Affiliation:
1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
2. Canada Research Chair in Integrative Ecology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T6G 2E9
Abstract
Within species, individuals often show repeatable differences in behaviours, called ‘animal personality’. One behaviour that has been widely studied is how quickly an individual resumes feeding after a disturbance, referred to as boldness or risk-taking. Depending on the mechanism(s) shaping risk-taking behaviour, risk-taking could be positively, negatively, or not associated with differences in overall survival. We studied risk-taking and survival in a population of free-living black-capped chickadees (
Poecile atricapillus
) in which we previously showed repeatable among-individual differences in risk-taking over the course of several months. We found no evidence that variation in risk-taking is associated with differences in annual survival. We suggest that variation in risk-taking is likely shaped by multiple mechanisms simultaneously, such that the net effect on survival is small or null. For example, among-individual differences in energy demand may favour greater risk-taking without imposing an overall mortality cost if higher energy demand covaries with escape flight performance. We propose directions for future work, including using a multi-trait, multi-year approach to study risk-taking, to allow for stronger inferences regarding the mechanisms shaping these behavioural decisions.
Funder
Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Canada Research Chairs
Alberta Conservation Association
University of Alberta
Cited by
5 articles.
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