The Role of Research Surveys in Genetic Discoveries
PUBLISHED ON January 21, 2025Community science surveys help scientists untangle genetic and environmental drivers in dog behavior
In 2022, Darwin’s Ark made canine science history with a groundbreaking study that earned a splashy cover story in the renowned journal Science. Darwin’s Dogs—the largest canine study of its kind—surveyed the owners of more than 18,000 dogs and analyzed DNA sequences from more than 2,000 dogs. Drawing on this impressive amount of data, Darwin’s Ark researchers debunked the misconception that a dog’s breed is a significant predictor of their behavior. It turns out, only nine percent of behavioral differences among individual dogs can be explained by breed.
While genomic sequencing was essential in making this discovery, it would not have been possible without thousands of community scientists who answered the study’s 117 survey questions, enabling researchers to make critical connections between genetics and behavior. Research surveys are one of the most accessible and effective ways to tap into the expertise of community scientists. Dog owners are the people who know their pets best, and surveys allow researchers to learn from thousands of community scientists.
Untangling Genetic and Environmental Differences
Complex behaviors, like sociability or separation anxiety, are influenced by an intricate interplay of genetics and environment. One of Darwin’s Ark’s research goals is to identify parts of the genome that contribute to differences in behavior in dogs. But to accomplish that, we first need to figure out which behaviors are heavily influenced by genetics and which behaviors depend more on environmental differences. That’s where research surveys come in. Survey data helps scientists pinpoint behaviors that vary among dogs despite similar environmental experiences, suggesting that genetics likely plays a key role.
For example, one area that the 2022 Science paper explored was dog sociability and whether genetics can predict how comfortable a dog will be around humans or other dogs. Drawing on survey responses, Darwin’s Ark researchers found considerable variation in how much time dogs spend with other dogs during their first year of life. By contrast, there is much less variability in how much time dogs spend with humans during the same period. Because there’s less environmental variation in time spent with humans, genetics likely plays a significant role in the range of human sociability that we observe among individual dogs. This makes dogs’ reactions to people an especially promising area for additional genetic study.
Human sociability was just one behavior that the 2022 Science paper identified as having genetic drivers. Another area that showed a strong genetic link was behaviors that dogs display during play.
The Evolutionary Roots of Stop, Drop, Chase
Of all the behaviors explored in the 2022 Science paper, motor patterns were by far the most heritable. These are behaviors that might look like your dog is just playing around, but they carry deep evolutionary significance.
When you observe your dog chasing after a ball or vigorously shaking a toy, you’re witnessing what our scientists call a toy-directed motor pattern. These motor patterns are remnants of ancient wolf hunting behaviors. When dogs evolved from wolves, they transitioned from hunters to scavengers of human garbage and refuse. Because dogs didn’t hunt, their hunting motor patterns were free to evolve to serve other purposes.
Hunting motor patterns, which range from tracking a toy with their eyes to grabbing the toy in their mouth, are the focus of a new research project by Darwin’s Ark scientists. The 2022 Science paper determined that toy-directed motor patterns are strongly influenced by genetics, but to start exploring which genes are responsible for which motor patterns, researchers need more survey data on these motor patterns—lots of survey data.
To get that data, Darwin’s Ark has recently added a new survey in the Darwin’s Ark Laboratory called “Stop, Drop, Chase.” The survey explores the six distinct motor patterns that comprise the wolf hunting sequence and asks questions about how those motor patterns show up in your dog. When they take the survey, Darwin’s Dogs community scientists help our scientists understand the prevalence of motor patterns within certain populations of dogs. Are some dogs more likely to stalk an item of interest, while other dogs love to rip apart their toys? After completing the survey, community scientists can click on “Review Results” to see how their dog compares to other dogs in the project.
The Darwin’s Dogs research presented in our 2022 Science study helped dispel myths about behavior and breeds. Now, our researchers are digging deeper to explore the genetic roots of behaviors that vary among dogs. But they can only do that with the help of our community scientists. Your input helps our scientists uncover which genes influence these innate movements and ultimately gain deeper insights into the evolutionary link between dogs and their wild ancestors.
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