Relationships between personality traits and the physiological stress response in a wild mammal.

Autor: Santicchia F; Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Environment Analysis and Management Unit - Guido Tosi Research Group - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy., Wauters LA; Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Environment Analysis and Management Unit - Guido Tosi Research Group - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.; Department of Biology, Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Wilrijk, Belgium., Dantzer B; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA.; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 830 North University, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA., Westrick SE; Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, 530 Church Street, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USA., Ferrari N; Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy.; Centro di Ricerca Coordinata Epidemiologia e Sorveglianza Molecolare delle Infezioni, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milano, Italy., Romeo C; Department of Veterinary Medicine, Università degli Studi di Milano, Via Celoria 10, 20133 Milano, Italy., Palme R; Unit of Physiology, Pathophysiology and Experimental Endocrinology, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria., Preatoni DG; Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Environment Analysis and Management Unit - Guido Tosi Research Group - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy., Martinoli A; Department of Theoretical and Applied Sciences, Environment Analysis and Management Unit - Guido Tosi Research Group - Università degli Studi dell'Insubria, Via J. H. Dunant 3, 21100 Varese, Italy.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Current zoology [Curr Zool] 2020 Apr; Vol. 66 (2), pp. 197-204. Date of Electronic Publication: 2019 Aug 16.
DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoz040
Abstrakt: Glucocorticoids (GCs) are involved in the regulation of an animal's energetic state. Under stressful situations, they are part of the neuroendocrine response to cope with environmental challenges. Animals react to aversive stimuli also through behavioral responses, defined as coping styles. Both in captive and wild populations, individuals differ in their behavior along a proactive-reactive continuum. Proactive animals exhibit a bold, active-explorative and social personality, whereas reactive ones are shy, less active-explorative and less social. Here, we test the hypothesis that personality traits and physiological responses to stressors covary, with more proactive individuals having a less pronounced GC stress response. In wild populations of invasive gray squirrels Sciurus carolinensis , we measured fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGMs), an integrated measure of circulating GCs, and 3 personality traits (activity, sociability, and exploration) derived from open field test (OFT) and mirror image stimulation (MIS) test. Gray squirrels had higher FGMs in Autumn than in Winter and males with scrotal testes had higher FGMs than nonbreeding males. Personality varied with body mass and population density. Squirrels expressed more activity-exploration at higher than at lower density and heavier squirrels had higher scores for activity-exploration than animals that weighed less. Variation in FGM concentrations was not correlated with the expression of the 3 personality traits. Hence, our results do not support a strong association between the behavioral and physiological stress responses but show that in wild populations, where animals experience varying environmental conditions, the GC endocrine response and the expression of personality are uncorrelated traits among individuals.
(© The Author(s) (2019). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Editorial Office, Current Zoology.)
Databáze: MEDLINE