Behaviour in captivity predicts some aspects of natural behaviour,but not others,in a wild cricket population

Examining the relevance of ‘animal personality’ involves linking consistent among- and within-individual behavioural variation to fitness in the wild. Studies aiming to do this typically assay personality in captivity and rely on the assumption that measures of traits in the laboratory reflect their expression in nature. We examined this rarely tested assumption by comparing laboratory and field measurements of the behaviour of wild field crickets (Gryllus campestris) by continuously monitoring individual behaviour in nature, and repeatedly capturing the same individuals and measuring their behaviour in captivity. We focused on three traits that are frequently examined in personality studies: shyness, activity and exploration. All of them showed repeatability in the laboratory. Laboratory activity and exploration predicted the expression of their equivalent behaviours in the wild, but shyness did not. Traits in the wild were predictably influenced by environmental factors such as temperature and sunlight, but only activity showed appreciable within-individual repeatability. This suggests that some behaviours typically studied as personality traits can be accurately assayed in captivity, but the expression of others may be highly context-specific. Our results highlight the importance of validating the relevance of laboratory behavioural assays to analogous traits measured in the wild.     

Validating standardised personality tests under semi‐natural conditions in wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Personality traits in animals are often measured using standardised behavioural tests for activity, boldness/shyness, sociability, aggression and exploration. These tests are quick and convenient, as well as easy to repeat. As the interest in studying the impact of animal personality on ecological and evolutionary consequences has been growing rapidly, there is increasing focus on cross‐validating measurements taken during these tests with behaviours shown under natural situations. In our experiment, we aimed to study the relationship between standardised measurements for activity, exploration and anxiety‐like behaviour measured in Open Field, Novel Object and Elevated Plus Maze tests with exploration and colonisation in semi‐natural conditions. We carried out a semi‐natural enclosure experiment in parallel with standardised behavioural tests, creating a scenario similar to an invasion or dispersal event. We compared behaviours in standardised tests and in enclosures for animals of two populations of wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus). Several behavioural variables taken during the standardised tests, such as distance moved and time spent with novel object, were negatively correlated with space‐use in the enclosure while being highly positively correlated among each other. Based on their relationship with space use, we refer to behavioural measurements from standardised tests as activity/exploration. The time spent near the walls in an open field, probably reflecting anxiety, was not correlated to any other variable or the behaviour in the enclosure. In addition, we found differences in activity/exploration behaviour between the two populations in the standardised tests, but not during the colonisation of the novel environment. These results emphasise that researchers have to be careful when trying to extrapolate behaviour shown in standardised laboratory test setups to more natural, ecologically relevant situations. This has to be taken into account in distantly related species but even when studying the wild relative of laboratory rodents, for which these standardised tests have originally been developed.     

Head Colour and Age Relate to Personality Traits in Gouldian Finches

Colour polymorphism is a widespread phenomenon in vertebrates and has often been linked with differences in behaviour such as aggression or boldness, behaviours that are often part of personality traits in monomorphic species. However, up to now, very few studies have looked whether colour morphs just differ in average behaviour or whether specific combinations of behaviours are favoured in relation to a particular morph therefore signalling personality traits. This was tested in the highly social and polymorphic Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae). Tests were performed in pairs of a red‐headed and a black‐headed individual of same sex and size but different age. Capture rank in the aviary as well as latency to feed beside a novel object (neophobia) and to approach and touch a novel object on a perch (neophilia) were measured. For neophobia and neophilia, ranks of latencies calculated across all individuals were used and general and within‐pair comparisons were made. Neophobia and approach neophilia were consistent over time (2 mo), and approach neophilia was positively correlated with capture rank and neophobia indicating that the behaviours are part of personality traits. Moreover, black‐headed birds generally approached the novel object earlier than red‐headed birds. Similarly, within pairs, black‐headed birds were first to approach the novel object and were also captured first. Relative age (younger or older than the partner) was related to neophobia and tactile neophilia ranks; older birds reacted faster. The results indicate that colour morphs not only differ in average behaviour but that specific combinations of behaviours are related to colour morphs suggesting that head colours signal personality traits. Furthermore, depending on age individuals may have different roles in a social network.     

