Optimális éves viselkedési modellek: út a fiziológiától a populációkig? = Optimal annual routines: a path from physiology to populations?

A pályázat fő célja annak kiderítése volt, hogy a különböző állapotváltozók hogyan befolyásolják az optimális viselkedést, speciálisan a hogyan befolyásolják a fő életmenet események időzítését az éves cikluson belül. E cél elérése érdekében több modellt fejlesztettünk, és változatos terepi megfigyeléseket és aviáriumi kísérleteket folytattunk. Fő modelljeink azt mutatják, hogy az állapotváltozók (pl. tollminőség, energiatartalékok) jelentősen befolyásolhatják a vedlés és vándorlás időzítését, de a táplálékforrás időbeli eloszlása és szezonalitása is jelentős hatással lehet. Fő empirikus eredményeink szerint a táplálék minősége és a paraziták fertőzése jelentősen befolyásolhatja a tollminőséget. Egy komparatív vizsgálatban kimutattuk, hogy a vándorlás időzítését a különféle életmenet jellemzők jelentősen befolyásolják, de a szexuálisan szelektált jellegeknek nincs ilyen hatása. | The main aim of the project was to investigate how state variables effect optimal behaviour in general, and the optimal timing of major life history events over the annual cycle, in particular. To accomplish this aim we developed a couple of annual routine models and performed various field observations and aviary experiments. Our main models show that state variables (quality of feathers, energy reserves) can significantly influence the timing of optimal behaviour (moult, migration) but they also underline the importance of the temporal distribution and seasonality of food sources. Our main empirical results show that diet quality and parasite infection influence feather quality considerably. By a comparative study we found that life history traits (e.g. migration distance and diet) but not sexually selected traits influence the timing of migration

The Aggressive Driving Behavior Scale: Developing a Self-Report Measure of Unsafe Driving Practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of a new 11-item measure of aggressive driving, the Aggressive Driving Behavior Scale, which focuses on behaviors rather than cognitions, emotions, or motivational states. Based on a sample of 200 undergraduates, 111 women and 89 men), the study examined the convergent validity of the new scale with measures of hostility, hypercompetitiveness, and aggressive thoughts and emotions experienced during driving. A principal component analysis of the Aggressive Driving Behavior Scale (alpha = .80) yielded two factors that form reliable subscales labeled Speeding and Conflict Behavior. As expected, the total scale and the two subscales correlated with hostility, hypercompetitiveness, as well as aggressive driving-related thoughts and emotions. The results suggest that the scale can be used as a research tool and a self-assessment instrument

Recklessness in context: Individual and situational correlates to aggressive driving

Traffic-related injury and fatality are major health risks in the United States and worldwide. One contributor to road accidents is unsafe and aggressive driving practices. We examined individual and situational aspects of aggressive driving by having 152 undergraduate students complete self-report measures. Aggressive driving was related to personality variables, such as hostility, sensation seeking, and competitiveness, as well as to social variables such as driving without passengers and characteristics of the target vehicle (e.g., passengers, age, and status of driver), environmental variables (e.g., type of road, traffic, and weather), and temporal variables (e.g., time pressure and time of day)

A reliability analysis of the Revised Competitiveness Index

This study examined the reliability of the Revised Competitiveness Index by investigating the test-retest reliability, interitem reliability, and factor structure of the measure based on a sample of 280 undergraduates (200 women, 80 men) ranging in age from 18 to 28 years (M=20.1, SD=2.1). The findings indicate that the Revised Competitiveness Index has high test-retest reliability, high interitem reliability, and a stable factor structure. The results support the assertion that the Revised Competitiveness Index assesses competitiveness as a stable trait rather than a dynamic state

