Adapting conservation management procedures to quantify animal personality in North Island robin/toutouwai (Petroica longipes)

Dataset used for manuscript Adapting conservation management procedures to quantify animal personality in North Island robin/toutouwai (Petroica longipes)

Abstract: Animal personality researchers often describe how their research could be used to aid conservation efforts. However, there is a lack of practical implemntation of animal personlaity research in real-world conservation contexts.Moreover,studies at the interface of animal personality and conservation lack information on the best practices for how to identify personality in a way that is targeted for conservation practitioners. To address these issues and demonstrate how personality can be integrated into conservation, we adapted existing conservation management protocols for the North Island robin, hereafter referred to by its Māori name toutouwai. To identify personality traits, we utilised two different approaches: measuring a single behaviour over multiple contexts and measuring multiple behaviours over a single context. we found that latency to acquire a mealworm was a robust, albeit ambiguous, personality measure in toutouwai and nest defense behaviours were repeatable in females. we then attempted to identify a functional benefit of these personality measures by modelling their relationship to reproductive output measures. There was no relationship between personality and reproductive success. This study confirms that incorporating personality through adapting conservation management procedures is feasible in an ideal context, but also highlights the limitations of implementing personality across conservation contexts, and underscores the need for focused research on ecological function. Overall, this study guides how a conservationist can identify opportunities, incorporate methods, and quantify personality in an actual conservation context.