Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context

Lancaster Environment Centre

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Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context. / Mainwaring, Mark Charles; Beal, Jessica L.; Hartley, Ian R.
In: Behavioural Processes, Vol. 87, No. 2, 06.2011, p. 171-175.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/Magazine › Journal article › peer-review

Harvard

Mainwaring, MC, Beal, JL & Hartley, IR 2011, 'Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context', Behavioural Processes, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 171-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005

APA

Mainwaring, M. C., Beal, J. L., & Hartley, I. R. (2011). Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context. Behavioural Processes, 87(2), 171-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005

Vancouver

Mainwaring MC, Beal JL, Hartley IR. Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context. Behavioural Processes. 2011 Jun;87(2):171-175. doi: 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005

Author

Mainwaring, Mark Charles ; Beal, Jessica L. ; Hartley, Ian R. / Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context. In: Behavioural Processes. 2011 ; Vol. 87, No. 2. pp. 171-175.

Bibtex

@article{9eb4333fa8884e1db6975e1edd981c42,

title = "Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context",

abstract = "Despite an expanding interest in animal personalities, the influence of social interactions and sex differences on individual differences in behaviour remains poorly understood. Using the social zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), we tested for behavioural differences in exploration of a novel environment and objects, between individuals of both sexes in relation to a social context; the presence of three male companions, three female companions or no companion birds. We predicted that the presence of conspecific companions should result in focal birds reacting to novelty by exploring more extensively because the companion birds contribute to anti-predator vigilance behaviour and because social isolation often causes behavioural inhibition in social species. We found that exploratory behaviour of focal individuals was significantly reduced in the presence of conspecific companions, irrespective of the companion's sex. Moreover, we found a weak trend towards females being more exploratory than males, irrespective of the social context. These results demonstrate the importance of considering the social context in animal personality studies and of exploring sex differences in personalities",

keywords = "Personality, Exploration, Novel environment, Sex differences, Behavioural syndrome , Social behaviour",

author = "Mainwaring, {Mark Charles} and Beal, {Jessica L.} and Hartley, {Ian R}",

year = "2011",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005",

language = "English",

volume = "87",

pages = "171--175",

journal = "Behavioural Processes",

issn = "0376-6357",

publisher = "Elsevier",

number = "2",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Zebra finches are bolder in an asocial, rather than social, context

AU - Mainwaring, Mark Charles

AU - Beal, Jessica L.

AU - Hartley, Ian R

PY - 2011/6

Y1 - 2011/6

N2 - Despite an expanding interest in animal personalities, the influence of social interactions and sex differences on individual differences in behaviour remains poorly understood. Using the social zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), we tested for behavioural differences in exploration of a novel environment and objects, between individuals of both sexes in relation to a social context; the presence of three male companions, three female companions or no companion birds. We predicted that the presence of conspecific companions should result in focal birds reacting to novelty by exploring more extensively because the companion birds contribute to anti-predator vigilance behaviour and because social isolation often causes behavioural inhibition in social species. We found that exploratory behaviour of focal individuals was significantly reduced in the presence of conspecific companions, irrespective of the companion's sex. Moreover, we found a weak trend towards females being more exploratory than males, irrespective of the social context. These results demonstrate the importance of considering the social context in animal personality studies and of exploring sex differences in personalities

AB - Despite an expanding interest in animal personalities, the influence of social interactions and sex differences on individual differences in behaviour remains poorly understood. Using the social zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), we tested for behavioural differences in exploration of a novel environment and objects, between individuals of both sexes in relation to a social context; the presence of three male companions, three female companions or no companion birds. We predicted that the presence of conspecific companions should result in focal birds reacting to novelty by exploring more extensively because the companion birds contribute to anti-predator vigilance behaviour and because social isolation often causes behavioural inhibition in social species. We found that exploratory behaviour of focal individuals was significantly reduced in the presence of conspecific companions, irrespective of the companion's sex. Moreover, we found a weak trend towards females being more exploratory than males, irrespective of the social context. These results demonstrate the importance of considering the social context in animal personality studies and of exploring sex differences in personalities

KW - Personality

KW - Exploration

KW - Novel environment

KW - Sex differences

KW - Behavioural syndrome

KW - Social behaviour

U2 - 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005

DO - 10.1016/j.beproc.2011.03.005

M3 - Journal article

VL - 87

SP - 171

EP - 175

JO - Behavioural Processes

JF - Behavioural Processes

SN - 0376-6357

IS - 2

ER -

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