title: Individual variation in behavioural responsiveness to humans leads to differences in breeding success and long-term population phenotypic changes.
abstract: Whether human disturbance can lead to directional selection and phenotypic change in behaviour in species with limited behavioural plasticity is poorly understood in wild animal populations. Using a 19-year study on Montagu's harrier, we report a long-term increase in boldness towards humans during nest visits. The probability of females fleeing or being passive during nest visits decreased, while defence intensity steadily increased over the study period. These behavioural responses towards humans were significantly repeatable. The phenotypic composition of the breeding population changed throughout the study period (4-5 harrier generations), with a gradual disappearance of shy individuals, leading to a greater proportion of bolder ones and a more behaviourally homogeneous population. We further show that nest visit frequency increased nest failure probability and reduced productivity of shy females, but not of bold ones. Long-term research or conservation programmes needing nest visits can therefore lead to subtle but relevant population compositional changes that require further attention.
authors.affiliation: Instituto de investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain.|Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (UMR 7372, CNRS & Université de La Rochelle), Villiers en Bois, 79360, France.
authors.forename: Beatriz
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4657-6609
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Arroyo
authors.affiliation: Instituto de investigación en Recursos Cinegéticos, IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), Ronda de Toledo 12, 13005, Ciudad Real, Spain.
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Mougeot
authors.affiliation: Centre d'Etudes Biologiques de Chizé (UMR 7372, CNRS & Université de La Rochelle), Villiers en Bois, 79360, France.|LTER Zone Atelier Plaine & Val de Sèvre, Villiers en Bois, 79360, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Bretagnolle
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D046093:Falconiformes / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005602:France; D009425:Nesting Behavior; D010551:Personality; D012098:Reproduction; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012792:Shyness
keywords: Aggression; Montagu′s harrier; boldness; fitness; long-term studies; personality; phenotypic change; plasticity