Is the propensity to alarm-call heritable and related across multiple contexts?

Abstract

Alarm calling is an important antipredator behaviour by which individuals alert conspecifics and heterospecifics of possible danger and/or ward off potential predators. The propensity to utter calls may reflect the amount of risk an individual experiences and a variety of other internal and environmental factors that may be context and species specific. However, whether the propensity to utter alarm calls is heritable has not been studied. Using a quantitative genetic animal model, we estimated the heritability of alarm calling in yellow-bellied marmots, Marmota flaviventer . We found significant heritability in the propensity to utter naturally elicited alarm calls (0.06) and trap-elicited alarm calls when marmots were trapped (0.21). There was a small but significant genetic correlation between these traits (0.338). Together, these results show that the propensity to utter alarm calls is individually variable and context dependent and can evolve in response to natural selection. • We estimated heritability of natural vs trap-elicited alarm-calling propensity. • Alarm calling propensity was heritable in both contexts. • Natural calling rates had lower heritability than trap-elicited calling rates. • There was a small, but significant, genetic correlation between calling in both contexts. • The propensity to utter alarm calls can evolve in response to natural selection.

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