Personality and foraging decisions in fallow deer, Dama dama
Recent studies have examined the ecological and evolutionary bases for variation in animal personality. However, only a few such studies have examined how foraging parameters are influenced by different personality domains. In wild ungulates, the trade-off between the time spent on food intake and antipredator behaviour differs between individuals, but the underlying reason for this […]
The effect of food quality and relative abundance on food choice in fallow deer
The diet choice of large herbivores is influenced by the presence of nutrients and toxins in available plants. It is generally assumed that herbivores ingest food that contains higher amounts of nutrients and lower amounts of toxins than the average of the food available. We studied the effects of quality and relative abundance on food […]
Win, lose or draw: a comparison of fight structure based on fight conclusion in the fallow deer
Fights between male fallow deer (Dama dama) may conclude with the contest decisively resolved in favour of one animal (the winner), or, there may be an inconclusive resolution, in which case there is no winner. We sought to compare the structure of fights between male fallow deer in order to determine what factors might be […]
Personality and predictability in fallow deer fighting behaviour: the relationship with mating success
Individuals often differ from each other in how they respond to environmental events: a feature of behaviour often termed animal personality. Furthermore, animals often show unpredictability in how much they respond to these events over time leading to the suggestion that personality and intraindividual variability (IIV) might have important fitness consequences. We investigated this hypothesis […]