TY - GEN A1 - Eccard, Jana A1 - Herde, Antje A1 - Schuster, Andrea C. A1 - Liesenjohann, Thilo A1 - Knopp, Tatjana A1 - Heckel, Gerald A1 - Dammhahn, Melanie T1 - Fitness, risk taking, and spatial behavior covary with boldness in experimental vole populations T2 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Individuals of a population may vary along a pace-of-life syndrome from highly fecund, short-lived, bold, dispersive “fast” types at one end of the spectrum to less fecund, long-lived, shy, plastic “slow” types at the other end. Risk-taking behavior might mediate the underlying life history trade-off, but empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis is still ambiguous. Using experimentally created populations of common voles (Microtus arvalis)—a species with distinct seasonal life history trajectories—we aimed to test whether individual differences in boldness behavior covary with risk taking, space use, and fitness. We quantified risk taking, space use (via automated tracking), survival, and reproductive success (via genetic parentage analysis) in 8 to 14 experimental, mixed-sex populations of 113 common voles of known boldness type in large grassland enclosures over a significant part of their adult life span and two reproductive events. Populations were assorted to contain extreme boldness types (bold or shy) of both sexes. Bolder individuals took more risks than shyer ones, which did not affect survival. Bolder males but not females produced more offspring than shy conspecifics. Daily home range and core area sizes, based on 95% and 50% Kernel density estimates (20 ± 10 per individual, n = 54 individuals), were highly repeatable over time. Individual space use unfolded differently for sex-boldness type combinations over the course of the experiment. While day ranges decreased for shy females, they increased for bold females and all males. Space use trajectories may, hence, indicate differences in coping styles when confronted with a novel social and physical environment. Thus, interindividual differences in boldness predict risk taking under near-natural conditions and have consequences for fitness in males, which have a higher reproductive potential than females. Given extreme inter- and intra-annual fluctuations in population density in the study species and its short life span, density-dependent fluctuating selection operating differently on the sexes might maintain (co)variation in boldness, risk taking, and pace-of-life. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1258 KW - animal personality KW - automated radio telemetry KW - behavioral type KW - fitness KW - home range KW - Microtus arvalis KW - parentage KW - reproductive success Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-558866 SN - 1866-8372 SP - 1 EP - 15 PB - Universitätsverlag Potsdam CY - Potsdam ER - TY - GEN A1 - Hoffmann, Julia A1 - Hölker, Franz A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Welcome to the Dark Side BT - Partial Nighttime Illumination Affects Night-and Daytime Foraging Behavior of a Small Mammal T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Differences in natural light conditions caused by changes in moonlight are known to affect perceived predation risk in many nocturnal prey species. As artificial light at night (ALAN) is steadily increasing in space and intensity, it has the potential to change movement and foraging behavior of many species as it might increase perceived predation risk and mask natural light cycles. We investigated if partial nighttime illumination leads to changes in foraging behavior during the night and the subsequent day in a small mammal and whether these changes are related to animal personalities. We subjected bank voles to partial nighttime illumination in a foraging landscape under laboratory conditions and in large grassland enclosures under near natural conditions. We measured giving-up density of food in illuminated and dark artificial seed patches and video recorded the movement of animals. While animals reduced number of visits to illuminated seed patches at night, they increased visits to these patches at the following day compared to dark seed patches. Overall, bold individuals had lower giving-up densities than shy individuals but this difference increased at day in formerly illuminated seed patches. Small mammals thus showed carry-over effects on daytime foraging behavior due to ALAN, i.e., nocturnal illumination has the potential to affect intra- and interspecific interactions during both night and day with possible changes in personality structure within populations and altered predator-prey dynamics. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1231 KW - light pollution KW - inter-individual differences KW - animal personality KW - Myodes glareolus KW - ALAN Y1 - 2022 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-544702 SN - 1866-8372 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Dammhahn, Melanie A1 - Mazza, Valeria A1 - Schirmer, Annika A1 - Göttsche, Claudia A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Of city and village mice BT - behavioural adjustments of striped field mice to urban environments T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - A fundamental question of current ecological research concerns the drives and limits of species responses to human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). Behavioural responses to HIREC are a key component because behaviour links individual responses to population and community changes. Ongoing fast urbanization provides an ideal setting to test the functional role of behaviour for responses to HIREC. Consistent behavioural differences between conspecifics (animal personality) may be important determinants or constraints of animals’ adaptation to urban habitats. We tested whether urban and rural populations of small mammals differ in mean trait expression, flexibility and repeatability of behaviours associated to risk-taking and exploratory tendencies. Using a standardized behavioural test in the field, we quantified spatial exploration and boldness of striped field mice (Apodemus agrarius, n = 96) from nine sub-populations, presenting different levels of urbanisation and anthropogenic disturbance. The level of urbanisation positively correlated with boldness, spatial exploration and behavioural flexibility, with urban dwellers being bolder, more explorative and more flexible in some traits than rural conspecifics. Thus, individuals seem to distribute in a non-random way in response to human disturbance based on their behavioural characteristics. Animal personality might therefore play a key role in successful coping with the challenges of HIREC. