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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Temporal overlap and repeatability of feather corticosterone levels: practical considerations for use as a biomarker
TL;DR: It is found that different feathers contained different levels of feather corticosterone, complicating categorization of low- and high-stress individuals.
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Leveraging multidimensional heterogeneity in resource selection to define movement tactics of animals
TL;DR: A framework for investigating individual variation in movement-defined resource selection that integrates the behavioural and ecological niche concepts is introduced and applied to long-term tracking data of 115 African elephants, illustrating how a behavioural hypervolume can be defined based on differences between individuals and their ecological settings.
Journal ArticleDOI
Exploring patterns of variation in clutch size-density reaction norms in a wild passerine bird
Marion Nicolaus,Jon E. Brommer,Richard Ubels,Joost M. Tinbergen,Niels Jeroen Dingemanse,Niels Jeroen Dingemanse +5 more
TL;DR: It is shown that females reduced clutch size with increasing population density, differed strongly in their average clutch size at the population‐mean density, and that the latter variation was partly heritable, while level of plasticity is thus not likely to evolve in response to selection in this population.
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Perceived predation risk affects sleep behaviour in free-living great tits, Parus major
Erica F. Stuber,M. M. Grobis,Robin N. Abbey-Lee,Bart Kempenaers,Jakob C. Mueller,Niels Jeroen Dingemanse +5 more
TL;DR: It is demonstrated that individual great tits modify their sleep behaviour in response to changes in predation risk, and ecological factors including exposure to predators, resource availability and reproductive competition may act as significant constraints on natural sleep patterns.
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The Roles of Sex, Mass and Individual Specialisation in Partitioning Foraging-Depth Niches of a Pursuit-Diving Predator
Norman Ratcliffe,Akinori Takahashi,Claire O’Sullivan,Stacey Adlard,Philip N. Trathan,Michael P. Harris,Sarah Wanless +6 more
TL;DR: Niche partitioning in the study population appears to be achieved through the interactive effects of individual specialisation and gender upon vertical foraging patch selection, and has the potential to interact in complex ways with other axes of the niche hypervolume such as foraging locations, timing of foraging and diet.
References
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