Relationships between boldness and husbandry in captive gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua

Abstract

Personality traits have been identified in many species and the benefits of understanding animal personality for conservation and welfare are becoming increasingly apparent. Due to these potential benefits, we aimed to determine if the boldness personality trait is present in a population of captive gentoo penguins Pygoscelis papua by conducting two boldness tests. One test used quantitative behavioural coding to observe penguin interactions with the public, while the other used qualitative observer ratings carried out by keepers. We then investigated the relationship between boldness and three important aspects of animal behaviour: daily food consumption, site choice and reproductive attempts. The boldness trait was found to be present in this population, shown by the high repeatability of responses to the two tests (public interactions: R=0.695, 95% CI: 0.398-0.831; observer ratings: R=0.814, 95% CI: 0.561-0.920) and the significant correlation between tests (P=0.004, r2=0.720). There were also relationships between the boldness of individuals and their food consumption and site choice, with bolder penguins consuming more food from keepers and occupying nests with higher light levels. However, there was no relationship between boldness and reproduction, with penguins across the whole boldness continuum completing reproductive attempts. There was also significant evidence for temporal changes in behaviour over the course of the study (2015-2023). Overall, the findings support literature showing that understanding personality traits can be used to inform animal welfare practices in captive environments.