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 1007 KW - personality-traits KW - apodemus-agrarius KW - exploratory-behavior KW - fitness consequences KW - individual variation KW - avian personalities KW - animal personality KW - rural populations KW - natural-selection KW - natal dispersal Y1 - 2020 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-480063 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 1007 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Mazza, Valeria A1 - Jacob, Jens A1 - Dammhahn, Melanie A1 - Zaccaroni, Marco A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Individual variation in cognitive style reflects foraging and antipredator strategies in a small mammal T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Balancing foraging gain and predation risk is a fundamental trade-off in the life of animals. Individual strategies to acquire, process, store and use information to solve cognitive tasks are likely to affect speed and flexibility of learning, and ecologically relevant decisions regarding foraging and predation risk. Theory suggests a functional link between individual variation in cognitive style and behaviour (animal personality) via speed-accuracy and risk-reward trade-offs. We tested whether cognitive style and personality affect risk-reward trade-off decisions posed by foraging and predation risk. We exposed 21 bank voles (Myodes glareolus) that were bold, fast learning and inflexible and 18 voles that were shy, slow learning and flexible to outdoor enclosures with different risk levels at two food patches. We quantified individual food patch exploitation, foraging and vigilance behaviour. Although both types responded to risk, fast animals increasingly exploited both food patches, gaining access to more food and spending less time searching and exercising vigilance. Slow animals progressively avoided high-risk areas, concentrating foraging effort in the low-risk one, and devoting >50% of visit to vigilance. These patterns indicate that individual differences in cognitive style/personality are reflected in foraging and anti-predator decisions that underlie the individual risk-reward bias. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 761 KW - voles clethrionomys-glareolus KW - coping styles KW - bank voles KW - behavioral flexibility KW - trade-offs KW - exploratory-behavior KW - mustelid predation KW - social information KW - animal personality KW - stress Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-437118 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 761 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Kowalski, Gabriele Joanna A1 - Grimm, Volker A1 - Herde, Antje A1 - Guenther, Anja A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Does Animal Personality Affect Movement in Habitat Corridors? BT - Experiments with Common Voles (Microtus arvalis) Using Different Corridor Widths T2 - Postprints der Universität Potsdam Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe N2 - Animal personality may affect an animal’s mobility in a given landscape, influencing its propensity to take risks in an unknown environment. We investigated the mobility of translocated common voles in two corridor systems 60 m in length and differing in width (1 m and 3 m). Voles were behaviorally phenotyped in repeated open field and barrier tests. Observed behavioral traits were highly repeatable and described by a continuous personality score. Subsequently, animals were tracked via an automated very high frequency (VHF) telemetry radio tracking system to monitor their movement patterns in the corridor system. Although personality did not explain movement patterns, corridor width determined the amount of time spent in the habitat corridor. Voles in the narrow corridor system entered the corridor faster and spent less time in the corridor than animals in the wide corridor. Thus, landscape features seem to affect movement patterns more strongly than personality. Meanwhile, site characteristics, such as corridor width, could prove to be highly important when designing corridors for conservation, with narrow corridors facilitating faster movement through landscapes than wider corridors. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 747 KW - activity KW - animal personality KW - wildlife corridors KW - habitat connectivity KW - individual differences KW - rodents Y1 - 2019 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-435770 SN - 1866-8372 IS - 747 ER - TY - GEN A1 - Herde, Antje A1 - Eccard, Jana T1 - Consistency in boldness, activity and exploration at different stages of life N2 - Background: Animals show consistent individual behavioural patterns over time and over situations. This phenomenon has been referred to as animal personality or behavioural syndromes. Little is known about consistency of animal personalities over entire life times. We investigated the repeatability of behaviour in common voles (Microtus arvalis) at different life stages, with different time intervals, and in different situations. Animals were tested using four behavioural tests in three experimental groups: 1. before and after maturation over three months, 2. twice as adults during one week, and 3. twice as adult animals over three months, which resembles a substantial part of their entire adult life span of several months. Results: Different behaviours were correlated within and between tests and a cluster analysis showed three possible behavioural syndrome-axes, which we name boldness, exploration and activity. Activity and exploration behaviour in all tests was highly repeatable in adult animals tested over one week. In animals tested over maturation, exploration behaviour was consistent whereas activity was not. Voles that were tested as adults with a three-month interval showed the opposite pattern with stable activity but unstable exploration behaviour. Conclusions: The consistency in behaviour over time suggests that common voles do express stable personality over short time. Over longer periods however, behaviour is more flexible and depending on life stage (i.e. tested before/after maturation or as adults) of the tested individual. Level of boldness or activity does not differ between tested groups and maintenance of variation in behavioural traits can therefore not be explained by expected future assets as reported in other studies. T3 - Zweitveröffentlichungen der Universität Potsdam : Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Reihe - 376 KW - animal personality KW - behavioural type KW - Microtus arvalis KW - common vole KW - plasticity KW - consistency KW - repeatability Y1 - 2017 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus4-401395 ER -