Drivers of individual differences in the sleep behaviour of fallow deer neonates.

ABSTRACT: Inter-individual differences are necessary for selection to act, while plasticity (intra-individual variation) may buffer against selection. Sleep is a critical self-maintenance behaviour but, unlike most behaviours, the causes and consequences of its inter- and intra-individual variation in wild animals is poorly understood, particularly in neonates where sleep plays a key role in development. We have shown previously that free-ranging neonate fallow deer (Dama dama) differ in sleep during the first few weeks of life. Here, we test whether individual variability in sleep is organised systematically across the population, and whether these individual differences are associated with chronic stress measured using hair cortisol, or the timing of birth. Four dimensions of sleep behaviour (tota

SUBMITTER: Mortlock E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11880652 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature