The classic optimal foraging theory (OFT) predicts animals’ food patch use assuming that individuals in a population use the same strategy while foraging. However, due to the existence of animal personality, i.e. repeatable inter-individual differences and intra-individual consistency in behaviours over time and/or across contexts, individuals often exhibit different behavioural strategies, challenging the basic assumptions of the OFT. Here, we tested whether personality traits (boldness and exploration in open arena) of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica, 38 females and 34 males) influenced their patch use in two foraging experiments with different inter-patch distances (i.e. 2 m in Experiment 1 and 3 m in Experiment 2). The total feeding time and food intake of individuals did not differ between Experiment 1 and 2, but in both experiments, proactive (i.e. bolder and more explorative) individuals had longer feeding time and higher food intake than reactive individuals. In Experiment 1, proactive quails changed patches more frequently and had shorter mean patch residence time than reactive individuals, while the effects were not significant in Experiment 2. The quails reduced patch residence time along with feeding, and this trend was weakened in Experiment 2 which had longer inter-patch distance. The above results suggest that personality traits affect animals’ patch use, while the effects might be weakened with longer inter-patch distance. Our study highlights that animal personality should be considered when investigating animals’ foraging behaviours because individuals may not adopt the same strategy as previously assumed. Furthermore, the interaction between personality traits and inter-patch distances, which is related to movement cost and capacity of information gathering, should also be considered.

中文翻译：

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日本鹌鹑（Coturnix japonica）的食品贴片使用因性格特征而异

经典的最佳觅食理论（OFT）预测动物的食物块使用情况，假设种群中的个体在觅食时使用相同的策略。然而，由于动物个性的存在，即随时间和/或跨环境的行为可重复的个体间差异和个体内一致性，个体经常表现出不同的行为策略，挑战了OFT的基本假设。在这里，我们在两个具有不同斑块间距离（即实验 1 中的 2 m 和实验 2 中为 3 m）。个体的总进食时间和食物摄入量在实验1和实验2之间没有差异，但在这两个实验中，积极主动（即更大胆和更具探索性）的个体比反应性个体有更长的进食时间和更高的食物摄入量。在实验1中，主动鹌鹑比反应性个体更频繁地更换斑块，并且平均斑块停留时间更短，而在实验2中效果并不显着。鹌鹑随着进食而减少斑块停留时间，并且这种趋势在实验2中减弱，具有更长的补丁间距离。上述结果表明，性格特征会影响动物的斑块使用，而斑块间距离越长，这种影响可能会减弱。我们的研究强调，在调查动物的觅食行为时应考虑动物的个性，因为个体可能不会采取与先前假设相同的策略。此外，还应该考虑人格特质和斑块间距离之间的相互作用，这与移动成本和信息收集能力有关。