Schausberger Peter, Gratzer Marian, Strodl Markus A
Department of Behavioural Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Group of Arthropod Ecology and Behavior, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria.
Anim Behav. 2017 May;127:15-21. doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.02.024.
The social environment early in life is a key determinant of developmental, physiological and behavioural trajectories across vertebrate and invertebrate animals. One crucial variable is the presence/absence of conspecifics. For animals usually reared in groups, social isolation after birth or hatching can be a highly stressful circumstance, with potentially long-lasting consequences. Here, we assessed the effects of social deprivation (isolation) early in life, that is, absence of conspecifics, versus social enrichment, that is, presence of conspecifics, on developmental time, body size at maturity, mating behaviour and group-living in the plant-inhabiting predatory mite . Socially deprived protonymphs developed more slowly and were less socially competent in grouping behaviour than socially enriched protonymphs. Compromised social competence in grouping behaviour was evident in decreased activity, fewer mutual encounters and larger interindividual distances, all of which may entail severe fitness costs. In female choice/male competition, socially deprived males mated earlier than socially enriched males; in male choice/female competition, socially deprived females were more likely to mate than socially enriched females. In neither mate choice situation did mating duration or body size at maturity differ between socially deprived and enriched mating opponents. Social isolation-induced shifts in mating behaviour may be interpreted as increased attractiveness or competitiveness or, more likely, as hastiness and reduced ability to assess mate quality. Overall, many of the social isolation-induced behavioural changes in are analogous to those observed in other animals such as cockroaches, fruit flies, fishes or rodents. We argue that, due to their profound and persistent effects, early social deprivation or enrichment may be important determinants in shaping animal personalities.
生命早期的社会环境是脊椎动物和无脊椎动物发育、生理和行为轨迹的关键决定因素。一个关键变量是同种个体的有无。对于通常群居饲养的动物来说，出生或孵化后的社会隔离可能是一种极具压力的情况，可能会产生持久的后果。在这里，我们评估了生命早期社会剥夺（隔离），即同种个体的缺失，与社会丰富，即同种个体的存在，对植食性捕食螨发育时间、成熟时体型、交配行为和群居生活的影响。与社会丰富的若螨相比，社会剥夺的若螨发育更慢，在群居行为中的社交能力更差。群居行为中受损的社交能力表现为活动减少、相互接触减少和个体间距离增大，所有这些都可能带来严重的适应性成本。在雌选/雄竞中，社会剥夺的雄螨比社会丰富的雄螨更早交配；在雄选/雌竞中，社会剥夺的雌螨比社会丰富的雌螨更易交配。在两种交配选择情况下，社会剥夺和丰富的交配对手之间的交配持续时间或成熟时体型均无差异。社会隔离引起的交配行为变化可解释为吸引力或竞争力增强，或者更可能是仓促行事和评估配偶质量的能力降低。总体而言，许多由社会隔离引起的行为变化与在其他动物如蟑螂、果蝇、鱼类或啮齿动物中观察到的变化类似。我们认为，由于其深远而持久的影响，早期社会剥夺或丰富可能是塑造动物个性的重要决定因素。
