|
Re: Can behavior traits be selectively bred? V 1.0
Some animals ARE more predisposed to certain behaviors. We see this with rattlesnakes that are less apt to rattle. These have a greater chance of survival in that those that are obvious by audible warnings around humans are more likely to be killed. Those that are passed by unnoticed survive and breed. So logically, natural selection would favor this trait.
I have also noticed a dramatic decrease in the "aggressiveness" of retics over the last 15 years or so. I remember when it was unheard of to have on that could actually be handled. But as the number of captive generations has grown, we are seen many more docile retics. Afrocks are notorious for their temperament as well, but have been bred in captivity significantly less and most specimens that I come across are still quite nasty. So whether being docile is a genetic trait or predisposition that can be passed on is unclear. This is just an anecdotal observation.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, there is Drymarchon who are notoriously picky feeders as neonates that often take quite a lot of work to get going. I know breeders that have held back the first feeders of each clutch in the hopes that the good feeding response out of the egg was genetic. Thus far, there seems to be no tangible reason why some feed more readily and efforts to promote this trait by selective breeding have proven fairly fruitless.
|
