| dc.description.abstract | Animals have many strategies to protect themselves against predators, such as avoidance and refuge-seeking behaviors. Animal personality, which is defined as a set of consistent behaviors, is a framework that has been used to categorize individuals as being "shy" or "bold". There are ecological costs and benefits to different personality types (e.g., predation risk, access to resources), and it is possible that personality determines which anti-predator strategy an animal will use. Our objectives were (1) to determine whether snails exhibit repeatable behaviors that can be classified as personality and (2) to determine the ecological significance of personality in coping with predators. We initially determined personality (i.e., shy vs. bold) by measuring latency to emerge. We then exposed both personality types to predator and no-predator environments. Throughout the experiment we collected weekly measurements of emergence time and avoidance behavior, and at the end we measured shell crush resistance. Our data suggest that latency to emerge is repeatable and indicative of personality type. Additionally, we found that, in the presence of a predator, "shy" snails invested greater resources in their shell, whereas "bold" snails exhibited avoidance behaviors. These results suggest that predator-defense strategies are linked to personality type. | |
