Does personality affect competition, social organization, and fitness? a study using a small social mammal, Octodon degus

Animal personality represents consistent variation among individual behaviors that are repeatable across time and contexts. Recent research in behavioral ecology has revealed that animal personality influences ecological and evolutionary processes, and a growing number of studies demonstrate that personality can play a large role in the interactions among group-living animals. I studied the common degu (Octodon degus), a social and group-living rodent, to evaluate whether three personality traits (aggression, boldness, and activity level) play a role in shaping competitive interactions and composition of social groups, and whether these interactions influence the fitness of individuals in groups. Aggression was the only repeatable trait in the population, and I did not find personality traits to influence competitive outcome or group composition. Personality also did not affect fitness of individuals in groups. I discuss ecological and social contexts that might have influenced this population of degus and provide direction for future personality studies.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

Year dc:date.available

2020

Author dc:creator

• Grillo, Sara

Contributors dc:contributor

• Hayes, Loren D.
• Gaudin, Timothy; Klug, Hope
• College of Arts and Sciences

• Octodontidae
• Social behavior in animals
• Degus

Licence

• https://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/?language=en

Language dc:language

English, eng

Repository record dc:identifier

https://scholar.utc.edu/theses/588

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholar.utc.edu:theses-1745