Spatial personalities: a meta-analysis of consistent individual differences in spatial behavior

Abstract Individual variation in behavior, particularly consistent among-individual differences (i.e., personality), has important ecological and evolutionary implications for population community dynamics, trait divergence, patterns of speciation. Nevertheless, individual spatial behaviors, such as home range movement characteristics, or habitat use yet to be incorporated into the concepts methodologies ecology biology. To evaluate evidence existence behavior – which we refer “spatial personality” performed a meta-analysis 200 repeatability estimates size, metrics, use. We found that personality is general phenomenon, with consistently high (r) across classes (r = 0.67–0.82), taxa 0.31–0.79), time between repeated measurements 0.54–0.74). These results suggest: 1) repeatable may either cause consequence environment experienced lead personalities limit ability individuals behaviorally adapt changing landscapes; 2) interactions phenotypes environmental conditions could result differential reproduction, survival, dispersal, suggesting facilitate population-level adaptation; 3) species' distributions dynamics better understood by shifting from mean field analytical approach towards methods account their associated fitness dynamics.