Recently, it has been hypothesised that as learning performance and animal personality vary along a common axis of fast and slow types, natural selection may act on both in parallel leading to a correlation between learning and personality traits. We examined the relationship between risk-taking and exploratory behaviour and associative learning ability in carabid beetle Nebria brevicollis females by quantifying the number of trials individuals required to reach criterion during an associative learning task ('learning performance'). The associative learning task required the females to associate odour and direction with refugia from light and heat in a T-maze. Further, we assessed learning performance in a reversal task by quantifying the number of correct trials when the reinforcement was switched to previously unrewarding stimuli. We found that N. brevicollis females can associate conditional stimuli with a reward. No female was able to reverse the learned association within the number of trials given, however individuals differed in the number of correct trials in the reversal phase. Contrary to previous predictions neither exploratory behaviour, which was repeatable, nor risk-taking were correlated with learning performance. Our results suggest that the relationship between learning and personality may not take a common form across species.

中文翻译：

---

甲虫 Nebria brevicollis 的探索行为与联想学习能力无关

最近，有人假设，由于学习表现和动物个性沿着快慢类型的共同轴变化，自然选择可能同时作用于两者，导致学习和个性特征之间存在相关性。我们通过量化在联想学习任务（“学习表现”）期间达到标准所需的试验次数，研究了冒险和探索行为与 Carabid 甲虫 Nebria brevicollis 雌性的联想学习能力之间的关系。联想学习任务要求雌性将气味和方向与 T 型迷宫中来自光和热的避难所联系起来。此外，我们通过量化当强化切换到以前没有回报的刺激时正确试验的次数来评估逆转任务中的学习表现。我们发现 N. brevicollis 雌性可以将条件刺激与奖励联系起来。没有女性能够在给定的试验次数内逆转习得的关联，但是个体在逆转阶段正确试验的次数存在差异。与之前的预测相反，可重复的探索行为和冒险行为都与学习表现无关。我们的研究结果表明，学习和个性之间的关系可能不会在物种间采取共同的形式。冒险也与学习成绩无关。我们的研究结果表明，学习和个性之间的关系可能不会在物种间采取共同的形式。冒险也与学习表现无关。我们的研究结果表明，学习和个性之间的关系可能不会在物种间采取共同的形式。