Behavior and Ethology Commons^™

Sex-Specific Personalities In The Purple Marsh Crab, Jillian Sterman, Jessica Barton, Panagiota Delmedico, Samantha Sweeney

DePaul Discoveries

Animals are considered to possess personalities when individuals differ in behavior, and these differences are consistent between situations. Several studies have identified personalities in diverse groups but less is known about personality variation between the sexes. In this study, we examined variation in two key personality traits (boldness, activity) in female and male purple marsh crabs (Sesarma reticulatum) using a semi-field approach. Specifically, we measured boldness and activity on two consecutive days using the same behavioral assays during each time point. Consistency (personality) was determined using Kendall’s coefficient of concordance based on Spearman correlation coefficients for each behavior. …