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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Are some sharks more social than others? Short- and long-term
consistencies in the social behavior of juvenile lemon sharks
J. S. Finger
1,2,3
&T. L. Guttridge
2
&A. D. M. Wilson
4
&S. H. Gruber
2
&J. Krause
1,3
Received: 15 June 2017 /Revised: 14 December 2017 /A ccepted: 19 December 2017 / Published online: 29 December 2017
#Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2017
Abstract
Despite substantial research interest in understanding individual-level consistency in behavioral attributes, significant knowledge
gaps remain across traits and taxa. For example, relatively few studies have looked at social personality in large marine species
such as elasmobranchs and whether or not individual differences in behavior are maintained in unstable social groups (i.e.,
fission-fusion dynamics). However, it is important to investigate this topic in other model species than the usually small species
with short generation times typically investigated in these areas of behavioral ecology. Indeed, studies on ecologically diverse
taxa could provide mechanistic insights into the emergence and maintenanceof animal personality and dynamics of social groups
in animals. In addition, understanding social behavior at the group- and individual-level could improve conservation manage-
ment of these large animals with long generation times (e.g., removal of particular behavioral types by fisheries practices). Here,
we investigated consistent individual differences in sociability in wild juvenile lemon sharks (Negaprion brevirostris) over both
short- (4 to 18 days) and long-term (4 months) sampling periods. Individual sharks were observed in social groups and scored
according to the number of social interactions performed during observations. Despite variable individual group compositions
between repeated trials, sharks showed consistent individual differences in their social behavior over both time scales. These
results suggest reduced plasticity and highlight individuality as an important explanatory variable for the social dynamics of
juvenile lemon sharks. In addition, long-term stability observed in this wild population demonstrates the importance of person-
ality in the daily behavioral repertoire of juvenile lemon sharks. Our results are discussed in the context of other shark studies and
taxonomic groups and potential avenues for future research are proposed.
Significance statement
This study investigated the social personality axis in a wild population of juvenile lemon sharks. First, we demonstrated
consistent individual differences in their tendency to socialize. Second, we showed that individuals maintained their differences
over a four-month period in the wild. Finally, we found that individual social behaviors were maintained despite being tested in
variable group compositions. These results highlight the importance of individuality in the social dynamic of a poorly investi-
gated animal and suggest personality as an important aspect of juvenile lemon sharks’everyday life over a relatively long-term
period.
Keywords Fission-fusion .Follower .Group phenotype .Leadership .Personality .Social dynamics
Communicated by L. M. Moller
*J. S. Finger
js.finger@yahoo.fr
1
Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institut,
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2
Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation, South Bimini, Bahamas
3
Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries,
Berlin, Germany
4
School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney,
Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (2018) 72: 17
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-017-2431-0
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