Quantifying individual variation in behaviour: mixed-effect modelling approaches
TLDR
An overview of how mixed-effect models can be used to partition variation in, and correlations among, phenotypic attributes into between- and within-individual variance components is provided.Abstract:
Growing interest in proximate and ultimate causes and consequences of between- and within-individual variation in labile components of the phenotype - such as behaviour or physiology - characterizes current research in evolutionary ecology. The study of individual variation requires tools for quantification and decomposition of phenotypic variation into between- and within-individual components. This is essential as variance components differ in their ecological and evolutionary implications. We provide an overview of how mixed-effect models can be used to partition variation in, and correlations among, phenotypic attributes into between- and within-individual variance components. Optimal sampling schemes to accurately estimate (with sufficient power) a wide range of repeatabilities and key (co)variance components, such as between- and within-individual correlations, are detailed. Mixed-effect models enable the usage of unambiguous terminology for patterns of biological variation that currently lack a formal statistical definition (e.g. 'animal personality' or 'behavioural syndromes'), and facilitate cross-fertilisation between disciplines such as behavioural ecology, ecological physiology and quantitative genetics.read more
Citations
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Heat stress inhibits cognitive performance in wild Western Australian magpies, Cracticus tibicen dorsalis
TL;DR: The authors found that heat stress had a significant negative effect on cognition in wild Western Australian magpies, with individual pass rates much lower under heat stress than under nonheat stress conditions.
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State dependence explains individual variation in nest defence behaviour in a long-lived bird.
TL;DR: In the barnacle goose Branta leucopsis, this article found that nest defence behaviour differs consistently among individuals and is adjusted to individual state in a direction predicted by adaptive personality theory.
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Fluctuating sexual selection and the evolution of a courtship strategy
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that sexual selection varies with predation risk in ways that might favor the spread of a novel courtship strategy (intimidating courtship) and the maintenance of alternative mating tactics in G. gracilicornis.
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Reduced attachment strength of rocky shore gastropods caused by trematode infection
TL;DR: It is shown that parasitism can weaken snail attachment, and indirectly increase snail mortality, on exposed rocky shores, suggesting a new way in which parasites can affect host population dynamics.
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Evidence for risk-taking behavioural types and potential effects on resource acquisition in a parasitoid wasp
TL;DR: This study investigated the existence of behavioural types and their links with life history traits in the parasitoid hymenopteran Venturia canescens to find no evidence of a pace-of-life syndrome (POLS), and found consistent individual differences in both exploration and activity.
References
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TL;DR: The genetic constitution of a population: Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and changes in gene frequency: migration mutation, changes of variance, and heritability are studied.
Book
Mixed-Effects Models in S and S-PLUS
TL;DR: Linear Mixed-Effects and Nonlinear Mixed-effects (NLME) models have been studied in the literature as mentioned in this paper, where the structure of grouped data has been used for fitting LME models.
Journal Article
Human biochemical genetics
TL;DR: For the next few weeks the course is going to be exploring a field that’s actually older than classical population genetics, although the approach it’ll be taking to it involves the use of population genetic machinery.
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Multilevel analysis : an introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling
Tom A. B. Snijders,Roel Bosker +1 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a multilevel regression model to estimate within-and between-group correlations using a combination of within-group correlation and cross-group evidence.
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Generalized linear mixed models: a practical guide for ecology and evolution
Benjamin M. Bolker,Mollie Elizabeth Brooks,Connie J. Clark,Shane W. Geange,John R. Poulsen,M. Henry H. Stevens,Jada-Simone S. White +6 more
TL;DR: The use (and misuse) of GLMMs in ecology and evolution are reviewed, estimation and inference are discussed, and 'best-practice' data analysis procedures for scientists facing this challenge are summarized.