The fast and the curious II: performance, personality and metabolism in Karoo bush rats

Personality traits (e.g., activity, exploration, boldness) are frequently correlated with each other and with various other traits of biological importance. According to the performance, allocation, and independent models of energy management, the relationship between personality traits and resting metabolic rate (RMR) is predicted to be either positive, negative, or nil. As for the relationship between personality traits and locomotor performance, the trait compensation and co-specialisation hypotheses respectively predict a positive and negative relationship. To test for associations between personality, metabolism, and performance, we studied a wild population of Karoo bush rat (Myotomys unisulcatus) in South Africa. During summer 2018 we captured 45 individuals (38 females and 7 males) a total of 293 times and repeatedly measured docility (time spent immobile during a bag test), exploration (distance moved in an open-field test), sprint speed, and RMR. We found a behavioural syndrom...