An investigation into animal personality in early benthic phase European lobster (Homarus gammarus)

Abstract

Consistent individual differences in behavior, also known as animal personality, have been described across a wide range of taxa. In this study, evidence for animal personality was investigated in the European lobster, an economically important marine decapod that is over-exploited in parts of its range. Behavioral measures commonly used in animal personality studies to assess boldness were used, including time to leave a shelter, proportion of time outside a shelter, activity, exploration, time to reach the minimum distance to a novel object, and minimum distance reached to a novel object. Olfactory cues from conspecifics were used in order to test for animal personality across situations. This study did not find strong evidence of animal personality in the European lobster. Two of the measured behaviors did show significant, but still low, within individual repeatabilities. Additionally, it was found that mother identity was the most important factor in explaining behavioral variation in early benthic phase European lobsters.