Exploratory individuals are bolder in Great Tit: Correlation between personality and antipredator behavior

Abstract

AbstractConsistent individual behavioral differences from other members of local populations are called animal personality, and a suite of these correlated behaviors generates a behavioral syndrome. Differential selection patterns among personality types can be largely influenced by predatory behavior. Prey has a large arsenal of antipredator behaviors at their disposal; However, how closely these behaviors are linked to personality is almost unknown. Using a social model species, the Great Tit, Parus major, we investigated whether antipredator behavior in response to predators is correlated with personality. First, we determined if individual differences in exploratory behavior were consistent across trials, that is, whether they were repeatable. Second, we looked into how antipredator behavior was correlated to personality. Individuals were subjected to two repeated trials of standard personality assays followed by an alternative control (Rock Pigeon, Columba livia domestica) and predator display (Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Accipiter nisus) treatment. We found that exploratory behavior was repeatable across trials and had a greater tendency for positive correlation with antipredator behavior when a predator model was displayed. Individuals that swiftly explored novel environments were slower to react to predators than those who explored the novel room slowly. As a result, our findings provide some of the first experimental evidence for a link between exploratory and antipredator behavior, suggesting that personality traits may impact individual fitness.