Optimális vedlési stratégiák = Optimal moult strategies

A pályázat fő célja annak kiderítése volt, hogy a különböző állapotváltozók hogyan befolyásolják az optimális viselkedést, speciálisan a hogyan befolyásolják a fő életmenet események időzítését az éves cikluson belül. E cél elérése érdekében több modellt fejlesztettünk, és változatos terepi megfigyeléseket és aviáriumi kísérleteket folytattunk. Fő modelljeink azt mutatják, hogy az állapotváltozók (pl. tollminőség, energiatartalékok) jelentősen befolyásolhatják a vedlés és vándorlás időzítését, de a táplálékforrás időbeli eloszlása és szezonalitása is jelentős hatással lehet. Fő empirikus eredményeink szerint a táplálék minősége és a paraziták fertőzése jelentősen befolyásolhatja a tollminőséget. Egy komparatív vizsgálatban kimutattuk, hogy a vándorlás időzítését a különféle életmenet jellemzők jelentősen befolyásolják, de a szezuálisan szelektált jellegeknek nincs ilyen hatása. | The main aim of the project was to investigate how state variables effect optimal behaviour in general, and the optimal timing of major life history events over the annual cycle, in particular. To accomplish this aim we developed a couple of annual routine models and performed various field observations and aviary experiments. Our main models show that state variables (quality of feathers, energy reserves) can significantly influence the timing of optimal behaviour (moult, migration) but they also underline the importance of the temporal distribution and seasonality of food sources. Our main empirical results show that diet quality and parasite infection influence feather quality considerably. By a comparative study we found that life history traits (e.g. migration distance and diet) but not sexually selected traits influence the timing of migration

The compositional and metabolic responses of gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) to a gradient of dietary fish oil and associated n-3 long-chain PUFA content

The authors express their gratitude to the technical team at the BioMar Feed Trial Unit, Hirtshals, in particular, Svend Jørgen Steenfeldt for expert care of the experimental subjects, for training and supervision provided by laboratory staff at Nutrition Analytical Services and Molecular Biology at the Institute of Aquaculture, University of Stirling, UK. S. J. S. H’s. PhD was co-funded by BioMar and the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland. BioMar provided the experimental feeds, trial facilities and fish, and covered travel expenses. V. K. and J. T. designed and executed the nutritional trial and all authors contributed to planning the analyses. V. K., J. T. and S. J. S. H. carried out the sampling. O. M., D. R. T and S. A. M. M. supervised the lead author. M. B. B. provided training in molecular biology to S. J. S. H. who carried out all analytical procedures. S. J. S. H. analysed all of the data and prepared the manuscript. Subsequently the manuscript was shared between all authors who made amendments, contributions and recommendations. The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interestPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Competitiveness and Individualism-Collectivism in Bali and the U.S.

Competitiveness is an important individual difference variable that influences behavior across a range of social domains; however, surprisingly few studies have examined competitiveness from a cross-cultural perspective. This study examined the relationship betweendifferent aspects of competitiveness and individualism-collectivism as individual difference variables in two cultures by comparing Balinese (n = 104) and American (n = 124) undergraduate college students. The results indicated that healthy competitiveness was positively related to collectivism for both Balinese and American students; however, unhealthy competitiveness or hypercompetitiveness was only negatively related to collectivism for Balinese students

Evolution of trust and trustworthiness: social awareness favours personality differences

Interest in the evolution and maintenance of personality is burgeoning. Individuals of diverse animal species differ in their aggressiveness, fearfulness, sociability and activity. Strong trade-offs, mutation–selection balance, spatio-temporal fluctuations in selection, frequency dependence and good-genes mate choice are invoked to explain heritable personality variation, yet for continuous behavioural traits, it remains unclear which selective force is likely to maintain distinct polymorphisms. Using a model of trust and cooperation, we show how allowing individuals to monitor each other's cooperative tendencies, at a cost, can select for heritable polymorphisms in trustworthiness. This variation, in turn, favours costly ‘social awareness’ in some individuals. Feedback of this sort can explain the individual differences in trust and trustworthiness so often documented by economists in experimental public goods games across a range of cultures. Our work adds to growing evidence that evolutionary game theorists can no longer afford to ignore the importance of real world inter-individual variation in their models

Representative bureaucracy: does female police leadership affect gender-based violence arrests?

Representative bureaucracy theory postulates that passive representation leads to active representation of minority groups. This article investigates the passive representation of female police officers at leadership levels and the active representation of women vis-a-vis gender-based violence arrest rates in the UK. Much of the extant research on representative bureaucracy is located at street level, with evidence showing that discretionary power of minority bureaucrats can lead to active representation. This article is focused on leadership levels of a public bureaucracy. The empirical research is based upon a panel dataset of female police officers as an independent variable and gender-based violence arrest rates as a dependent variable. The analysis reveals that there is little evidence of active representation of women by female police leadership