Matt Legard

MSc from Hull Uni 🇬🇧 Now studying seabird personality @DavorenLab 🇨🇦

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@abfleishman Hi Abram, thanks for the question! We only did one (of each) test on each bird last summer and all during chick rearing so 🤞 the birds were all in a similar phase. I'm hoping to repeat the tests during the same time this summer so will 🤞remove hormonal shifts in behaviour.

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(1/4) #WSTC8 #BehaSesh2 Personality is common in animals and can influence behaviour, with boldness being the most studied trait. Growing research on seabird personality. We studied adult razorbills to identify personality and its effects on behaviour including migration.

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@nattenstein @E_Runnells @gibson90r Yes and we have all our fingers still too! haha

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@kirstyyfranklin Haha! It was my hope, but their next crevices are really tricky! Yeh, some of the 'bolder' birds are real characters, looking forward to working with them again in the summer 😂

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@nattenstein @E_Runnells @gibson90r Hi Natalie, thank you! Yes indeed! We measured response to extraction from the nest, a 5 min period in a pillow case and the 3 of us who handled the birds carried out independent ratings of their boldness. Higher levels of biting/struggling/vocalizing resulted in higher scores!

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@penguin_nati @E_Runnells @gibson90r Hi Nati, thanks for the question, we measured response to extraction from the nest, 5 mins in a pillow case plus the three of us handling the bird carried out independent ratings of boldness. Higher levels of biting/struggling/vocalizing resulted in a higher boldness score!

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@kirstyyfranklin Thanks Kirsty!! Sadly no bath toys I'm afraid!

We measured response to being extracted from the nest, a 5 min period of restraint in a pillow case and the three of us working on the bird did independent subjective ratings of boldness too!

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(4/4) #WSTC8 #BehaSesh2 Results suggest personality is present in razorbills. If this is the case and it affects behaviours such as migration, this could influence population behavioural diversity and therefore the ability of razorbills to tolerate environmental change.

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(3/4) #WSTC8 #BehaSesh2 Spatial comparisons (EMD) show a high range of between-individual variation, but 2 ‘shy’ birds with repeat tracks have high consistency among years. Further tag retrieval will determine how/if boldness influences individual consistency in space use.

[Davoren Lab @DavorenLab]

The Davoren Lab is very excited to share some results during #WSTC8 Check us out!

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

@Joe_Ecology @SJC_fishy Hi Joseph, I would love to sign the letter if possible!

[Joseph Bennett @Joe_Ecology]

Pls retweet! We're writing a letter to new minister of Envt and Climate Change Canada re fixing Species at Risk Act. Image below summarizes recommendations. Pls DM if you're interested in seeing/signing letter.

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(4/4) #WSTC7 #BehaSesh1 Results highlight the value of including personality in husbandry decisions such as feeding regimes and enclosure design. Increasing reproductive success being a potential #conservation benefit. Thank you Hull Uni and all at The Deep!

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(1/4) #WSTC7 #BehaSesh1 Individual personality is found throughout the animal kingdom. Most previous captive studies focused on populations/species not individuals. 13 gentoo 🐧 at The Deep were studied to determine the effects of personality on important husbandry practices.

[Matt Legard @LegardMatthew]

(3/4) #WSTC7 #BehaSesh1 Bolder 🐧 had nests in areas with more light and ate more food from aquarists, matching other studies with different behaviours due to personality. However, bolder individuals did not breed better, as commonly seen in captivity.