Unpredictable animals: individual differences in intraindividual variability (IIV)

Stamps, Judy A.; Briffa, Mark; Biro, Peter A.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2012.02.017

Cited by 264 publications

(333 citation statements)

References 57 publications

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“…Similarly, Briffa et al [3] described six categories of behavioural variation but again arrived at residual variation within individuals as the finest level of behavioural organization. This fine scale residual variation [4] has also been described as consistency [5], stability [6,7] and recently as predictability and intraindividual variation (hereafter IIV) [3,[8][9][10][11]. Although such hierarchies represent a useful framework for discussing the structure of behavioural variation, the levels are not isolated from one another.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual quality and personality: bolder males are less fecund in the hermit crabPagurus bernhardus

2015

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One explanation for animal personality is that different behavioural types derive from different life-history strategies. Highly productive individuals, with high growth rates and high fecundity, are assumed to live life at a fast pace showing high levels of boldness and risk taking, compared with less productive individuals. Here, we investigate among-individual differences in mean boldness (the inverse of the latency to recover from a startling stimulus) and in the consistency of boldness, in male hermit crabs in relation to two aspects of life-history investment. We assessed aerobic scope by measuring the concentration of the respiratory pigment haemocyanin, and we assessed fecundity by measuring spermatophore size. First, we found that individuals investing in large spermatophores also had high concentrations of haemocyanin. Using doubly hierarchical-generalized linear models to analyse longitudinal data on startle responses, we show that hermit crabs vary both in their mean response durations and in the consistency of their behaviour. Individual consistency was unrelated to haemocyanin concentration or spermatophore size, but mean startle response duration increased with spermatophore size. Thus, counter to expectations, it was the most risk-averse individuals, rather than the boldest and most risk prone, that were the most productive. We suggest that similar patterns should be present in other species, if the most productive individuals avoid risky behaviour.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual quality and personality: bolder males are less fecund in the hermit crabPagurus bernhardus

2015

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“…For example, the mean and variance expressions are not independent, and thus one cannot fully understand mean expressions without considering how variation is expressed. Similarly, studies that focus on betweenindividual variation (e.g., personalities and behavioral syndrome) must be able to tease apart between-and within-individual variation (Stamps et al 2012;Cleasby et al 2014). Given this general importance, explicitly considering behavioral variation is likely to shed light on hidden mechanisms in a variety of biological processes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The results show that such behavioral variation is not random noise and can be an important determinant of the fitness of individual foragers. Because behavioral variation always exist in empirical data and the expression can be complex (Stamps et al 2012;Biro and Adriaenssens 2013), understanding it is essential not only for uncovering the importance of behavioral variation itself but also for its influence as a confounding factor in any studies. For example, the mean and variance expressions are not independent, and thus one cannot fully understand mean expressions without considering how variation is expressed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, hermit crabs withdraw into their shells when startled and emerge again when they are left alone. The duration of reemergence is variable when the same individuals is repeatedly observed (Stamps et al 2012). Realized behavioral variation in common experiments would include both between-and within-individual variation, and although within-individual variation explains a larger proportion the total variation than betweenindividual variation (Bell et al 2009), little has been studied about the significance of within-individual variation, especially in non-human animal research (Stamps et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The biological significance of within-individual behavioral variation is not well understood (Stamps et al 2012). In studies of foraging behavior, optimal foraging models are commonly used to understand the ultimate significance of observed behavior (Abrams 1992;Stephens and Krebs 1986;Křivan and Diehl 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Optimal foraging behavior with an explicit consideration of within-individual behavioral variation: an example of predation

Okuyama

2015

Evol Ecol

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Animal behavior is flexible, and the same individual can exhibit variable expressions under the equivalent ecological situations (i.e., within-individual behavioral variation). This study examines the evolution of within-individual behavioral variation using an individual-based model. A common predation scenario is considered where a predator spends a period h to handle and consume a captured prey. The model assumes the handling time of the predator to be a random variable. The average and within-individual variance of handling time are described by l h and r 2 h , respectively, where each individual has its own unique l h and r 2 h . Using a genetic algorithm, the evolution of r 2 h is traced. The results show that natural selection acts on both l h and r 2 h , and the optimal behavioral variation depends on the density of prey. In particular, individuals with high behavioral variance r 2 h are more likely selected when prey density is low. Individual based modeling can be a useful tool for studying the ultimate significance of within-individual behavioral variation and generating empirically testable predictions. The mechanisms of the evolution of within-individual behavioral variation and their ecological implications are discussed.

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Time‐specific convergence and divergence in individual differences in behavior: Theory, protocols and analyzes

Stamps,

Biro

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Over the years, theoreticians and empiricists working in a wide range of disciplines, including physiology, ethology, psychology, and behavioral ecology, have suggested a variety of reasons why individual differences in behavior might change over time, such that different individuals become more similar (convergence) or less similar (divergence) to one another. Virtually none of these investigators have suggested that convergence or divergence will continue forever, instead proposing that these patterns will be restricted to particular periods over the course of a longer study. However, to date, few empiricists have documented time‐specific convergence or divergence, in part because the experimental designs and statistical methods suitable for describing these patterns are not widely known. Here, we begin by reviewing an array of influential hypotheses that predict convergence or divergence in individual differences over timescales ranging from minutes to years, and that suggest how and why such patterns are likely to change over time (e.g., divergence followed by maintenance). Then, we describe experimental designs and statistical methods that can be used to determine if (and when) individual differences converged, diverged, or were maintained at the same level at specific periods during a longitudinal study. Finally, we describe why the concepts described herein help explain the discrepancy between what theoreticians and empiricists mean when they describe the “emergence” of individual differences or personality, how they might be used to study situations in which convergence and divergence patterns alternate over time, and how they might be used to study time‐specific changes in other attributes of behavior, including individual differences in intraindividual variability (predictability), or genotypic differences in behavior.

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Unpredictable animals: individual differences in intraindividual variability (IIV)

Cited by 264 publications

References 57 publications

Individual quality and personality: bolder males are less fecund in the hermit crabPagurus bernhardus

Individual quality and personality: bolder males are less fecund in the hermit crabPagurus bernhardus

Optimal foraging behavior with an explicit consideration of within-individual behavioral variation: an example of predation

Time‐specific convergence and divergence in individual differences in behavior: Theory, protocols and analyzes

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