Exploratory behavior,but not aggressiveness,is correlated with breeding dispersal propensity in the highly philopatric thorn-tailed rayadito

Studies on the relationship between behavioral traits and dispersal are necessary to understand the evolution of dispersal syndromes. Empirical studies have mainly focused on natal dispersal, even though behavioral differences between dispersers and philopatric individuals are suspected to hold through the whole life cycle, potentially affecting breeding dispersal propensity. Using capture–mark–recapture data and behavioral trials in a forest passerine, the thorn-tailed rayadito Aphrastura spinicauda, we describe inter-individual differences in exploratory behavior and aggressiveness, and investigate the relationship between those traits and breeding dispersal. Our study took place in Fray Jorge National Park, north-central Chile, where a relatively isolated population of rayaditos inhabits a naturally fragmented environment. We found that scores for behavioral traits were consistent between years. Exploratory behavior was similar between sexes, while males showed higher levels of aggression towards a conspecific male intruder. Only exploratory behavior was related to breeding dispersal propensity, with fast-exploring rayaditos being more likely to have dispersed between seasons. This finding provides indirect evidence for the existence of a dispersal strategy that could reduce dispersal costs in the fragmented landscape of Fray Jorge. To our knowledge, this is the first study documenting an association between breeding dispersal and exploratory behavior in a wild bird population. A longitudinal individual-based study will help determining whether this association constitutes a behavioral syndrome.     

Long-term repeatability of behaviours in zebrafish (Danio rerio)

Animal personality is defined as individual variation in behaviour that is consistent over time and/or across contexts. Animal personality is now considered a fundamental aspect in the fields of animal behaviour and behavioural ecology, yet the majority of studies assess repeatability of behaviours over only relatively short time periods (e.g. a week) using just two measures. Understanding whether behavioural traits are repeatable over longer periods is important for the assessment of individual differences in behaviour. Using zebrafish (Danio rerio), we investigated the repeatability of activity and exploratory behaviours, including distance travelled, time spent in the bottom of the arena, stationary time and overall exploration of the novel arena over a 28-week period, using five intervals. All measures were repeatable over 28 weeks, but the repeatability estimates were much lower when comparing the initial week one and week two behaviours. There were clear sex differences in aspects of activity, with males more active than females. Importantly, our behavioural assays suggest that zebrafish require an initial “tank experience,” prior to the main phenotyping session, to ensure that behaviours being measured are repeatable—these effects are often not considered, but have implications for the many studies that measure behaviour at a single time point only.     

Non-photoperiodic factors and timing of breeding in blue tits: impact of environmental and social influences in semi-natural conditions

The seasonal development of life-history traits is influenced by many environmental factors. The impact of photoperiodic and non-photoperiodic factors on nest building and egg laying has been rarely investigated in non-domesticated avian species for which long term field data sets are available. Former investigations showed that blue tits originating from geographically close populations in the Mediterranean region do not respond in the same way to photoperiodic factors in semi-natural outdoor conditions. Here we show experimentally that nest building and onset of egg laying in captive blue tits is also proximately influenced by non-photoperiodic factors, including aspects related to aviary characteristics and social interactions between birds of the two sexes originating from different local Mediterranean study populations. In two successive experiments, we show that (1) increasing the volume of the aviary advanced the egg laying period of one specific population by almost 1 month, and (2) crossing pairs of birds from different origins strongly reduced the nest building and egg laying behaviours. These results indicate that obtaining biologically relevant breeding results in captivity with wild birds requires the control and experimental manipulation of a wide array of complex environmental cues.     

Changes in exploration from courtship to the breeding state in red-rumped parrots (Psephotus haematonotus)

Animals explore their environment to gather information about feeding areas, resting places, or suitable territories for reproduction. During the annual cycle seasonal variation in exploration occurs at least in some species. In this study, exploratory behaviour of red-rumped parrots (Psephotus haematonotus) was investigated during part of the reproductive period including courtship and incubation. On 2 test days 14 pairs in either the courtship or the breeding state were confronted with three unknown objects in their familiar aviary for 6 h on each of 2 days. Test days were separated by a 2-day pause. Exploration by the males did not change from courtship to breeding, whereas in females latency to first contact increased, and duration of exploration and the number of objects touched decreased from courtship to breeding state. Considering the pair as a unit, the total duration of exploration was shorter in breeding pairs than in pairs during courtship. Changes in exploration from the first to the second day of object exposure occurred in both sexes. Males explored longer on the second day, females contacted the objects significantly later on the second day but showed no significant changes in duration of exploration. The changes in exploration might be due to changed cost/benefit considerations during courtship and breeding.     

