The influence of habitat quality on Personality in great tits (Parus major)

As human activities continue to change natural habitats, animals are forced to adapt in order to survive. In such situations, behavioural responses are expected to play a significant role in enabling individuals to plastically adjust to a changing environment. Personality, as defined to describe the among-individual variation of behavioural responses, is closely associated with behavioural responses to changing environmental conditions and, in turn, personality traits are likely involved in evolutionary changes through natural selection. The evolution and maintenance of personality traits in natural populations have been widely discussed. However, little is known about the extent to which habitat quality and personality interact when individuals must adjust to changing circumstances. This project aims to build a comprehensive picture of the behavioural and ecological pathways that link animal personality with habitat quality using a great tit (Parus major) long-term study population in a natural setting. For this, we will combine cross-foster experiments with detailed measures in a controlled captive setup to assess whether and why wild individuals from varying habitats have different personality traits. Moreover, we will evaluate the possible fitness consequences for different behavioural phenotypes in a heterogeneous environment using long-term population data. The project will provide novel insights into how variation and changes in habitat quality shape the distribution of animal personality in a heterogeneous and changing environment. This will help us understand how