Individual niche specialization can have important consequences for competition, fitness, and, ultimately, population dynamics and ecological speciation. The temporal window and the level of daily activity are niche components that may vary with sex, breeding season, food supply, population density, and predator’s circadian rhythm. More recently, ecologists emphasized that traits such as dispersal and space use could depend on personality differences. Boldness and exploration have been shown to correlate with variation in foraging patterns, habitat use, and home range. Here, we assessed the link between exploration, measured from repeated novel environment tests, activity patterns, and temporal niche specialization in wild eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus). Intrinsic differences in exploration should drive daily activity patterns through differences in energy requirements, space use, or the speed to access resources. We used collar-mounted accelerometers to assess whether individual exploration profiles predicted: 1) daily overall dynamic body acceleration, reflecting overall activity levels; 2) mean activity duration and the rate of activity sequences, reflecting the structure of daily activity; and 3) patterns of dawn and dusk activity, reflecting temporal niche differentiation. Exploration and overall activity levels were weakly related. However, both dawn activity and rate of activity sequences increased with the speed of exploration. Overall, activity patterns varied according to temporal variability in food conditions. This study emphasizes the role of intrinsic behavioral differences in activity patterns in a wild animal population. Future studies will help us understand how yearly seasonality in reproduction, food abundance, and population density modulate personality-dependent foraging patterns and temporal niche specialization.

中文翻译：

---

勘探概况驱动野生啮齿动物的活动模式和时空利基专业化

个体利基专业化可能对竞争，适应性以及最终人口动态和生态物种形成具有重要影响。时间窗口和日常活动水平是利基组成部分，可能随性别，繁殖季节，食物供应，人口密度和捕食者的昼夜节律而变化。最近，生态学家强调，分散和空间使用等特征可能取决于人格差异。研究表明，大胆和探索与觅食方式，栖息地使用和住所范围的变化有关。在这里，我们评估了野外东部花栗鼠（Tamias striatus）反复进行的新环境测试，活动模式和时空利基特化所测得的勘探之间的联系。）。勘探的内在差异应通过能源需求，空间使用或资源获取速度的差异来驱动日常活动模式。我们使用了安装在衣领上的加速度计来评估个人勘探概况是否预测：1）每日整体动态人体加速度，反映整体活动水平；2）平均活动持续时间和活动顺序的比率，反映了日常活动的结构；3）黎明和黄昏活动的模式，反映了时间生态位的分化。勘探与总体活动水平之间的关系较弱。但是，黎明活动和活动序列的速率均随探索速度的增加而增加。总体而言，活动模式根据食物状况的时间变化而变化。这项研究强调了野生动物种群中内在行为差异在活动模式中的作用。未来的研究将帮助我们了解繁殖，食物丰裕度和人口密度的年度季节性变化如何调节与人格相关的觅食方式和时空利基专业化。