A review to the methods of personality measurements in wild animals

Abstract

One of the challenges in the study of animal personalities is to select a suitable method to measure personality. Here, we reviewed the three common methods (traits rating, behavioral coding, and experimentation) used in animal personality measurement in wild animals. For each method, we summarized its experimental animals and conditions, advantages, and disadvantages in personality measurement. One method could be used to measure the personalities of different animal species, and different methods could be used to measure the personality of one animal species. Overall, traits rating was used to test the personalities of large animals (e.g., primates), behavioral coding was conducted both in large and small animals (e.g., primates, birds, rodents, and fishes), whereas experimentation was used in small animals (e.g., rodents, birds, amphibians, and insects). Although the methods of experimentation were originally designed for model animals (e.g., mice and rats), some of them were used to test the personalities of wild animals under indoor conditions, in which the experimental animals were transferred from the field to the laboratory. Unfortunately, few studies have estimated the applicability of these methods to wild animals. In the future, effective methods of personality measurement are needed for wild animals, especially the methods that can be used in the field.如何确定适用的个性测量方法是动物个性研究的一大挑战。本文概述了三类常用于野生动物个性评估的方法，即特征评定法、行为编码及实验法。通过总结每种方法所使用的动物和场景，以及每种方法的应用条件与优缺点，我们发现，同一种方法可以用来测量不同物种的个性；反之，同一种动物的个性也可以用不同的方法来测量。总之，特征评定法常常被用于大型动物，如灵长类的个性评定，行为编码则同时可被用于大型及小型动物，如灵长类、鸟类、啮齿类以及鱼类，而实验法则多被用于小型动物，如啮齿类、鸟类、两栖类以及昆虫。虽然实验法最初针对模式动物，如大鼠和小鼠所设计，但其中一些内容也可用于研究圈养条件下的野生动物。然而，很少有研究评估这些方法在野生动物研究中的适用性。因此，需要有测量野生动物个性的有效方法。 We outlined three personality measurement methods: traits rating is used in large animals, behavioral coding is used in different animal taxa, and experimentation is widely used in small animals. Researchers could select the appropriate personality measurement methods to study the effects of animal personality on populations, communities, and ecosystems based on the description in this paper. Develop new methods and techniques for personality research in wild animals by using new computer technology and data processing technology in the future.