Abstract
In recent years, consistent individual differences in behavior, or personalities, have been a topic of increasing interest as researchers strive to understand and predict the responses of individuals and populations to anthropogenic changes. Behavioral studies in wild populations often require that animals are live trapped before behavioral observation can occur, and this is especially true in studies investigating animal personalities. However, it is unknown whether the amount of time confined to a live trap may regulate the behavior of trapped individuals. Specifically, if the duration of trap confinement directly influences behavior, then by obtaining wild animals through live trapping we may be confounding the very measurements of greatest interest. To investigate whether the duration of trap confinement influences the behavior of trapped individuals, we performed a study on two small mammal species, focusing specifically on personality traits. We positioned high-definition trail cameras facing Longworth small mammal traps in the field to observe capture events and record the time of capture. We then measured personality in captured deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) and southern red-backed voles (Myodes gapperi) using three standardized tests, and through linear and generalized linear models we found that the time an animal had spent confined to a trap before testing did not affect 86% of behaviors exhibited. Our results showed two weak behavioral effects of confinement duration on boldness and docility resulting from an interaction between the duration of confinement and whether or not an individual was naïve to trapping. Our results suggest that behavioral measurements of wild, trapped small mammals are not determined by the time spent confined to a trap. However, researchers should use caution and consider whether an animal is naïve to trapping during analysis since habituation to the live trap may play a role in the effects of confinement duration on behavior.
Highlights
Over the past few decades, the acknowledgement that many species of animals display consistent individual differences in behavior, or personalities, has become widespread (1–4).Personalities are heritable (5), have consequences for fitness (6–9), and can limit the ability of individuals to exhibit behavioral plasticity (10) resulting in trade-offs where certain personality types perform well in some ecological contexts but not in others (11)
We studied the effects of live trapping on behaviors performed during three standard behavioral tests in deer mice and southern red-backed voles
Our major findings were that for these species, 12 out of 14 behaviors exhibited during routine behavioral tests were not affected by the amount of time that individuals had spent confined in traps
Summary
Over the past few decades, the acknowledgement that many species of animals display consistent individual differences in behavior, or personalities, has become widespread (1–4). Personalities are heritable (5), have consequences for fitness (6–9), and can limit the ability of individuals to exhibit behavioral plasticity (10) resulting in trade-offs where certain personality types perform well in some ecological contexts but not in others (11). Studies of personality in wild populations usually require that wild animals are livetrapped so that one or more standardized behavioral tests can be undertaken (21–24) but see (25). Because being trapped may induce stress (26–31), the process of capturing animals and subsequently measuring their personality offers additional challenges. The stress of being trapped might influence the behaviors exhibited by wild animals, confounding the very phenomena we are investigating
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