Ruffed Grouse Resource Selection Function and Survival Datasets

For overwintering species, individuals’ ability to find refugia from
inclement weather and predators likely confers strong fitness benefits.
How animals use their environment can be mediated by their personality
(e.g., risk-taking), but does personality mediate how overwintering
species select refugia? Snow cover is a dynamic winter characteristic that
can influence crypsis or provide below-the-snow refugia. We explored how
wintering ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) selected snow roosting sites, a
behavior that reduces stress and cold exposure. We linked selection for
~700 roosts with survival of 42 grouse, and showed that grouse generally
selected deeper snow and warmer areas. Grouse found in shallow snow were
less likely to survive winter. However, individuals with personalities for
selecting deep snow improved their survival, suggesting that demographic
consequences of selecting winter refugia are mediated by differences in
personality. Our study provides a crucial, and seldom addressed, link
between personality in resource selection and resulting demographic
consequences.