Personality and cognitive variation in a wild population of the great tit (Parus major)

Thesis

The evolutionary processes that shape individual variation in continuous behavioural traits remain poorly understood. While the emerging discipline of animal personality is providing increasing evidence that consistent individual differences in behaviour have significant fitness consequences, cognitive traits are yet to be explored in the same manner. My general objective in this thesis was twofold. First, I aimed to examine the ecological significance and fitness consequences of the cogni...

Expand abstract

Authors: Cole, E

• Publication date: 2011
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: Oxford University, UK
• Language: English
• Keywords: individual variation; foraging; cognition; great tit; reproductive success; Personality; exploration behaviour; competitve ability; Parus major
• Subjects: Evolution (zoology); Ecology (zoology); Biology; Behaviour (zoology)