Personality affects defensive behaviour of Porcellio scaber (Isopoda, Oniscidea)

By

Tuf, Ivan H.
Drabkova, Lucie
Šipoš, Jan

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2015

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

515

Pages

159-171

Subjects

Anti-predatory behaviour , behavioural trait , death feigning , predation , thanatosis

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.515.9429

 

Abstract

We evaluated individual behavioural patterns of isopods expressed as tonic immobility following some intrusive treatments. Common rough woodlice, Porcellio scaber, were kept individually in plastic boxes and tested for tonic immobility repeatedly. Reactivity, sensitivity (number of stimuli needed to respond), and endurance of tonic immobility (TI) according three types of treatments (touch, squeeze, drop) were evaluated. Touch was the weakest treatment and it was necessary to repeat it a number of times to obtain a response; while squeeze and drop induced TI more frequently. Nevertheless, duration of the response persisted for a longer time with the touch treatment. Within each set of the three treatment, the strongest response was the third one, regardless of treatment type. Duration of reaction was affected by the size of the woodlouse, the smallest individuals feigning death for the shortest time. Despite body size, we found a significant individual pattern of endurance of TI among tested woodlice, which was stable across treatments as well as across time (5 repetitions during a 3 week period). Porcellio scaber is one of the first species of terrestrial isopods with documented personality traits.