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Social groups with diverse personalities mitigate physiological stress in a songbird.

Authors :
Vágási, Csongor I.
Fülöp, Attila
Osváth, Gergely
Pap, Péter L.
Pénzes, Janka
Benkő, Zoltán
Lendvai, Ádám Z.
Barta, Zoltán
Source :
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 1/27/2021, Vol. 288 Issue 1943, p1-8. 8p.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Social groups often consist of diverse phenotypes, including personality types, and this diversity is known to affect the functioning of the group as a whole. Social selection theory proposes that group composition (i.e. social environment) also influences the performance of individual group members. However, the effect of group behavioural composition on group members remains largely unexplored, and it is still contentious whether individuals benefit more in a social environment with homogeneous or diverse behavioural composition. We experimentally formed groups of house sparrows Passer domesticus with high and low diversity of personality (exploratory behaviour), and found that their physiological state (body condition, physiological stress and oxidative damage) improved with increasing group-level diversity of personality. These findings demonstrate that group personality composition affects the condition of group members and individuals benefit from social heterosis (i.e. associating with a diverse set of behavioural types). This aspect of the social life can play a key role in affiliation rules of social animals and might explain the evolutionary coexistence of different personalities in nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
09628452
Volume :
288
Issue :
1943
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
148804392
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.3092