Repeatability estimates do not always set an upper limit to heritability

Dohm, Michael R.

doi:10.1046/j.1365-2435.2002.00621.x

Cited by 306 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…First, we estimated the repeatability estimate of the probability to copy. The repeatability estimate for a trait provides a maximal value for its heritability (Lynch and Walsh, 1998; but see Dohm, 2002), therefore informing about the possible heritability estimate. However, because of high mortality and breeding dispersal rates in our population, individuals very rarely mate with the same partner over several years (less than 2% in our sample), and thus we could not estimate the repeatability of the probability to copy at the pair level, but estimated it first only at the individual level.…”

Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterospecific Nest Site Copying Behavior in a Wild Bird: Assessing the Influence of Genetics and Past Experience on a Joint Breeding Phenotype

et al. 2018

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Breeding site selection is often a joint decision of pair members in species with biparental care and the experience of both pair members may influence the use of information for site selection. Nevertheless, quantitative genetics of joint information use for site selection remains unexplored so far. We used an experimental approach to quantify the relative importance of genetics (heritability) and past experience (age, familiarity with the environment, previous breeding success, previous information use) in heterospecific social information use for nest site selection in wild collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). Flycatchers collect social information from resident tits for nest site selection. We created an apparent preference of tits for a novel nest site feature and recorded choices of flycatchers (copying or rejecting the tit preference). Copying behavior was stronger for naive individuals but also differed between years, which could be explained by contrasting seasonality in the demonstrator species. Past experience as reflected by age affected subsequent use of social information: pairs with a yearling male were more likely to copy the heterospecific preference than pairs with older immigrant males. There was no general pattern in successive individual choices over the years. Accordingly, individual repeatability in copying tit preference was very low. At the pair level, we estimated sex-specific direct and indirect genetic effects on the joint nest site decision and found no sex-specific heritability and no cross-sex genetic correlation. Our results confirm the importance of past experience for social information use and suggest that social information use is highly plastic and most likely not genetically inherited in collared flycatchers. Whether individuals use social information should be related to environmentally-induced changes in the quality of information and thus be context-dependent. Selection may therefore act on the ability to optimally use social information in varying environments and on the processes underlying such adjustment, such as learning, rather than the use of information itself.

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Section: Statistical Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Heterospecific Nest Site Copying Behavior in a Wild Bird: Assessing the Influence of Genetics and Past Experience on a Joint Breeding Phenotype

et al. 2018

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“…Furthermore, our ability to detect a functional relationship between these performance traits depends on high repeatability of individual performance [17]. The repeatability of a trait also determines the upper limit on heritability and represents an estimate of its potential to react to directional selection [[27], but see [28]]. Without repeatability in performance, selection is unlikely to distinguish between high and low performance levels and there would be no directional selection on locomotor performance.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional relations between locomotor performance traits in spiders and implications for evolutionary hypotheses

2010

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BackgroundLocomotor performance in ecologically relevant activities is often linked to individual fitness. Recent controversy over evolution of extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in spiders centres on the relationship between size and locomotor capacity in males. Advantages for large males running over horizontal surfaces and small males climbing vertically have been proposed. Models have implicitly treated running and climbing as functionally distinct activities and failed to consider the possibility that they reflect common underlying capacities.FindingsWe examine the relationship between maximum climbing and running performance in males of three spider species. Maximum running and climbing speeds were positively related in two orb-web spiders with high SSD (Argiope keyserlingi and Nephila plumipes), indicating that for these species assays of running and climbing largely reveal the same underlying capacities. Running and climbing speeds were not related in a jumping spider with low SSD (Jacksonoides queenslandica). We found no evidence of a performance trade-off between these activities.ConclusionsIn the web-spiders A. keyserlingi and N. plumipes good runners were also good climbers. This indicates that climbing and running largely represent a single locomotor performance characteristic in these spiders, but this was not the case for the jumping spider J. queenslandica. There was no evidence of a trade-off between maximum running and climbing speeds in these spiders. We highlight the need to establish the relationship between apparently disparate locomotor activities when testing alternative hypotheses that yield predictions about different locomotor activities. Analysis of slopes suggests greater potential for an evolutionary response on performance in the horizontal compared to vertical context in these spiders.

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“…2 can be greater than t under special circumstances [23], a review of available estimates did not suggest these circumstances were met and suggested that these instances were instead a product of estimation error. This screening reduced the dataset to 71 estimates.…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Datasetmentioning

confidence: 99%

The contribution of additive genetic variation to personality variation: heritability of personality

2015

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Individual animals frequently exhibit repeatable differences from other members of their population, differences now commonly referred to as 'animal personality'. Personality differences can arise, for example, from differences in permanent environmental effects-including parental and epigenetic contributors-and the effect of additive genetic variation. Although several studies have evaluated the heritability of behaviour, less is known about general patterns of heritability and additive genetic variation in animal personality. As overall variation in behaviour includes both the among-individual differences that reflect different personalities and temporary environmental effects, it is possible for personality to be largely genetically influenced even when heritability of behaviour per se is quite low. The relative contribution of additive genetic variation to personality variation can be estimated whenever both repeatability and heritability are estimated for the same data. Using published estimates to address this issue, we found that approximately 52% of animal personality variation was attributable to additive genetic variation. Thus, while the heritability of behaviour is often moderate or low, the heritability of personality is much higher. Our results therefore (i) demonstrate that genetic differences are likely to be a major contributor to variation in animal personality and (ii) support the phenotypic gambit: that evolutionary inferences drawn from repeatability estimates may often be justified.

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Repeatability estimates do not always set an upper limit to heritability

Cited by 306 publications

References 43 publications

Heterospecific Nest Site Copying Behavior in a Wild Bird: Assessing the Influence of Genetics and Past Experience on a Joint Breeding Phenotype

Heterospecific Nest Site Copying Behavior in a Wild Bird: Assessing the Influence of Genetics and Past Experience on a Joint Breeding Phenotype

Functional relations between locomotor performance traits in spiders and implications for evolutionary hypotheses

The contribution of additive genetic variation to personality variation: heritability of personality

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