Here we describe the analyses we conducted for our article Wilson et al. (2022) Personality and plasticity predicts post-release performance in a reintroduced mesopredator, published in Animal Behaviour.
Abstract
Personality can play a crucial role in the survival and dispersal of reintroduced animals. For example, proactive individuals may dominate by being bolder, exploratory and more willing to take risks in familiar, stable environments (i.e., the source environment). Reactive personalities, in contrast, may thrive in novel, unstable environments (i.e., the release site) by being vigilant and risk averse. In addition, an individual's ability to adjust its behaviours over time (plasticity, or responsiveness) can play a pivotal role in determining post-release performance.
We reintroduced a cohort of female-only eastern quolls (Dasyurus viverrinus) to a conservation-fenced haven in the Australian Capital Territory, and conducted behavioural assays and post-release monitoring to determine whether their behavioural measures (e.g., latency to emerge, time spent vigilant) could predict their post-release survival and dispersal, using the behavioural reaction norm approach (sensu Dingemanse et al. 2010).
We found that personality derived from time spent exposed or vigilant during the assays had significant associations with post-release den sharing and home range, while plasticity derived from latency (i.e., time delay) to reach food had a significant association with mean distance between consecutive dens. We recommended that proactive and rigid founders be preferred for pilot (initial) and trial reintroductions, and that reactive and plastic founders be used to supplement the population in later translocations. Our study demonstrated that, by including novelty, behavioural assays offer significant value as a conservation tool to reveal the pathway to reintroduction success.