Heterogeneous selection on exploration behavior within and among West European populations of a passerine bird.

ABSTRACT: Heterogeneous selection is often proposed as a key mechanism maintaining repeatable behavioral variation ("animal personality") in wild populations. Previous studies largely focused on temporal variation in selection within single populations. The relative importance of spatial versus temporal variation remains unexplored, despite these processes having distinct effects on local adaptation. Using data from >3,500 great tits (Parus major) and 35 nest box plots situated within five West-European populations monitored over 4 to 18 y, we show that selection on exploration behavior varies primarily spatially, across populations, and study plots within populations. Exploration was, simultaneously, selectively neutral in the average population and year. These findings imply that spatial va

SUBMITTER: Mouchet A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8285892 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature