. In a spatial learning test, late hatchers tended to learn slower. The behavior of females was not significantly affected by hatching time in any of these tests. This study is among the first to demonstrate a link between time of hatching and early behavior in a precocial species like the chicken, and may help shedding light on the evolutionary trade-offs between incubation length and post-hatch traits. The results may also be relevant from a perspective of stress coping and therefore also for animal welfare and productivity in the chicken industry. The mechanisms linking hatching time with post-hatch phenotype remain to be investigated.

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“…There may be some parallels, though, that are secondary to rodent “personality”: energetically costly behaviors, differential activity in the open field, maximal metabolic rate, and general cage activity are correlated and may share some overlapping central mechanisms, but can be dissociated (Della Maggiore and Ralph, 2000; Engel et al, 2009; Jonas et al, 2010; Koteja et al, 1999; Lantova et al, 2011; Morgan and Pfaff, 2001, 2002; Ogawa et al, 2003; Zombeck et al, 2011). …”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of a running wheel to measure activity in rodents: Relationship to energy balance, general activity, and reward

Novak

Burghardt

Levine

2012

Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews

256

210

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Running wheels are commonly employed to measure rodent physical activity in a variety of contexts, including studies of energy balance and obesity. There is no consensus on the nature of wheel-running activity or its underlying causes, however. Here, we will begin by systematically reviewing how running wheel availability affects physical activity and other aspects of energy balance in laboratory rodents. While wheel running and physical activity in the absence of a wheel commonly correlate in a general sense, in many specific aspects the two do not correspond. In fact, the presence of running wheels alters several aspects of energy balance, including body weight and composition, food intake, and energy expenditure of activity. We contend that wheel-running activity should be considered a behavior in and of itself, reflecting several underlying behavioral processes in addition to a rodent's general, spontaneous activity. These behavioral processes include defensive behavior, predatory aggression, and depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. As it relates to energy balance, wheel running engages several brain systems—including those related to the stress response, mood, and reward, and those responsive to growth factors—that influence energy balance indirectly. We contend that wheel-running behavior represents factors in addition to rodents' tendency to be physically active, engaging additional neural and physiological mechanisms which can then independently alter energy balance and behavior. Given the impact of wheel-running behavior on numerous overlapping systems that influence behavior and physiology, this review outlines the need for careful design and interpretation of studies that utilize running wheels as a means for exercise or as a measurement of general physical activity.

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Is there a linkage between metabolism and personality in small mammals? The root vole (Microtus oeconomus) example

Cited by 49 publications

References 54 publications

Personality and basal metabolic rate in a wild bird population

Personality and basal metabolic rate in a wild bird population

Effects of Hatching Time on Behavior and Weight Development of Chickens

The use of a running wheel to measure activity in rodents: Relationship to energy balance, general activity, and reward

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