Heritability and genetic correlations of personality traits in a wild population of yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris)

Describing and quantifying animal personality is now an integral part of behavioural studies because individually distinctive behaviours have ecological and evolutionary consequences. Yet, to fully understand how personality traits may respond to selection, one must understand the underlying heritability and genetic correlations between traits. Previous studies have reported a moderate degree of heritability of personality traits, but few of these studies have either been conducted in the wild or estimated the genetic correlations between personality traits. Estimating the additive genetic variance and covariance in the wild is crucial to understand the evolutionary potential of behavioural traits. Enhanced environmental variation could reduce heritability and genetic correlations, thus leading to different evolutionary predictions. We estimated the additive genetic variance and covariance of docility in the trap, sociability (mirror image stimulation), and exploration and activity in two different contexts (open‐field and mirror image simulation experiments) in a wild population of yellow‐bellied marmots (Marmota flaviventris). We estimated both heritability of behaviours and of personality traits and found nonzero additive genetic variance in these traits. We also found nonzero maternal, permanent environment and year effects. Finally, we found four phenotypic correlations between traits, and one positive genetic correlation between activity in the open‐field test and sociability. We also found permanent environment correlations between activity in both tests and docility and exploration in the MIS test. This is one of a handful of studies to adopt a quantitative genetic approach to explain variation in personality traits in the wild and, thus, provides important insights into the potential variance available for selection.     

The role of a social factor in exploration of a novel environment in great tits (Parus major) under conditions of limited space

Sequential tests in an open field (OF) and in an aviary were performed to study the exploration behavior of great tits, Parus major Each aviary of 2×2×2 m included a standard set of objects: trees, feeder, and shelters. Twenty-four aviaries included a single individual, and 49 aviaries included two heterosexual individuals. During the 15-min observation, a number of explored objects, the latent exploration period of each object (the time period from the start of observation to the first visit of each object), and the time period to the onset of feeding were recorded. The exploration rate of each individual was characterized by the sum of all latent periods (CLP). No association between the cumulative locomotor activities in OF and in an aviary was found. Probably, in the complex environment of an aviary, the frequency of directed actions increases, competing with the movement activity. Faster individuals in OF showed a shorter CLP; i.e., they were fast explorers. The exploration rate of a novel environment in the presence of socid partner was unrelated to exploration scores in OF. Interrelations of birds combined in an aviary were dependent on combinations of personality characteristics identified in OF.     

Comparison of personality between juveniles and adults in clonal gecko species

The developmental perspectives of animal personality enhance our understanding of how personality structure changes in relation to life stage. Clonal animals are ideal models for developmental studies because personality differences can be solely attributed to environmental factors. Here, I investigated the presence of personality within a species of clonal gecko, Lepidodactylus lugubris, at different developmental stages. For juveniles and adult geckos, I measured exploration (reaction to a novel situation) and boldness (risk-prone tendency) and evaluated repeatability and correlation of these behavioural traits. Each gecko exhibited different exploration and boldness with significant repeatability through time but no correlation between these behavioural traits. Small juveniles were composed of only bold and low explorative individuals but large juveniles and adults were composed of various personality type individuals. These results demonstrate that subject geckos have a similar personality structure across life stages and that exploration and boldness are independent personality without forming behavioural syndrome structure. Biased composition of personality type between life stages suggests that appearance of different personality type individuals during an early ontogenetic stage generates personality variation within the clonal population. This study provides developmental insight about personality structure and its composition in clonal animals living in the wild.     

Rapid divergence of animal personality and syndrome structure across an arid-aquatic habitat matrix

Intraspecific trait variation, including animal personalities and behavioural syndromes, affects how individual animals and populations interact with their environment. Within-species behavioural variation is widespread across animal taxa, which has substantial and unexplored implications for the ecological and evolutionary processes of animals. Accordingly, we sought to investigate individual behavioural characteristics in several populations of a desert-dwelling fish, the Australian desert goby (Chlamydogobius eremius). We reared first generation offspring in a common garden to compare non-ontogenic divergence in behavioural phenotypes between genetically interconnected populations from contrasting habitats (isolated groundwater springs versus hydrologically variable river waterholes). Despite the genetic connectedness of populations, fish had divergent bold-exploratory traits associated with their source habitat. This demonstrates divergence in risk-taking traits as a rapid phenotypic response to ecological pressures in arid aquatic habitats: neophilia may be suppressed by increased predation pressure and elevated by high intraspecific competition. Correlations between personality traits also differed between spring and river fish. River populations showed correlations between dispersal and novel environment behaviours, revealing an adaptive behavioural syndrome (related to dispersal and exploration) that was not found in spring populations. This illustrates the adaptive significance of heritable behavioural variation within and between populations, and their importance to animals persisting across contrasting habitats.     

