Biology subjects

Dingemanse, N.

Publications and source records attributed to Dingemanse, N..

5 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2025

State or personality trait: Determinants of boldness and shoal size preference in adult zebrafish

Animals adjust their behavior in response to physiological states to optimize the trade-off between energy acquisition and survival. A key question in animal personality research is whether behavioral variation is driven by consistent physiological state differences or stable personality traits. This study evaluates boldness and shoal size discrimination in adult male zebrafish (Danio rerio) across three hunger states: same-day feeding (H0), 24-hour food deprivation (H1), and 48-hour food deprivation (H2). Behavioral assessments were conducted over two testing cycles, with each individual undergoing every test twice for each hunger state within each cycle. The assays comprised the Open Field Test (OFT), Emergence Test (ET), and Social Preference Test (SPT), with the SPT conducted under binary (4 vs. 2 fish) and ternary (4 vs. 2 vs. 1 fish) choice conditions. Hunger significantly reduced emergence latency, but did not affect exploratory behavior in the OFT. Hunger also enhanced preference for larger shoals above chance in the binary SPT during the second testing cycle, though this effect was absent in ternary choices. Testing cycle effects revealed habituation-driven increases in boldness in both the tests and a progressive shift toward larger shoal preferences in the binary SPT. Among all assays, only the OFT showed significant repeatability, making it a reliable measure of boldness. However, it did not show consistent individual differences in plasticity due to hunger. These results highlight the crucial role of labile physiological states, such as hunger and habituation, in driving behavioral variation and underscore the importance of designing studies that disentangle state-dependent behaviors from stable personality traits in animal personality research.

animal behavior and cognition↗

bioRxiv2024

Continent-wide drivers of spatial synchrony in age structure across wild great tit populations

Spatio-temporal variation in age structure influences population dynamics, yet we have limited understanding of the spatial scale at which its fluctuations are synchronised between populations. Using 32 great tit populations, spanning 3200km and >130,000 birds across 67 years, we quantify spatial synchrony in breeding age structure and its drivers. We show that larger clutch sizes, colder winters and summers, and larger beech crops lead to younger populations. We report distant-dependent spatial synchrony of age structure, which is maintained at approximately 650km. Despite covariation with age structure, reproductive and environmental variables do not influence the scale of synchrony, except for a moderate effect of beech masting. We suggest that local ecological and density-dependent dynamics impact how environmental variation interacts with age structure, influencing estimates of the environments effect on spatial synchrony. Our analyses demonstrate the operation of synchrony in age structure over large scales, with implications for age-dependent demography in populations.

ecology↗

bioRxiv2023

German Ixodes inopinatus samples may not actually represent this tick species

Ticks are important vectors of human and animal pathogens, but many questions remain unanswered regarding their taxonomy. Molecular sequencing methods have allowed research to start understanding the evolutionary history of even closely related tick species. Ixodes inopinatus is considered a sister species and highly similar to Ixodes ricinus, an important vector of many tick-borne pathogens in Europe, but identification between these species remains ambiguous with disagreement on the geographic extent of I. inopinatus. In 2018-2019, 1583 ticks were collected from breeding great tits (Parus major) in southern Germany, of which 45 were later morphologically identified as I. inopinatus. We aimed to confirm morphological identification using molecular tools. Utilizing two genetic markers (16S rRNA, TROSPA) (n=37) and whole genome sequencing of specific ticks (n=8), we were able to determine that German samples morphologically identified as I. inopinatus, genetically represent I. ricinus regardless of previous morphological identification and most likely are not I. ricinus/I. inopinatus hybrids. Further, our results showed that the entire mitochondrial genome, let alone singular mitochondrial genes (i.e., 16S), is unable to distinguish between I. ricinus and I. inopinatus. As most examples of I. inopinatus in Germany were based on morphology and mitochondrial sequences, the results of the current study brings into question whether I. inopinatus was properly identified in previous research and if this species exists in Central Europe. Our results highlight the power of utilizing genomic data in answering questions regarding tick taxonomy even when closely related species are considered. HighlightsO_LIGerman Ixodes inopinatus samples represent I. ricinus based on genomic data C_LIO_LIThe mitochondrial genome is not sufficient for delineation of I. inopinatus and I. ricinus C_LIO_LIGerman samples most likely do not represent I. ricinus/I. inopinatus hybrids C_LI

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Repeated genomic signatures of adaptation to urbanisation in a songbird across Europe

Urbanisation is currently increasing worldwide, and there is now ample evidence of phenotypic changes in wild organisms in response to this novel environment, but the extent to which this adaptation is due to genetic changes is poorly understood. Current evidence for evolution is based on localised studies, and thus lacking replicability. Here, we genotyped great tits (Parus major) from nine cities across Europe, each paired with a rural site, and provide evidence of repeated polygenic responses to urban habitats. In addition, we show that selective sweeps occurred in response to urbanisation within the same genes across multiple cities. These genetic responses were mostly associated with genes related to neural function and development, demonstrating that genetic adaptation to urbanisation occurred around the same pathways in wildlife populations across a large geographical scale.

evolutionary biology↗

bioRxiv2019

Intra-individual behavioural variability: a trait under genetic control

When individuals are measured more than once in the same context they do not behave in exactly the same way each time. The degree of predictability differs between individuals, with some individuals showing low levels of variation around their behavioural mean while others show high levels of variation. This intra-individual variation in behaviour has received much less attention than between-individual variance in behaviour and very little is known about the underlying mechanisms that affect this potentially large but understudied component of behavioural variation. In this study, we combine standardized behavioural tests to estimate intra-individual behavioural variance with a large-scale genetical genomics analysis to identify genes affecting intra-individual variability in an avian population. Our study shows that within-individual variance in behaviour has a direct genetic basis which is largely unique compared to the genetic architecture for the standard behavioural measures they are based on. We identify six candidate genes underlying variation in intra-individual behavioural variability many of which have previously been linked to behaviour and mental health. These findings demonstrate that within-individual variability in behavioural is a heritable trait in and of itself on which evolution can act.

evolutionary biology↗