A systematic review of animal personality in conservation science.

Although animal personality research may have applied uses, this suggestion has yet to be evaluated by assessing empirical studies examining animal personality and conservation. To address this knowledge gap, we performed a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature relating to conservation science and animal personality. Criteria for inclusion in our review included access to full text, primary research articles, and relevant animal conservation or personality focus (i.

Memory Performance Influences Male Reproductive Success in a Wild Bird.

Despite decades of comparative research, how selection shapes the evolution of cognitive traits remains poorly understood [1-3]. Several lines of evidence suggest that natural selection acts on spatial memory in food-caching species [3-6]. However, a link between reproductive fitness and spatial memory ability has yet to be demonstrated in any caching species [1, 3, 6].

Male New Zealand robins (Petroica longipes) cater to their mate's desire when sharing food in the wild.

In many species that have bi-parental care, food-sharing males provide vital nutritional resources to their mates during reproduction. However, it is currently unknown whether females can signal specific desires to their mates, or if males can cater to female desire in the wild. Here we investigate whether and how wild male North Island robins (Petroica longipes) respond to changes in their mates' desires and nutritional need when sharing food.