Mechanisms and reproductive consequences of breeding dispersal in a specialist predator under temporally varying food conditions

Individual variation in breeding dispersal has extensive ecological and evolutionary consequences, but the factors driving individual dispersal behaviour and their fitness consequences remain poorly understood. Our data on dispersal events of a rodent‐specialist predator, the Eurasian kestrel Falco tinnunculus, over 20 years in western Finland offers a unique opportunity to explore the mechanisms underlying breeding dispersal behaviour and its reproductive consequences in a wild bird population. Sex, age, body condition and previous breeding success affected breeding dispersal. Dispersal distances were longer in females than in males as well as longer in yearlings than in older individuals. Body condition was positively correlated to breeding dispersal distances, particularly for females. The lowest dispersal distances were recorded for intermediate brood sizes in the year preceding dispersal. Our results highlight sex‐ and environment‐specific consequences of breeding dispersal on reproductive performance. During increase phases of the three‐year vole cycles, males dispersing further had lower reproductive performance after dispersal, whereas in females, long breeding dispersal distances were associated with increased breeding success under all environmental conditions. These results suggest benefits associated to breeding dispersal in females, potentially related to large spatio‐temporal variation in main food abundance and intensity of intra‐specific competition. Breeding dispersal of males was costly during increasing food abundance, indicating the potential fitness benefits of environmental familiarity in this migratory species. Overall, our results indicate that both individual traits and environmental factors interact to shape breeding dispersal strategies in wide‐ranging predator populations under fluctuating food conditions.     

Chemosensory enrichment as a simple and effective way to improve the welfare of captive lizards

Environmental enrichment has proven to be a useful and effective welfare tool in order to evaluate and enhance the well‐being of captive animals, but only when it is based on detailed knowledge of each species' natural behaviour. Chemoreception is fundamental to many aspects of reptilian biology; however, sensory enrichment with chemical stimuli has rarely been applied to reptiles. In this study, we evaluate the use of chemosensory enrichment as a method to enhance the welfare of Podarcis liolepis. For seven weeks, we exposed field‐caught males to scents from donor conspecific males collected on pieces of filter paper (i.e., “enriched” group, n = 18), and compared their behaviour to that of control males provided with unscented pieces of filter paper (n = 18). We measured the occurrence of normal (e.g., locomotion) and abnormal (escape attempts) behaviours each day for three weeks. In addition, we conducted two exploration tests and a visual barrier test. Compared to controls, enriched lizards showed a consistent long‐term decrease (29%–38%) in the occurrence of escape attempts. During exploration tests, enriched lizards spent less time performing escape attempts and devoted more time to perching than controls. As expected, both control and enriched lizards showed a reduction of time in locomotion and an increase in the time spent perching between the first and second exploration test, but these changes were significantly more pronounced for enriched animals. Taken together, our results suggest improved welfare of enriched animals, as they spent less time engaging in abnormal behaviours, more time in normal behaviours, and showed signs of faster habituation to a novel environment. Chemosensory enrichment is a relatively simple enrichment strategy that could potentially be applied to improve the welfare of a wide range of captive lizards, and reptiles at large.     

Natural selection,plasticity and the emergence of a behavioural syndrome in the wild

Individuals often show consistent behavioural differences where behaviours can form integrated units across functionally different contexts. However, the factors causing and maintaining behavioural syndromes in natural populations remain poorly understood. In this study, we provide evidence for the emergence of a behavioural syndrome during the first months of life in wild brown trout (Salmo trutta). Behavioural traits of trout were scored before and after a 2‐month interval covering a major survival bottleneck, whereupon the consistency and covariance of behaviours were analysed. We found that selection favoured individuals with high activity levels in an open‐field context, a personality trait consistent throughout the duration of the experiment. In addition, a behavioural syndrome emerged over the 2 months in the wild, linking activity to aggressiveness and exploration tendency. These novel results suggest that behavioural syndromes can emerge rapidly in nature from interaction between natural selection and behavioural plasticity affecting single behaviours.     

