Abstract
Individuals adjust their behaviour to suit changes in the environment whilst also differing from one another in their average behavioural expression. I assessed some of the evolutionary causes of such variation. First, I found little support for the idea that differences in life-history explain among-individual behavioural variation. Then, after establishing that males manipulate female behaviour to avoid post-copulatory competition, I examined how variation in the social environment might drive further plasticity in male post-copulatory strategy. Variation in the social environment was also seen to drive behavioural changes across-generations. These findings broaden our understanding of the evolutionary basis of behavioural variation.
Original language | English |
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Qualification | Doctor of Philosophy |
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Award date | 17 May 2021 |
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Publication status | Unpublished - 2020 |