An experimental approach to the formation of diet preferences and individual specialisation in European mink

摘要: Individual dietary specialisation can occur within populations even when average diets suggest that the population has a generalist feeding strategy. may impact fitness and been related to demographic traits, ecological opportunity, competition, learning animal personality. However, causation formation of individual are not fully understood. Experiments on animals raised in controlled environments provide an opportunity examine preferences largely independent from variation lifetime experiences opportunity. Here, we use experiment captive bred European mink (Mustela lutreola) Estonian conservation programme. In series cafeteria experiments, could choose between one familiar food item (Baltic herring Clupea harengus membras) two initially novel ones (noble crayfish Astacus astacus house mouse Mus musculus). general, mice were rarely eaten whilst consumption increased over time fish decreased. At level, there was mix generalists or specialists, individuals differed relation prey. Our results indicate innate both contributes diet specialisation. The differences behavioural plasticity, which turn be This concern conservation, as personality shown affect survival translocations.