Personality in Community Ecology Responses: Integrating the behaviour and species interactions of a marine invader (PinCER) (39689)

Different individuals from the same species can consistently behave quite differently when confronted by the same situation. This difference in behavior is often referred to as "personality". Personality types like boldness/shyness can change how the individual interacts with its environment, e.g. the outcome of predator-prey interactions. However, the effects of widespread personality variability on ecosystems remains relatively unexplored.

PinCER will investigate personality in fish (specifically round goby), quantifying links between personality (e.g. boldness, exploration, risk aversion etc.) and diet, trophic position and body condition in individual animals. By quantifying the degree that personality variability translates to functional diversity in food webs, PinCER will provide insights into the effects of personality on ecosystem processes, in particular invasiveness of species.

Partner
National Institute of Aquatic Resources, DTU Aqua

Funding
The project is funded by EU H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships.

Research area: Oceanography
Research area: Fish Biology