Ambidextrous ungulates have more flexible behaviour, bolder personalities and migrate less
| Autor: | Rob Found, C. C. St. Clair |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
media_common.quotation_subject Wildlife adaptation migration 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Specialization (functional) Personality 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences Wildlife management ungulates 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Habituation lcsh:Science media_common Multidisciplinary Ecology 05 social sciences Flexibility (personality) Biology (Whole Organism) habituation personality laterality Laterality lcsh:Q Adaptation Psychology Cognitive psychology Research Article |
| Zdroj: | Royal Society Open Science Royal Society Open Science, Vol 4, Iss 2 (2017) |
| ISSN: | 2054-5703 |
| Popis: | Studies of wildlife have shown consistent individual variation in behavioural plasticity, which affects the rate of adaptation to changing environments. More flexible individuals may thus be more prone to habituation and conflict behaviour, but these applications of personality to wildlife management are little explored. Behavioural lateralization reflects cerebral specialization that may predict diverse expressions of behavioural plasticity. We recorded front-limb biases (i.e. handedness) in wild elk ( Cervus canadensis ), a species with facultative migration and high rates of habituation inside protected areas. Less lateralized elk responded more strongly to the application of aversive conditioning (predator-resembling chases by humans) by increasing their average flight response distances, but these same animals were also quicker to reduce their flight responses (i.e. habituate) when human approaches were benign. Greater laterality was correlated with, but not completely predicted by, bolder personalities, which we quantified via five correlated behavioural metrics. Lastly, lateralized elk were three times more likely to migrate, whereas less lateralized animals were similarly likely to remain near humans year-round. Lateralized behaviours can provide insight into behavioural flexibility enabling certain individuals to more quickly adapt to human-disturbed landscapes, and offer an especially productive arena for collaborative work by behaviourists, conservation biologists and wildlife managers. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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