TY  - JOUR
A1  - Schirmer, Annika
A1  - Herde, Antje
A1  - Eccard, Jana
A1  - Dammhahn, Melanie
T1  - Individuals in space: personality-dependent space use, movement and microhabitat use facilitate individual spatial niche specialization
JF  - Oecologia
N2  - Personality-dependent space use and movement might be crucially influencing ecological interactions, giving way to individual niche specialization. This new approach challenges classical niche theory with potentially great ecological consequences, but so far has only scarce empirical support. Here, we investigated if and how consistent inter-individual differences in behavior predict space use and movement patterns in free-ranging bank voles (Myodes glareolus) and thereby contribute to individual niche specialization. Individuals were captured and marked from three different subpopulations in North-East Germany. Inter-individual differences in boldness and exploration were quantified via repeated standardized tests directly in the field after capture. Subsequently, space use and movement patterns of a representative sample of the behavioral variation (n=21 individuals) were monitored via automated VHF telemetry for a period of four days, yielding on average 384 locations per individual. Bolder individuals occupied larger home ranges and core areas (estimated via kernel density analyses), moved longer distances, spatially overlapped with fewer conspecifics and preferred different microhabitats based on vegetation cover compared to shyer individuals. We found evidence for personality-dependent space use, movement, and occupation of individual spatial niches in bank voles. Thus, besides dietary niche specialization also spatial dimensions of ecological niches vary among individuals within populations, which may have important consequences for ecological interactions within- and between species.
KW  - Ecological niche
KW  - Inter-individual differences
KW  - Intraspecific competition
KW  - Movement ecology
KW  - Small mammal
Y1  - 2019
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04365-5
SN  - 0029-8549
SN  - 1432-1939
VL  - 189
IS  - 3
SP  - 647
EP  - 660
PB  - Springer
CY  - New York
ER  -