Rating Methodology, Personality Axes, and Behavioral Plasticity: A Case Study in African Lions
Animal personality refers to individual differences in behavior that are consistent across time and across contexts. As it plays an ecological and evolutionary role for many animals by affecting fitness, it is likely to play a role in how both species and individuals fare in captivity. Assessment of animal personality by caretaker ratings has been […]
Zoo Research Guidelines: Behavioural Profiling
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Personality predicts social dominance in female zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, in a feeding context
Although personality has been defined as a suite of correlated behaviours, most studies of animal personality actually consider correlations between a few traits. We examined the repeatability and correlational structure of five potential personality traits (activity, neophobia, exploratory tendencies, risk-taking behaviour and obstinacy), in female zebra finches. In addition, we assessed to what extent personality […]
Temperament, risk assessment and habituation to novelty in eastern chipmunks, Tamias striatus
An increasing number of studies are focusing on the role of animal temperament in the ecology of wild populations. One important step in these studies is to estimate the repeatability of temperament traits, by replicating measures of an animal’s behavioural or physiological reactions to a novel or stressful situation. When studies are performed in the […]
Behavioural syndromes in Steller’s jays: the role of time frames in the assessment of behavioural traits
Behavioural syndromes describe consistent and correlated individual differences in behavioural traits. Quantifying individual differences often requires researchers to capture and hold animals in captivity while short-term behavioural assays are recorded. We compared behavioural responses of adult, territorial Steller’s jays in short- and long-term field assessments of behavioural traits in two ecological contexts, risk taking and […]
Persistent effect of incubation temperature on stress-induced behavior in the Yucatan banded gecko (Coleonyx elegans)
Although variability in behavioral traits within animal populations is well documented, the mechanisms maintaining that variability are still insufficiently known. In this study, we examined whether differences in thermal environment during egg incubation can permanently organize nonsocial behavior across different contexts and situations in a lizard species. We incubated eggs of the Yucatan banded gecko, […]
Handling Stress Does Not Reflect Personality in Female Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata)
Although increasing attention is given to both the causes and consequences of variation in animal personality, the measurement of personality in captive or free-ranging individuals remains an issue. In particular, one important question concerns whether personality should be established from the existence of complex behavioral syndromes (a suite of correlated behavioral traits) or could be […]
Freshwater Pearl Mussels Show Plasticity of Responses to Different Predation Risks But Also Show Consistent Individual Differences in Responsiveness
Animals often show behavioural plasticity with respect to predation risk but also show behavioural syndromes in terms of consistency of responses to different stimuli. We examine these features in the freshwater pearl mussel. These bivalves often aggregate presumably to reduce predation risk to each individual. Predation risk, however, will be higher in the presence of […]
Fitness consequences of personality: a meta-analysis
The study of nonhuman personality capitalizes on the fact that individuals of many species behave in predictable, variable, and quantifiable ways. Although a few empirical studies have examined the ultimate consequences of personality differences, there has been no synthesis of results. We conducted a formal meta-analysis of published studies reporting fitness consequences of single personality […]