Modulation of ecosystem services by animal personalities

Hunter, Malcolm L.; Boone, Sara R.; Brehm, Allison M.; Mortelliti, Alessio

doi:10.1002/fee.2418

Cited by 17 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 48 publications

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“…With the rise of interest in animal personality, or sometimes referred to as temperament or coping style in different fields [2,3], this trend has come under increasing challenge [4][5][6]. The notion of animal personality has widened the traditional view of animal behaviors and offered important insights and implications for the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms and fitness consequences of animal personality at different levels, from individual and population (e.g., [7][8][9][10]) to community (e.g., [11,12]) and ecosystem services (e.g., [13]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-specific variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats

et al. 2023

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Animals may show consistent among-individual behavioral differences over time and in different contexts, and these tendencies may be correlated to one another and emerge as behavioral syndromes. The cross-context variation in these behavioral tendencies, however, is rarely explored with animals in contexts associated with different locomotion modes. This study assessed the variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats Miniopterus fuliginosus in southern Taiwan, and the effects of contextual settings associated with locomotion mode. The bats were sampled in the dry winter season, and their behaviors were measured in hole-board box (HB) and tunnel box (TB) tests, both suited for quadrupedal movements of the bats, and flight-tent (FT) tests that allowed for flying behaviors. The bats in the FT tests showed more interindividual and between-trial behavioral variation than those in the HB and TB tests. Nearly all of the behaviors in the TB and FT tests, but only half of those in the HB tests, showed medium to high repeatability. These repeatable behaviors were grouped into distinct behavioral traits of boldness, activity, and exploration, which were correlated to one another across contexts. In addition, we observed a consistently higher correlation between behavioral categories across the HB and TB contexts than between either of these contexts and the FT context. The results indicate consistent among-individual behavioral differences across time and contexts in wildly caught bent-wing bats. The findings of behavioral repeatability and cross-context correlations also indicate context-dependent variation and suggest that test devices which allow for flight behaviors, such as flight tents or cages, may provide a more suitable setting for measuring the behaviors and animal personalities of bats, particularly for those species that display less or little quadrupedal movements.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Context-specific variation and repeatability in behavioral traits of bent-wing bats

et al. 2023

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“…If interindividual differences in behavior is a previously unidentified factor generating context dependence, the loss of certain individuals may drive relationships to the tipping point, poised to shift from mutualism to antagonism. Anthropogenic changes can modify the distribution of personalities within populations ( 32 , 37 – 39 ); thus, if personality traits drive an individual’s ecological role ( 40 ), altering habitat may impose unexpected consequences on the mutualisms we all depend on. Further, implications of this work could reach far beyond the seed dispersal mutualism; similar mechanisms may shape pollination and plant protection mutualisms where deliberate animal behavior is the driving force.…”

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confidence: 99%

Small mammal personalities generate context dependence in the seed dispersal mutualism

Brehm

Mortelliti

2022

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Significance Mutualisms are foundational components of ecosystems and give rise to essential services such as seed dispersal and pollination. Ecologists believe that nearly every species is involved in one or more mutualisms, but it is unknown how consistent behavioral differences among individuals, or personalities, may influence an individual’s role. We scored individuals on a continuum from antagonistic to mutualistic given their contributions to the seed dispersal mutualism and found that personalities affect the extent to which individuals are mutualistic. These findings suggest a novel mechanism generating context dependence in mutualisms and underscore the need to incorporate behavioral diversity into conservation and restoration efforts.

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“…But do individual animal personalities affect the health of ecosystems and species conservation? Hunter et al (2022) argue so. They developed the notion that animal personalities modulate ecosystem services, focusing on how those personalities affect pollination, seed dispersal, pest regulation, ecotourism, and soil processes.…”

Section: Predator Personalities Alter Ecosystem Servicesmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…For example, by modifying personalities in a proportion of predators that coexist with humans (eg urban carnivores [Breck et al 2019]; depredation management [Swan et al 2017;Hunter et al 2022]), resource managers may maximize ecological services to humans (eg public health benefits [Braczkowski et al 2018]) and minimize humanwildlife conflicts (eg beneficial predation of animals considered as agricultural "pests" [Jhala et al 2019]). Widespread lethal control and recreational hunting may also affect facets of predator personalities differently (eg boldness/aggressiveness [Hunter et al 2022]; dispersal propensity), given that such actions have altered behavioral traits in other species (Ciuti et al 2012). Studying the variation of personality traits among individuals ecosystem engineer), then predators of that species can have outsized ecological impacts.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Variation in animal personalities with respect to the ecological impact of predation has important practical applications because in some cases modifying animal personalities in a population may be possible. For example, by modifying personalities in a proportion of predators that coexist with humans (eg urban carnivores [Breck et al 2019]; depredation management [Swan et al 2017;Hunter et al 2022]), resource managers may maximize ecological services to humans (eg public health benefits [Braczkowski et al 2018]) and minimize humanwildlife conflicts (eg beneficial predation of animals considered as agricultural "pests" [Jhala et al 2019]). Widespread lethal control and recreational hunting may also affect facets of predator personalities differently (eg boldness/aggressiveness [Hunter et al 2022]; dispersal propensity), given that such actions have altered behavioral traits in other species (Ciuti et al 2012).…”

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confidence: 99%

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