Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68, 1995-2003.

Jacoby, DMP, Fear, LN, Sims, DW and Croft, DP 2014 Shark personalities? Repeatability of social network traits in a widely distributed predatory fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 68, 1995-2003.. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, 68. 1995-2003. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1805-9

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Abstract/Summary

Interest in animal personalities has generated a burgeoning literature on repeatability in individual traits such as boldness or exploration through time or across different contexts. Yet, repeatability can be influenced by the interactive social strategies of individuals, for example, consistent inter-individual variation in aggression is well documented. Previous work has largely focused on the social aspects of repeatability in animal behaviour by testing individuals in dyadic pairings. Under natural conditions, individuals interact in a heterogeneous polyadic network. However, the extent to which there is repeatability of social traits at this higher order network level remains unknown. Here, we provide the first empirical evidence of consistent and repeatable animal social networks. Using a model species of shark, a taxonomic group in which repeatability in behaviour has yet to be described, we repeatedly quantified the social networks of ten independent shark groups across different habitats, testing repeatability in individual network position under changing environments. To understand better the mechanisms behind repeatable social behaviour, we also explored the coupling between individual preferences for specific group sizes and social network position. We quantify repeatability in sharks by demonstrating that despite changes in aggregation measured at the group level, the social network position of individuals is consistent across treatments. Group size preferences were found to influence the social network position of individuals in small groups but less so for larger groups suggesting network structure, and thus, repeatability was driven by social preference over aggregation tendency.

Item Type:	Publication - Article
Additional Keywords:	Aggregation behaviour Elasmobranch Personality Plasticity Repeatability Social traits
Subjects:	Biology
Divisions:	Marine Biological Association of the UK > Ocean Biology
Depositing User:	Mrs Maggie Thomas
Date made live:	14 Dec 2015 12:22
Last Modified:	09 Feb 2024 16:54
URI:	https://plymsea.ac.uk/id/eprint/6661

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