The link between behavioural type and natal dispersal propensity reveals a dispersal syndrome in a large herbivore

When individuals disperse, they modify the physical and social composition of their reproductive environment, potentially impacting their fitness. The choice an individual makes between dispersal and philopatry is thus critical, hence a better understanding of the mechanisms involved in the decision to leave the natal area is crucial. We explored how combinations of behavioural (exploration, mobility, activity and stress response) and morphological (body mass) traits measured prior to dispersal were linked to the subsequent dispersal decision in 77 roe deer Capreolus capreolus fawns. Using an unusually detailed multi-trait approach, we identified two independent behavioural continuums related to dispersal. First, a continuum of energetic expenditure contrasted individuals of low mobility, low variability in head activity and low body temperature with those that displayed opposite traits. Second, a continuum of neophobia contrasted individuals that explored more prior to dispersal and were more tolerant of capture with those that displayed opposite traits. While accounting for possible confounding effects of condition-dependence (body mass), we showed that future dispersers were less neophobic and had higher energetic budgets than future philopatric individuals, providing strong support for a dispersal syndrome in this species.     

Affinity for natal environments by dispersers impacts reproduction and explains geographical structure of a highly mobile bird

Understanding dispersal and habitat selection behaviours is central to many problems in ecology, evolution and conservation. One factor often hypothesized to influence habitat selection by dispersers is the natal environment experienced by juveniles. Nonetheless, evidence for the effect of natal environment on dispersing, wild vertebrates remains limited. Using 18 years of nesting and mark–resight data across an entire North American geographical range of an endangered bird, the snail kite (Rostrhamus sociabilis), we tested for natal effects on breeding-site selection by dispersers and its consequences for reproductive success and population structure. Dispersing snail kites were more likely to nest in wetlands of the same habitat type (lacustrine or palustrine) as their natal wetland, independent of dispersal distance, but this preference declined with age and if individuals were born during droughts. Importantly, dispersing kites that bred in natal-like habitats had lower nest success and productivity than kites that did not. These behaviours help explain recently described population connectivity and spatial structure across their geographical range and reveal that assortative breeding is occurring, where birds are more likely to breed with individuals born in the same wetland type as their natal habitat. Natal environments can thus have long-term and large-scale effects on populations in nature, even in highly mobile animals.     

Spatial Neophilia and Spatial Neophobia in Resident and Migratory Warblers (Sylvia)

Residents and migrants use their environment very differently – the former remain in a given habitat throughout the year, whereas the latter are repeatedly confronted with unfamiliar environments. The difference in ecology may influence decision-making processes whether, when and to which extent to explore an unfamiliar environment. We have investigated spatial neophobia and spatial neophilia – two important novelty reactions that may underlie decision-making – in two closely related warbler species, the resident Sardinian warbler and the migratory garden warbler. Individuals of both species could access an unfamiliar room from a familiar cage. We assessed the conflict between the motivation to enter the novel room (spatial neophilia) and the motivation to avoid it (spatial neophobia) as the frequency and duration of perching on the dowel in the cage, which led to the unfamiliar room before entering it. Furthermore, we measured the latency to enter the novel room and compared the number of individuals of each species entering the room. The combination of the parameters measured allowed assessing the degree of both neophobia and neophilia. Finally, the time spent on each branch in the novel room was taken as a measure for spatial exploration. The migrants perched less often and spent less time on the dowel leading to the room, and entered the novel room quicker than the residents. Additionally, more migrants than residents entered the room. The migrants' decision to enter the novel room can best be explained with a combination of low spatial neophobia coupled with high spatial neophilia, whereas the residents' decision-making is best explained with high spatial neophobia coupled with high spatial neophilia. The differences in neophobia support the migrant-neophobia hypothesis. When in the room, the migrants spent less time on each branch than the residents, possibly indicating that the former collect less spatial information than the latter.     

