Cassola Francesca Maura, Henaut Yann, Cedeño-Vázquez José Rogelio, Méndez-de la Cruz Fausto Roberto, Morales-Vela Benjamín
El Colegio de la Frontera Sur, Unidad Chetumal, Chetumal, Quintana Roo, México.
Laboratorio de Herpetología, Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, México.
PLoS One. 2020 Dec 30;15(12):e0244561. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0244561. eCollection 2020.
The variation in temperament among animals has consequences for evolution and ecology. One of the primary effects of consistent behavioral differences is on reproduction. In chelonians some authors have focused on the study of temperament using different methods. In our research our first aim was i) establish a methodology to determine the degree of boldness among individuals Rhinoclemmys areolata. Our second aim was to ii) determine the role boldness plays during reproduction, with emphasis on courtship and copulation, considering a) the interactions between males and females, and b) competition between males. We used 16 sexually mature individuals of each sex. Males were observed in four different situations and 17 behavioral traits were recorded. We selected 12 traits that allowed us distinguish between the bolder and the shier individuals and found that five behavioral traits were specific for bolder individuals and five others for shier individuals. In a second step, we observed a male in presence of a female and recorded courtship behaviors and breeding attempts. Bolder individuals did not display courtship behaviors and just attempted to copulate. Shier individuals displayed courtship behaviors and copulation attempts were rarely observed. Finally, in the simulations that compared two males in the presence of a female we noticed that bolder individuals displayed courtship behaviors while the shier ones simply ignored the female. Our results first allowed us to determine which methodology is the best to determine temperament in turtles. Secondly, temperament seems to be an important factor in modulating interaction between males and females. Bolder individuals have an advantage during competition and display courtship behaviours only if other males are present. Shier males displayed courtship behaviors and only try to copulate when no competitors were present. These two different temperament-dependant strategies are discussed in terms of ecology, evolution and management.
动物气质的差异对进化和生态具有重要影响。持续存在的行为差异的主要影响之一体现在繁殖方面。在龟类动物中，一些作者采用不同方法专注于气质的研究。在我们的研究中，我们的首要目标是：（i）建立一种方法来确定黄斑彩龟个体间的大胆程度。我们的第二个目标是：（ii）确定大胆程度在繁殖过程中所起的作用，重点关注求偶和交配行为，同时考虑：（a）雄性与雌性之间的互动，以及（b）雄性之间的竞争。我们使用了每种性别各16只性成熟个体。在四种不同情境下观察雄性，并记录了17种行为特征。我们挑选了12种能够让我们区分大胆个体和胆小个体的特征，发现其中5种行为特征是大胆个体特有的，另外5种是胆小个体特有的。在第二步中，我们观察了一只雄性在有雌性在场时的情况，并记录求偶行为和繁殖尝试。大胆的个体不表现出求偶行为，只是试图交配。胆小的个体表现出求偶行为，且很少观察到有交配尝试。最后，在比较两只雄性在有雌性在场时的模拟实验中，我们注意到大胆的个体表现出求偶行为，而胆小的个体则完全无视雌性。我们的研究结果首先使我们能够确定哪种方法最适合用于测定龟类的气质。其次，气质似乎是调节雄性与雌性之间互动的一个重要因素。大胆的个体在竞争中具有优势，并且只有在有其他雄性在场时才会表现出求偶行为。胆小的雄性表现出求偶行为，并且只有在没有竞争对手时才试图交配。我们从生态学、进化和管理的角度对这两种不同的气质依赖策略进行了讨论。
