Data from: Exploration profiles drive activity patterns and temporal niche specialization in a wild rodent

Individual niche specialization can have important consequences for
competition, fitness, and ultimately population dynamics and ecological
speciation. The temporal window and the level of daily activity are niche
components that may vary with sex, breeding season, food supply,
population density, and predator’s circadian rhythm. More recently,
ecologists emphasized that traits such as dispersal and space use could
depend on personality differences. Boldness and exploration have been
shown to correlate with variation in foraging patterns, habitat use, and
home range. Here we assessed the link between exploration, measured from
repeated novel environment tests, activity patterns, and temporal niche
specialization in wild eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). Intrinsic
differences in exploration should drive daily activity patterns through
differences in energy requirements, space use, or the speed to access
resources. We used collar-mounted accelerometers to assess whether
individual exploration profiles predicted: (1) daily overall dynamic body
acceleration, reflecting overall activity levels; (2) mean activity
duration and the rate of activity sequences, reflecting the structure of
daily activity; and (3) patterns of dawn and dusk activity, reflecting
temporal niche differentiation. Exploration and overall activity levels
were weakly related. However, both dawn activity and rate of activity
sequences increased with the speed of exploration. Overall, activity
patterns varied according to temporal variability in food conditions. This
study emphasizes the role of intrinsic behavioral differences in activity
patterns in a wild animal population. Future studies will help us
understand how yearly seasonality in reproduction, food abundance, and
population density modulate personality-dependent foraging patterns and
temporal niche specialization.