Data from: Personality predicts social dominance in male domestic fowl

Individuals in social species commonly form dominance relationships, where
dominant individuals enjoy greater access to resources compared to
subordinates. A range of factors such as sex, age, body size and prior
experiences has to varying degrees been observed to affect the social
status an individual obtains. Recent work on animal personality (i.e.
consistent variation in behavioural responses of individuals) demonstrates
that personality can co-vary with social status, suggesting that also
behavioural variation can play an important role in establishment of
status. We investigated whether personality could predict the outcome of
duels between pairs of morphologically matched male domestic fowl (Gallus
gallus domesticus), a species where individuals readily form social
hierarchies. We found that males that more quickly explored a novel arena,
or remained vigilant for a longer period following the playback of a
warning call were more likely to obtain a dominant position. These traits
were uncorrelated to each other and were also uncorrelated to aggression
during the initial part of the dominance-determining duel. Our results
indicate that several behavioural traits independently play a role in the
establishment of social status, which in turn can have implications for
the reproductive success of different personality types.