Agamas exhibit behavioral syndromes: bolder males bask and feed more but may suffer higher predation

Abstract

According to basic evolutionary theory, individuals within a population should adapt their behavior in response to their current physical and social environment. However, there is now evidence from a diverse range of taxa that behavior is instead constrained by individuals' broad behavioral syndromes or personalities. Bold individuals are generally shown to take greater risks than shy individuals. Theory suggests that there should be fitness trade-offs associated with personalities. We aimed to answer the following 3 questions using the Namibian rock agama (Agama planiceps) as a study species: 1) Is the boldness of individual male agamas repeatable? 2) Do male agamas show a behavioral syndrome? and 3) Are there any possible fitness trade-offs associated with individual behavioral syndromes. We measured boldness of 30 male agamas by quantifying flight initiation distance. We found that individual agama behavior was significantly consistent through time. Also, bolder males were found to spend significantly more time basking and moving throughout their home ranges in sight of predators, indicating a behavioral syndrome in this species. Bolder males also had larger home ranges and fed more than shyer males but suffered higher levels of tail loss, possibly due to predation. The rates of visual signaling in the form of assertion displays of bolder and shyer males did not differ. We suggest that males of this species show a significant behavioral syndrome that may lead to fitness trade-offs.