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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
Ecological Consequences Of Personality In A Guild Of Terrestrial Small Mammals: From Trappability To Seed Dispersal, Allison M. Brehm
Ecological Consequences Of Personality In A Guild Of Terrestrial Small Mammals: From Trappability To Seed Dispersal, Allison M. Brehm
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Individual animals exhibit consistent behavioral tendencies over time and across contexts that have been termed personalities. Personality encapsulates an individual’s unique way of behaving and responding to life’s challenges, and since individuals vary in both personality type and their ability to exhibit behavioural plasticity, there are important links between an individual’s personality and its response to a changing environment; resulting in the study of animal personalities becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Previous research suggests that personality traits measured through standardized behavioural tests predict trappability (i.e. ‘trap happiness’ versus ‘trap shyness’). This relationship has been explored only within single …
Social Play Predicts Docility In Juvenile Ground Squirrels, James Hurst-Hopf, Scott L. Nunes
Social Play Predicts Docility In Juvenile Ground Squirrels, James Hurst-Hopf, Scott L. Nunes
Undergraduate Honors Theses
We evaluated the hypothesis that social play behavior influences the development of temperament in young animals, using docility as a measure of temperament. We observed the play behavior of juvenile Belding’s ground squirrels (Urocitellus beldingi) during the developmental period in which play primarily occurs, and conducted behavioral tests measuring docility at the beginning and end of the play interval. Tests involved handling squirrels and recording their responses. Body mass was a reliable predictor of docility at the beginning of the play period. Rates of social play and maximum distances traveled from the natal burrow during the play interval …