What do we want to know about personality in marine mammals?

Abstract

Investigation of personality in a variety of nonhuman animal species has flourished over the past decade. However, personality assessments in marine mammals remain greatly underrepresented. In this chapter, we seek to outline the key areas of interest that warrant further study to improve knowledge of personality in marine mammals. Several definitional challenges associated with personality in marine mammals are examined. An overview of the current marine mammal personality literature is provided, which is limited to trait ratings of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) and behavioral axes in grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). Possible cross-species comparisons are limited at this time due to the lack of marine species included. With this in mind, it would be useful to assess the personality dimensions of species from each of the major marine mammal taxa: pinnipeds, sirenians, cetaceans, and carnivores. This could provide evidence for the potential impact of marine mammals' aquatic lifestyle on the evolution of species-specific personality traits. Given their aquatic habitat, aspects of typical personality methodology are difficult to apply to marine mammals. Several of these difficulties are discussed, along with proposed solutions to maximize the species-relevance and representativeness of collected data. Finally, the potential contributions of personality to a number of research areas are discussed: social rank and dominance, learning, physiology, and friendships. Although the field of marine mammal personality research is in an early stage of development, this provides huge opportunity for future research.