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Heritability and repeatability of behavioural attributes affecting foraging success and fitness in water striders

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-52496
  • Heritabilities and repeatabilities are presented for various behavioural attributes affecting foraging performance and fitness in Aquarius (Gerris) remigis (Heteroptera: Gerridae) females. These behavioural attributes were patch choice, foraging success, capture accuracy, and measures of mobility, activity, skittishness and aggressiveness. Most heritabilities were not significantly different from zero, which may be related to the low sampIe size. Conclusions as to the potential of direct selection on behaviour in this species were consequentlyHeritabilities and repeatabilities are presented for various behavioural attributes affecting foraging performance and fitness in Aquarius (Gerris) remigis (Heteroptera: Gerridae) females. These behavioural attributes were patch choice, foraging success, capture accuracy, and measures of mobility, activity, skittishness and aggressiveness. Most heritabilities were not significantly different from zero, which may be related to the low sampIe size. Conclusions as to the potential of direct selection on behaviour in this species were consequently limited. In contrast, with a few exceptions (capture accuracy, foraging success), most repeatabilities were significant and at times high (range=O'22-O'79), indicating consistent, stereotypical individual behaviour. Tbe Iife history or reproductive state of the daughter generation individuals signifieantly affected the magnitude of the repeatabilities as weil as the mean values of many of the variables (notably mobility and aggressiveness), the latter in a manner consistent with field observations. This indicates that the state of the organism affects the general environmental variance, thus contributing to the discrepancies between the repeatabilities and the heritabilities obtained. It is suggested that common physiological proeesses (e.g. hormones) may underlie several of the behavioural attributes examined, resulting in possible pleiotropie effects and eonstraints on selection in a heterogeneous environment. It is further suggested that field studies of selection on behavioural attributes may be a more fruitful approach in this species, whose suitability for genetic analysis is limited.show moreshow less

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Metadaten
Author: Wolf U. Blackenhorn, Dirk Perner
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-52496
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Fakultät für Biologie / Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften
Language:English
Year of Completion:1994
Source:In: Animal Behaviour (1994) 48, 169-176
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 59 Tiere (Zoologie) / 590 Tiere (Zoologie)
GND Keyword:Teichläufer
Tag:Wasserläufer
water strider
Release Date:2010/11/17
Licence (German):License LogoDeutsches Urheberrecht