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Dryad

Data from: A behavioral syndrome of competitiveness in a non-social rodent

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Aug 06, 2024 version files 87.51 KB

Abstract

Animals compete for limited resources and the outcome of intraspecific competition should be determined by individual variation in behavioral traits, such as aggressiveness, and dominance status. Consistent among-individual differences in behavior likely contribute to competitiveness and predispose individuals to acquire specific dominance ranks. In a step towards better understanding these functional links, we studied trait integration into behavioral syndromes, using 26 captive male bank voles (Myodes glareolus). We repeatedly assessed boldness in an emergence test, exploration in an open-field test, aggressiveness in staged dyadic encounters, and the among-individual correlations between these behaviors. We further related these personality traits to dominance rank, from quantifying urine marking value (UMV), as marking in bank voles is related to dominance rank. We found repeatable variations in boldness, exploration, aggressiveness, and UMV, which were correlated at the among-individual level. Aggressiveness tended to be negatively correlated with body condition, a proxy for fitness. Thus, key personality traits and social rank are functionally integrated into a behavioral syndrome of intraspecific competitiveness.