Differences And Effective Factors Of Personality In Chipmunks

Chipmunk(Tamias sibiricus)is a small mammal in the genus Tamias of the Rodentia family.In the past,almost all the experiments saw the entire population as a unit the research on chipmunks seldom focused on individuals,and treated the differences in behaviors which were shown in the experiments as a disturbance.Many recent studies have shown that there are significant behavioral differences between individuals of the same species,which is personality differences.The term Animal personality refers to the consistent differences in behavioral tendencies within a species across time and contexts.Furthermore,the combination of interrelated personality characteristics in different situations and environments is called Behavioral syndrome.The article aims to understand whether there exist personality differences in chipmunks,whether there are behavioral syndromes,what kind of experimental methods are more effective for the study of chipmunks' personality,and what factors affect the personality of chipmunks,so as to enrich the understanding of chipmunk populations.We conducted preliminary experiments on the personality of chipmunks in Liangshui National Nature Reserve in Heilongjiang from July to November 2019.After constant adjustments,the experimental methods were determined and the formal experiments were conducted at the same location from July to November 2020.We used cage traps to catch chipmunks alive,23 females and 26 males were captured in total.Next,we measured the physiological and behavioral data of the captured chipmunks through the arena test,the handling-bag test and the releasing test,and use these data as the basis to quantify its personality,and then further explore the difference in personality of the chipmunks and the correlation between each personality traits,and the effect of testing time environmental temperature,sex and body weight on the personality of chipmunks.The main results are as follows:1.There are significant personality differences between chipmunks.The exploratory chipmunks are more inclined to explore new environments through physical activity.The bold(less docile)chipmunks are more mobile.The adaptable chipmunks can quickly calm down and forage.The more vigilant chipmunks will be more easily to show behavior when perceiving potential threats;The chipmunk population has exploration-boldness and docility-reacting to stress behavioral syndromes,that is,the bolder the chipmunk,the more exploratory it is,and the more docile the chipmunk,the more resistant to environmental pressure(exploration and docility:r=-0.4999,df=48,P=0.0003;exploration and releasing time(boldness):r=-0.2805,df=-48,P=0.0500docility and reacting to stress:r=0.5080,df=48,P=0.0002);2.The environmental temperature has a significant influence on the boldness of the chipmunks.Air temperature is positively correlated with chipmunk breath rate r=0.2755,df=48,P=0.0554),and air temperature is negatively correlated with chipmunk docility scores(r=-0.2430,df=48,P=0.0925).Wind chill is negative correlated with chipmunk docility scores(r=-0.2491,dj=48,P=0.0843).Dew point temperature is positively correlated with chipmunk breath rate(r=0.2897,df=48,P=0.0610).That is,the higher the temperature,the higher the relative humidity,and the greater the wind,the bolder the chipmunk.Females have a higher rectal temperature than males(W=50,df=48,P=0.014),and their releasing time is shorter than that of males(W=398.5,df=48,P=0.0461),which means that females are generally bolder than males.On the whole,body weight isn't significantly correlated with the chipmunk personality,but the heavier the chipmunk's weight in low-weight group,the bolder and more exploratory it is(weight and rectal temperature:r=0.3883,df=25,P=0.0453;weight and releasing time:(r=-0.5171,df=25,P=0.0058;weight and exploration scores:r=0.4744,df=25,P=0.0124).