Are shy individuals less behaviorally variable? Insights from a captive population of mouse lemurs

Increasingly, individual variation in personality has become a focus of behavioral research in animal systems. Boldness and shyness, often quantified as the tendency to explore novel situations, are seen as personality traits important to the fitness landscape of individuals. Here we tested for individual differences within and across contexts in behavioral responses of captive mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) to novel objects, novel foods, and handling. We report consistent differences in behavioral responses for objects and handling. We also found that the responses to handling and novel objects were correlated and repeatable. Lastly, we show that shyer individuals may show less variability in their behavioral responses. This study provides new information on the potential for behavioral syndromes in this species and highlights differences in the degree to which behavioral types (e.g., shy/bold) vary in their behavioral responses.

在动物行为学研究领域，个体人格差异已逐渐成为核心研究议题。大胆性与羞怯性通常以探索新环境的倾向进行量化，被视为影响个体适合度景观（fitness landscape）的关键人格特质。本研究以圈养鼠狐猴（Microcebus murinus）为研究对象，测试其在各情境内部及跨情境下，对新奇物体、新奇食物与人工抚触的行为反应中的个体差异。研究发现，鼠狐猴在面对新奇物体与人工抚触时的行为反应存在稳定的个体差异；同时，人工抚触与新奇物体相关的行为反应兼具相关性与可重复性。此外，本研究显示羞怯程度更高的个体，其行为反应的变异性往往更低。本研究为该物种存在行为综合征（behavioral syndromes）的可能性提供了新的实证依据，同时也阐明了不同行为类型（如羞怯/大胆个体）在行为反应变异性上的差异。