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Title
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The effects of personality on survival and trappability in a wild mouse during a population cycle
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Author
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Abstract
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| The pace-of-life syndrome (POLS) theory provides an evolutionary explanation for the existence of consistent among-individual variation in behaviour, or animal personality. Herein, individuals with a fast lifestyle are considered to be bolder and should take more risks resulting in a lower life expectancy compared to shyer individuals with a slower lifestyle. However, this assumption depends on the levels of intra-specific competition that the individuals experience which has rarely been tested in species that experience large changes in competition on a very short time scale. We used the multimammate mice (Mastomys natalensis) as a model system to study the POLS assumption by investigating the effects of two personality traits (exploration and stress-sensitivity) on survival, maturation (a proxy for reproductive investment) and recapture probability during one population cycle (Nindividuals = 201). Such a cycle consists of two phases in which the levels of intra-specific competition vary drastically. We found that only one personality trait, namely stress-sensitivity, had a negative effect on both survival and recapture probability but none of them affected maturation. This suggests that less stress-sensitive individuals take more risks in the wild and have a higher survival probability compared to high stress-sensitive individuals. However, the effect of personality on survival was only present during the population decrease phase, when the levels of intra-specific competition are high due to a scarcity of food. This suggests that seasonal changes in competition might be important in the evolution and maintenance of animal personalities in species whose population dynamics have a clear seasonal component. |
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Language
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English
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Source (journal)
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Oecologia. - Berlin, 1968, currens
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Publication
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Berlin
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2021
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ISSN
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0029-8549
[print]
1432-1939
[online]
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DOI
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10.1007/S00442-021-04897-9
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Volume/pages
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195
:4
(2021)
, p. 901-913
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ISI
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000635502200002
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Pubmed ID
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33787996
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Full text (Publisher's DOI)
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Full text (open access)
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Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
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