Early-life behavior, survival, and maternal personality in a wild marsupial.

ABSTRACT: Individual behavior varies for many reasons, but how early in life are such differences apparent, and are they under selection? We investigated variation in early-life behavior in a wild eastern gray kangaroo (Macropus giganteus) population, and quantified associations of behavior with early survival. Behavior of young was measured while still in the pouch and as subadults, and survival to weaning was monitored. We found consistent variation between offspring of different mothers in levels of activity at the pouch stage, in flight initiation distance (FID) as subadults, and in subadult survival, indicating similarity between siblings. There was no evidence of covariance between the measures of behavior at the pouch young versus subadult stages, nor of covariance of the early-life be

SUBMITTER: Menario Costa W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10636729 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature