Individual differences in animal behaviour influence ecological and evolutionary processes. Much behavioural variation has a heritable component, suggesting that genetics may play a role in its development. Yet, the study of the mechanistic description linking genes to behaviour in nature remains in its infancy, and such research is considered a challenge in contemporary biology. Here, we performed a literature review and meta‐analysis to assess trends in analytical approaches used to investigate the relationship between genes and behaviour in natural systems, specifically candidate gene approaches, quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping, and genome‐wide association studies (GWAS). We aimed to determine the efficacy and success of each approach, while also describing which behaviours and species were examined by researchers most often. We found that the majority of QTL mapping and GWAS results revealed a significant or suggestive effect (Zr  = 0.3 [95% CI: 0.25:0.35] and Zr  = 0.39 [0.33:0.46], respectively) between the trait of interest and genetic marker(s) tested, while over half of candidate gene accounts (Zr  = 0.16 [0.11:0.21]) did not find a significant association. Approximately a third of all study estimates investigated animal personality traits; though, reproductive and migratory behaviours were also well‐represented. Our findings show that despite widespread accessibility of molecular approaches given current sequencing technologies, efforts to elucidate the genetic basis of behaviour in free‐ranging systems has been limited to relatively few species. We discuss challenges encountered by researchers, and recommend integration of novel genomic methods with longitudinal studies to usher in the next wave of behavioural genomic research.

中文翻译：

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自然种群中动物行为多样性的遗传基础。

动物行为的个体差异会影响生态和进化过程。许多行为变异都有可遗传的成分，这表明遗传学可能在其发展中起作用。然而，有关将基因与自然行为联系起来的机制描述的研究仍处于起步阶段，这种研究被认为是当代生物学的一个挑战。在这里，我们进行了文献综述和荟萃分析，以评估用于研究自然系统中基因与行为之间关系的分析方法的趋势，特别是候选基因方法，定量性状基因座（QTL）定位和全基因组关联研究（ GWAS）。我们旨在确定每种方法的功效和成功，同时还描述了研究人员最常检查的行为和种类。 在感兴趣的性状和测试的遗传标记之间分别Zr  = 0.3 [95％CI：0.25：0.35]和Zr = 0.39 [0.33：0.46]），而超过一半的候选基因账户（Zr = 0.16 [0.11：0.21]）未发现显着关联。在所有研究估计中，约有三分之一调查了动物的人格特征。但是，生殖和迁徙行为也得到了很好的体现。我们的发现表明，尽管利用当前的测序技术可以广泛使用分子方法，但阐明自由放养系统中行为的遗传基础的努力仅限于相对较少的物种。我们讨论研究人员面临的挑战，并建议将新型基因组方法与纵向研究相结合，以迎接下一波行为基因组研究的浪潮。