Animal personality is more concisely called "consistent individual differences" in behavior (1). As currently used in behavioral ecology, consistent individual differences in animal behaviors differ from human personality studies due to the measurements used to assess behavioral tendencies. In human psychology, personality theorists often focus on individually consistent patterns in feeling, thinking, and behaving (2). It is unclear and unlikely that animal behaviorists are measuring the same attributes at these early stages in animal personality research. Compared to human psychology literature, the behavioral tendencies measured in animal models seem to more closely resemble human temperament studies. Thus, to avoid confusion, I will use "consistent individual differences" to describe the behavioral tendencies of my study species.

Study System Using an endangered species translocation, I am investigating the expression of consistent individual behavioral differences in a species bred in captivity for two decades. I am asking whether captive Attwater's Prairie Chickens (Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) demonstrate within- and among-individual behavioral variation in an ecologically relevant behavior - risk-taking tendencies. I am exploring novel machine-learning approaches to transcribe behavioral footage and mixed-method modeling with non-independent samples to produce a relevant behavioral index. 

Impacts My work is demonstrating the unique contribution of an endangered species translocation system to address theoretical animal behavior questions. Researchers can use the semi-controlled captive environments to test various hypotheses concerning behavioral development and fitness consequences. 

Nature versus Nurture Using the Attwater's Prairie Chicken (APC; Tympanuchus cupido attwateri) captive breeding program, I am exploring how genetic lineage, social environment, and rearing methods may impact behavioral development. The APCs are reared using hand-, foster, and parent-rearing methods, and have rearing groups of various sizes, resulting in groups with different social environments and levels of resource competition. Thus, I am asking two key questions:

(1) Does increased social competition in the form of increased group size influence the amount of among-individual variation in risk-taking behaviors?

(2) Do individuals of different rearing methods demonstrate different behavioral tendencies?

Impact The APC captive breeding program plans to use my results to advise their current rearing and release protocols to (hopefully!) improve the success of the critically endangered species. This means that my findings will be able to inform current behavioral development theory and whether conservation management of various species should consider consistent individual differences in behavior in their protocols. 

Social and Survival Consequences Capitalizing on the APC translocation program, I am exploring the consequences of behavioral differences developed in captivity. APC from various rearing groups are translocated to acclimation pens at the Attwater's Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge and held for two weeks before release, allowing me to ask three key questions:

(1) Do individuals preferentially interact with behaviorally similar or dissimilar conspecifics?

(2) Do behavioral tendencies impact the level of sociality?

(3) Do behavioral tendencies impact survival post-release?

Impact The APC refuge plans to use my data to inform their release and monitoring strategies. The social impact results will provide a foundation to explore how captive individuals may integrate into the wild population.

Population Growth I am interested in exploring whether the behavioral data I collected on the APC can inform the population growth of the wild population. Recovery programs often use population growth models to predict translocation success, but individuals may have a more pronounced role in population growth within small populations like the APC. I aim to incorporate behavioral data into an APC population growth model to ask the following:

(1) Can knowledge of consistent individual behavioral differences improve population growth?

(2) How sensitive are population growth models to differences in individual consistent behaviors?

(3) Is there a threshold on population growth models for behavioral differences to have differing impacts?

Impact Conservation and behavioral scientists have proposed that consistent behavioral differences among individuals could impact population dynamics and recovery initiatives. For example, releasing a mix of behavioral profiles could facilitate establishment or social integration post-release. These results will provide evidence for or against the role of consistent individual behavioral differences in informing greater conservation efforts.