Assessment of personality types in Nigerian dwarf goats (Capra hircus) and cross-context correlations to behavioural and physiological responses
Assessment of personality types in Nigerian dwarf goats (Capra hircus) and cross-context correlations to behavioural and physiological responses
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DOI：
10.1016/j.applanim.2019.05.004
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发表时间：
2019-08-01
影响因子：
2.3
通讯作者：
Langbein, Jan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Finkemeier, Marie-Antonine;Oesterwind, Susann;Langbein, Jan
对农场动物的人格评估及其与其他行为和生理特征的关系越来越受到科学和实践的关注。因此，本研究的目的首先是在主动/反应二分法的背景下评估矮山羊的个性，其次是阐明与其他个体行为和生理模式的跨背景相关性。我们通过重复（两周内两次测试）的旷场和新奇物体测试测量了 108 只尼日利亚矮山羊的行为，将受试者分为主动型、反应型和中间型人格类型。此外，我们还研究了个体间性格差异与其他测试情况下的行为和生理测量（心率变异性）之间可能存在的相互关系。为了识别个人性格类型，我们从总共 82 种观察到的行为中选择了 11 种最合适的行为测量，在两个测试期间都相同。利用这些行为，我们在两个测试期间运行了两个单独的主成分分析（PCA1 和 PCA2）。我们发现了两个主要的主成分 (PC)，它们被解释为“大胆”(PC1) 和“活动”(PC2)，并且在两个 PCA 中是相同的。根据 PCA1，30 只山羊可分为主动性格类型、25 只山羊为被动性格类型、53 只山羊为中间性格类型。与 PCA1 相比，在 PCA 2 中，66 人 (61%) 表现出一致的人格类型。在 PC2 上得分较高的山羊在社会分离测试中也更加活跃，而 PC1 或 PC2 与统治状态之间没有发现相关性。关于心率变异性，R-R间隔标准差（SDNN）与PC2呈正相关，而PC1与SDNN呈负相关。 PC2也与体重增加呈正相关。本研究首次量化了山羊个体行为和生理差异的暂时一致和跨背景相关性。在两个测试期间表现出相同极端行为表型的动物数量相对较少，这与对牛和猪的人格类型的研究非常一致，并表明中间和灵活的人格类型构成了种群的主要部分。这些结果为研究山羊性格特征的个体差异与其他生理指标和认知能力之间的相互关系提供了新的机会。
The assessment of personality in farm animals and its relation to other behavioural and physiological traits is of growing scientific and practical interest. Therefore, the aims of the present study were first to assess the personality of dwarf goats in the context of the proactive/reactive dichotomy and second to elucidate cross-context correlations to other individual patterns in behaviour and physiology. We measured the behaviour of 108 Nigerian dwarf goats in repeated (two test periods within two weeks) open-field and novel-object tests to classify the subjects into proactive, reactive and intermediate personality types. In addition, we investigated the possible inter-relationships of inter-individual differences in personality with behaviours in other test situations and physiological measures (heart rate variability). To identify individual personality types, we selected the 11 most appropriate behavioural measures, identical in both test periods, from a total of 82 observed behaviours. Using these behaviours, we ran two separate principal component analyses (PCA1 and PCA2) for the two test periods. We found two main principal components (PCs), which were interpreted as "boldness" (PC1) and "activity" (PC2) and were identical in both PCAs. Based on PCA1, 30 goats could be grouped as the proactive, 25 as the reactive and 53 as the intermediate personality type. In PCA 2, 66 individuals (61%) showed a consistent personality type compared to PCA1. Goats that scored highly on PC2 were also more active in a social separation test, while no correlations were found between PC1 or PC2 and the dominance status. Regarding heart rate variability, the standard deviation of R-R intervals (SDNN) was positively correlated with PC2, while a negative correlation was found between PC1 and SDNN. PC2 was also positively correlated with weight gain. The present study is the first to quantify temporarily consistent and cross-context correlations of individual behavioural and physiological differences in goats. The relatively small number of animals that showed the same extreme behavioural phenotype in both test periods is in good agreement with studies on personality types in cattle and pigs and shows that intermediate and flexible personality types make up the main part of a population. The results provide new opportunities to investigate the inter-relationships of inter-individual differences in personality traits with other physiological measures and cognitive abilities in goats.