Personalities and fitness in the Seychelles warbler

Dr Hannah Dugdale and Professor Terry Burke

Key words: personalities, reproductive behaviour, cooperative breeding, birds, sexual selection, quantitative genetics

Individuals vary consistently in their behaviour – for example, some may be more willing to explore novel environments than others ¬– resulting in different ‘personalities’. Exploratory behaviour in birds has been shown to be heritable, subject to selection, affected by the personality combination of the mate-pair and associated with mating strategies.
The Seychelles warbler is a facultatively cooperative species endemic on four islands within the Seychelles. There is virtually no immigration or emigration of Seychelles warblers between islands, enabling accurate measurement of survival and fecundity, which is rare in natural systems. Seychelles warblers are territorial, and 40% of offspring result from extra-group paternity. This system therefore provides an ideal opportunity to test whether exploratory behaviour is linked to social status, reproductive success and strategies that affect reproductive success, such as co-breeding and extra-group paternity.
Personality variables will be measured on each bird in a novel environment. The heritability of personality traits will be ascertained using the long-term genetic pedigree that is already in place. The study will test the effect of personality on reproductive measures, particularly the rate of extra-group paternity, and aim to understand how multiple personalities are maintained in a population. This will be the first time that personality traits such as exploratory behaviour have been studied in a cooperatively-breeding bird. The student will be trained in behavioural ecological field methods, evolutionary theory, experimental design, statistical analysis, quantitative genetics and molecular techniques (DNA profiling).

For more information about how to apply, or the application process, please contact Mrs S Carter (s.a.carter@sheffield.ac.uk).

To apply now go to: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/postgraduate/online