Personality and the emergence of the pace-of-life syndrome concept at the population level

Abstract

The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis specifies that closely related species or populations experiencing different ecological conditions should differ in a suite of metabolic, hormonal and immunity traits that have coevolved with the life-history particularities related to these conditions. Surprisingly, two important dimensions of the POLS concept have been neglected: (i) despite increasing evidence for numerous connections between behavioural, physiological and life-history traits, behaviours have rarely been considered in the POLS yet; (ii) the POLS could easily be applied to the study of covariation among traits between individuals within a population. In this paper, we propose that consistent behavioural differences among individuals, or personality, covary with life history and physiological differences at the within-population, interpopulation and interspecific levels. We discuss how the POLS provides a heuristic framework in which personality studies can be integrated to address how variation in personality traits is maintained within populations.

Animal personality and state–behaviour feedbacks: a review and guide for empiricists

“…When the different mechanisms produce loops with differing directions (A), the net direction of the feedback between state (e.g., body size) and behaviour (foraging boldness) will depend on the relative importance of each of these mechanisms, which varies as a function of predation risk and resource level (i.e., the feedback outcome can be explained as match/mismatch between risk and rewards [16] (e.g., via exposure to parasites) [20]. In essence, positive feedbacks favour either a fast lifestyle associated with bold, aggressive, risky behaviour and rapid reproduction, or a slow lifestyle with cautious behaviour and delayed reproduction [21]. Asset protection, however, can also produce negative feedbacks if, for example, being bold results in increased assets (e.g., increased energy reserves) while being cautious results in an erosion of assets.…”

“…Although this model is couched in terms of co-evolving physiological state variables, the underlying concepts apply to any co-evolving morphological, cognitive, or life history trait that affects the costs or benefits of behavioural actions [55]. Thus this model formalizes the basic logic underlying the Pace of Life syndrome [21] or life history-productivity syndrome [13] ideas that posit the coevolution of fast versus slow general lifestyles including physiology, behaviour and life histories, and of fast/slow cognition syndromes [56].…”

Senescence rates and late adulthood reproductive success are strongly influenced by personality in a long-lived seabird

“…Hence, the allocation to current versus future reproduction may differ, based on the risks and foraging ecology of the sexes. Life-history models predict that bolder birds will have lower survival and should therefore allocate more resources to the current reproductive attempt (fast pace of life; [40]). In wandering albatross, reproductive success and survival (post recruitment) during early adulthood is very high and as such, shows little variation between individuals [21].…”

When the going gets tough: behavioural type-dependent space use in the sleepy lizard changes as the season dries

“…We further predicted that (iii) BTs influence how lizards respond to the ecological predictors and (iv) the effect of lizard BT on space use will intensify as environmental conditions deteriorate. For instance, as aggressive individuals in general explore more superficially and show lower sociability [31], and aggressive male sleepy lizards have weaker social bonds and female following behaviour [30] we predicted that aggressive individuals would be less responsive to changing ecological conditions and the space use of conspecifics.…”