Comparative morphology of dark-eyed juncos Junco hyemalis breeding at two elevations: a common aviary experiment

Morphologies of bird species often vary along elevation gradients, yet causes of the variation have not been examined experimentally. We investigated variation in morphological traits of the dark‐eyed junco Junco hyemalis, breeding at 1,000 m a.s.l. (low‐elevation; i.e. low) and 2,000 m asl (high‐elevation; i.e. high) in the Rocky Mountains, Canada. Eight morphological traits were measured in free‐living birds. We found two consistent differences in populations between elevations: at high‐elevation sites, females had longer wings and males had longer tails than birds from low‐ elevation sites. Other age‐ and gender‐ specific results were observed in free‐living birds between elevations: tarsi were shorter in high‐elevation second year (SY) females and after second year (ASY) males, beak lengths were slightly longer in low‐elevation SY females, and high‐elevation ASY females tended to have lower fat than low‐elevation ASY females. Morphological differences may result from genetic differences between elevations, or phenotypic flexibility resulting from exposure to the different environmental conditions. To identify which mechanism caused the difference in morphometrics, hand‐reared birds from low‐ and high‐elevation habitats were raised in identical conditions with unlimited access to high quality food until they had replaced all feathers. The traits measured in the lab (wing and rectrix length, weight and fat score) tended to increase in magnitude compared to field values. Juncos from high‐ and low‐elevations had similar responses to the aviary environment, with one exception: males from high‐elevation sites had greater weight gain relative to free‐living juncos than males from low‐elevation sites. Thus, morphological traits in dark‐eyed juncos were phenotypically flexible, capable of growing larger in the laboratory environment. However, there were also persistent genetic or perinatal/maternal differences underlying population responses that prevented traits from converging under aviary conditions. As a result, trait size differences between high‐ and low‐elevation populations were maintained or exacerbated in the common aviary environment.     

Estimates of the genetic parameters and repeatability of behavioural traits of sheep in an arena test

Over three years, seven hundred and sixty two 14-month-old Bluefaced Leicester crossbred ewe lambs were individually exposed to a 6-min arena test designed to evaluate the behaviour of sheep exposed to a situation of conflicting motivations (to seek flock mates versus avoid a motionless human). The behaviours measured included vocalisation (latency and number of bleats), locomotion (number of squares entered, number of entries to the area close to the observer) and proximity (time spent near to or distant from the observer and time in the centre of the arena). In the first year, 190 lambs were measured three times at ages between 8 and 14 months. Changes in mean levels of behaviour that were consistent with habituation were observed during these repeated tests. The repeatability of traits for vocalisation (0.58–0.71) tended to be higher than for locomotion (0.38–0.40) and for proximity to the human (0.17–0.60) with evidence of an increase in the repeatability of proximity traits between the second and third tests. There were no significant effects of litter size at birth or rearing type on behaviour and only small effects of farm of origin and breed of dam of the lamb (Scottish Blackface and Hardy Speckled Face). Heritability estimates were: latency to bleat (0.13), number of bleats (0.39), number of squares entered (0.29), time spent distant from the observer (0.13), time in the centre of the arena (0.02), time spent near to the observer (0.22) and number of entries to the area near to the observer (0.21). Phenotypic, genetic and environmental correlations were generally of similar magnitude, and indicated a moderate relationship between traits for vocalisation and locomotion, with no significant associations between traits for vocalisation and proximity to the observer. Test behaviours were not significantly correlated to yearling weight. These results demonstrate the existence of considerable genetic variation in behaviour among sheep and indicate that behavioural measures of vocalisation and proximity to the human are genetically and environmentally uncorrelated and may represent independent measures of emotional state.     

Personality‐related differences in response to habitat in Mediterranean blue tits

Habitat‐specific selection pressures have been widely recognized, but whether selection favours different personality types in different habitats has rarely been evaluated. This study aimed to test whether personality‐related differences in annual reproductive success differed between two populations of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) occupying different Mediterranean habitats (oakwood and pinewood). We measured exploration and parental provisioning behaviours and used a path analysis to ask how the interplay between these two behavioural traits affected reproductive success in each of these two habitats. We found that blue tits breeding in the pinewood were slow‐exploring compared to blue tits breeding in the oakwood, suggesting the occurrence of personality‐related differences in settlement, or behavioural plasticity in response to habitat. Exploration behaviour and feeding rates were positively associated, suggesting that they affect each other or that there is an environmental factor affecting both traits simultaneously. Finally, fast explorers were favoured in the pinewood, while there was no selection acting on exploration behaviour in the oak habitat. These findings emphasize the importance of integrating habitat selection, plasticity and personality in the study of behavioural evolution.