Personalideer : A comprehensive review of personality studies in cervids

• Published in: European journal of personality
• Main Authors: Esattore, Bruno, Masilkova, Michaela, Saggiomo, Laura
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 10.05.2024
• ISSN: 0890-2070; 1099-0984
• DOI: 10.1177/08902070241251900

Understanding animal personality, that is, consistent behavioural variation among individuals, is essential for elucidating the evolutionary origins of human personality. Despite extensive research on personality in diverse taxa, its significance in deer (i.e. cervids, family Cervidae), a taxon with diverse socioecological strategies, remains largely unexplored. This review summarizes the deer personality literature and highlights the knowledge gap in the studied species, personality assessment methods and traits, the general goal of the study, and implications for human personality research. We identified 32 eligible studies on seven species of deer, representing only a small portion of existing deer taxonomic diversity. More than half of the articles focused on three common deer species, roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus), fallow der ( Dama dama), and elk ( Cervus canadensis). Most studies evaluated reactions to capture, handling, and approaching humans, interpreting these behaviours as ‘Boldness’ or a ‘Coping style’. Also, most articles investigated the personality links to ecological variables, followed by physiological measures, and management applications. We advise researchers to move beyond measuring single traits and adopt a multitrait–multimethod approach, as is common in human personality research. Finally, deer and other animal models might be viable alternatives for studying adaptive value and genetic and environmental underpinnings of personality when research on humans is complicated. Plain language summary The fact that animals, just like humans, have unique personalities has fascinated scientists across the last decades. Personality plays a key role in the animals’ existence, influencing different aspects of their life. Surprisingly, even though we have studied personality in many animals, our knowledge still remains limited when it comes to deer. Deer are widespread worldwide and play an important role in the ecosystems they live in, being prey for many carnivores and having a strong impact on the vegetation of an area. They are also very important to people, to whom they provide different cultural and economic services (meat production and recreation) and disservices (browsing damage and vehicle collisions). Last, when introduced outside their native range, they disrupt the natural balance, posing a serious threat to the native flora and fauna. This review examines the research done on deer personality, highlighting the existing knowledge gap on the topic. The few studies investigating deer personality mainly focus on three of the over fifty species and only account for a few personality traits. We believe that a deeper understanding of deer personality could help understand deer biology, improve management strategies, and shed light on important aspects of the personality of other species, humans included.