14 DAY TRIAL // Increasingly often, studies are adding new evidence to theories suggesting that animals have personalities as well, and that these traits are similarly influential on their lives as our personalities are on our own.
This was also the conclusion of the newest investigation on this issue, which was led by experts at the University of York, in the United Kingdom. The team was able to draw close parallels between human and animal behaviors in specific sets of circumstances.
Some people, for example, tend to be more socially outgoing, and to love the spotlight and being the center of attention. Conversely, others shy away from all this, and tend to prefer spending more time with really close friends, or on their own.
Also, humans tend to react differently to stress. While some thrive under it, other find being exposed to a new situation or to strangers unbearable. The exact same thing holds true for animals as well, the York team demonstrated in their new investigation.
For the new research, team leader Dr Kathryn Arnold and her colleagues sought to investigate the personalities of 22 green finches, and to demonstrate that each bird's oxidative stress profile was indicative of this trait.
Arnold, who is based at the York Environment Department, conducted the research with graduate student Katherine Herborn. The latter is based at the University of Glasgow Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine.
In a paper published in the latest issue of the Journal of Experimental Biology, the team reveals that each of the birds in the study was exposed to new situations. At the same time, experts were monitoring the behavior each of the 22 green finches displayed.
The science group affixed a colored piece of cloth to the birds' food bowls, and timed how long it took for them to find the courage to approach the food. Some of the finches did so in a matter of seconds, whereas other took as much as 30 minutes.
During the research, the team also measured the levels of damaging reactive oxygen metabolites in each bird's blood. It was found that those which were most timid in approaching their food were the most likely to suffer more oxidative stress.
These individuals also tended to have the weakest immune defenses of all. This discovery is very important, Arnold argues. She adds that future investigations will focus on determining how these traits influence birds in the wild.
“Neophobic birds – those that are afraid of new things – may suffer high costs of oxidative stress and die early because they paid these physiological costs, but they might also be less likely to be eaten by a predator because they are more wary than bolder birds,” she concludes.