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1. Complex sexual-social environments produce high boldness and low aggression behavioral syndromes

   https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1050569  

   Queller, Philip S.; Shirali, Yasmin; Wallace, Kelly J.; DeAngelis, Ross S.; Yurt, Vural; Reding, Luke P.; Cummings, Molly E. (December 2022, Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution)

   Introduction Evidence of animal personality and behavioral syndromes is widespread across animals, yet the development of these traits remains poorly understood. Previous research has shown that exposure to predators, heterospecifics, and urbanized environments can influence personality and behavioral syndromes. Yet, to date, the influence of early social experiences with conspecifics on the development of adult behavioral traits is far less known. We use swordtail fish ( Xiphophorus nigrensis ), a species with three genetically-determined male mating strategies (courtship display, coercion, or mixed strategy) to assess how different early-life social experiences shape adult behavioral development. Methods We raised female swordtails from birth to adulthood in density-controlled sexual-social treatments that varied in the presence of the type of male mating tactics (coercers only, displayers only, coercers and displayers, and mixed-strategists only). At adulthood, we tested females’ boldness, shyness, aggression, sociality, and activity. Results We found that the number of different mating strategies females were raised with (social complexity) shaped behavioral development more than any individual mating strategy. Females reared in complex environments with two male mating tactics were bolder, less shy, and less aggressive than females reared with a single male mating tactic (either courtship only or coercion only). Complex sexual-social environments produced females with behavioral syndromes (correlations between aggression and activity, shyness and aggression, and social interaction and activity), whereas simple environments did not. Discussion Importantly, the characteristics of these socially-induced behavioral syndromes differ from those driven by predation, but converge on characteristics emerging from animals found in urban environments. Our findings suggest that complexity of the sexual-social environment shapes the development of personality and behavioral syndromes to facilitate social information gathering. Furthermore, our research highlights the previously overlooked influence of sexual selection as a significant contributing factor to diverse behavioral development. 

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2. Geographic differences in individual recognition linked with social but not nonsocial cognition

   https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/araf042  

   Pardo-Sanchez, Juanita; Moon, So Eun; Tibbetts, Elizabeth A (May 2025, Behavioral Ecology)

   Tinghitella, Robin (Ed.)

   Abstract Cognition is a complex trait with multiple components that may vary independently or in concert. Thus far, we know little about how geographic differences in behavior are linked with different aspects of cognition. Behavioral differences could be linked with cognition in three ways: with multiple aspects of cognition, some but not other aspects of cognition, or no cognitive differences. Here, we compare cognitive performance in two populations of Polistes fuscatus wasps that differ in their capacity for individual face recognition. Individual recognition involves keeping track of multiple individual relationships and responding appropriately, so it is thought to increase social complexity. As a result, we predicted Michigan wasps that use individual recognition may have better cognitive performance than Pennsylvania wasps that are not able to individually recognize conspecifics. We find that Michigan wasps are more adept at individual face learning than Pennsylvania wasps. However, the populations perform similarly on other cognitive tasks, including color learning and memory, reversal learning, and odor learning and memory. Therefore, population differences in social behavior affect individual face learning, but are not linked with generalized differences in cognition. These findings suggest that socially complex societies may influence the evolution of social cognition specifically. 

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3. Boldness predicts divorce rates in wandering albatrosses ( Diomedea exulans )

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0301  

   Sun, Ruijiao; Van de Walle, Joanie; Patrick, Samantha C.; Barbraud, Christophe; Weimerskirch, Henri; Delord, Karine; Jenouvrier, Stéphanie (September 2022, Biology Letters)

   Personality predicts divorce rates in humans, yet how personality traits affect divorce in wild animals remains largely unknown. In a male-skewed population of wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ), we showed that personality predicts divorce; shyer males exhibited higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. We propose that divorce may be caused by the intrusion of male competitors and shyer males divorce more often because of their avoidance of territorial aggression, while females have easier access to mates regardless of their personality. Thus, personality may have important implications for the dynamics of social relationships. 

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4. Expansion and Accelerated Evolution of 9-Exon Odorant Receptors in Polistes Paper Wasps

   https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msab023  

   Legan, Andrew W; Jernigan, Christopher M; Miller, Sara E; Fuchs, Matthieu F; Sheehan, Michael J (February 2021, Molecular Biology and Evolution)

   Agashe, Deepa (Ed.)

   Abstract Independent origins of sociality in bees and ants are associated with independent expansions of particular odorant receptor (OR) gene subfamilies. In ants, one clade within the OR gene family, the 9-exon subfamily, has dramatically expanded. These receptors detect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs), key social signaling molecules in insects. It is unclear to what extent 9-exon OR subfamily expansion is associated with the independent evolution of sociality across Hymenoptera, warranting studies of taxa with independently derived social behavior. Here, we describe OR gene family evolution in the northern paper wasp, Polistes fuscatus, and compare it to four additional paper wasp species spanning ∼40 million years of evolutionary divergence. We find 200 putatively functional OR genes in P. fuscatus, matching predictions from neuroanatomy, and more than half of these are in the 9-exon subfamily. Most OR gene expansions are tandemly arrayed at orthologous loci in Polistes genomes, and microsynteny analysis shows species-specific gain and loss of 9-exon ORs within tandem arrays. There is evidence of episodic positive diversifying selection shaping ORs in expanded subfamilies. Values of omega (dN/dS) are higher among 9-exon ORs compared to other OR subfamilies. Within the Polistes OR gene tree, branches in the 9-exon OR clade experience relaxed negative (relaxed purifying) selection relative to other branches in the tree. Patterns of OR evolution within Polistes are consistent with 9-exon OR function in CHC perception by combinatorial coding, with both natural selection and neutral drift contributing to interspecies differences in gene copy number and sequence. 

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5. Personality assessment of headstart Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) in human care prior to release

   https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105690  

   Barrett, Lisa P.; Anthony, Kelsea L.; Eliades, Samuel J.; Siler, Cameron D.; Lock, Brad; Snyder, Rebecca J. (July 2022, Applied Animal Behaviour Science)

   The study of animal personality is a growing field that has applications for welfare of animals living in captive settings. We measured personality traits (activity, exploration, and neophobia) in Texas horned lizards (Phrynosoma cornutum) living in human care before they were released to their natal habitat as part of a headstart program. We found evidence of consistent inter-individual differences in activity and exploration, but not neophobia. We also identified a positive correlation between activity and exploration, such that more active lizards were also more likely to explore a novel environment. These results suggest that Texas horned lizards have individual differences in response to their environment, which can inform husbandry decisions. Extensions of this work could also have implications for conservation of Texas horned lizards and for headstart programs focused on reptiles. 

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