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Prospecting at conspecific nests and exploration in a novel environment are associated with reproductive success in the jackdaw

journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 15:46 authored by Wiebke SchuettWiebke Schuett, Jesse Laaksonen, Toni Laaksonen
Consistent behavioural differences between individuals of the same population (“personality” variation) might arise if individuals follow different life-history strategies. Thus, it would be important to determine how personality variation relates to behaviours potentially associated with life-history strategies, such as those related to the use of information about the state of the environment. Little is, however, known about how personality is associated with information use and reproductive success. We tested whether wild social jackdaws, Corvus monedula, show consistent behavioural differences in their exploratory behaviour (in a novel environment in the lab and in their reaction towards a novel object in the wild) and prospecting behaviour (number of visits to conspecific nests). We furthermore examined whether these behavioural traits are linked with each other and predictors of reproductive success. Breeding jackdaws were consistent in their exploratory behaviour within, and in their prospecting behaviour between, years. Exploratory behaviour in the novel environment was correlated with the latency to approach a novel object in the wild but not with the frequency of prospecting at conspecific nests. Highly exploratory males and females and frequently prospecting males produced fewer fledglings than less exploratory individuals or less prospecting males, respectively. We discuss the importance of consistent individual differences in exploration and information sampling on individual fitness.

History

Publication status

  • Published

Journal

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

ISSN

0340-5443

Publisher

Springer

Issue

9

Volume

66

Page range

1341-1350

Department affiliated with

  • Evolution, Behaviour and Environment Publications

Full text available

  • No

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2018-11-07

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