DOI: 10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfdv
title: Links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing patterns in a long-lived seabird

description: In long-lived monogamous species, the trigger of costly re-pairing is not
 always clear. Limited research suggests that within-pair behavioural
 compatibility may be an important driver of partnership success, as
 cooperation should be enhanced when pair members’ decisions complement one
 another. Animals’ decision-making processes are influenced by personality
 traits – defined as individual differences in behaviour that are stable in
 time. Despite the potential for the personality trait ‘boldness’ to a)
 directly impact individual willingness to re-pair and b) indirectly impact
 re-pairing choices via reproductive success, there is currently little
 work exploring how re-pairing decisions might be impacted by the pair
 members’ personalities. Using a 13-year dataset, we investigated whether
 within-pair boldness and its relationship with breeding success explained
 re-pairing patterns of black-legged kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla),
 breeding in two Arctic colonies. We found that pairs with dissimilar
 boldness levels were more likely to experience breeding failure and that
 failed pairs were more likely to re-pair the following year. Despite this,
 only one colony displayed evidence of assortative mating by boldness, and
 there was no indication that re-pairing impacted reproductive success the
 following season. Neither individual nor pair boldness directly influenced
 re-pairing probability, however, in both colonies, re-pairing birds chose
 partners that were slightly more similar to themselves in boldness than
 their previous mates. These results imply an indirect pathway by which
 poorer behavioural compatibility within pairs may lead to breeding failure
 and ultimately re-pairing. Our findings highlight the importance of
 behavioural compatibility, and possibly personality, in mitigating sexual
 conflict and its population-specific drivers.
description: # Links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing patterns
 in a long-lived seabird
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfdv](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.k0p2ngfdv) Associated with the paper: Links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing patterns in a long-lived seabird GENERAL INFORMATION: Dataset description: Data files relating to the analyses of the paper 'Links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing patterns in a long-lived seabird'. Current use: To test the effect of pair members' individual and interacting boldness on reproductive success and re-pairing probability in black-legged kittiwakes. Geographic location of data collection: Svalbard, 78° 41' 53.1780'' N and 15° 43' 25.3812'' E. Information about funding sources that supported the collection of the data: The long-term data collection used in this study was funded by programmes MOSJ ([https://mosj.no/](https://mosj.no/)) and SEAPOP ([https://seapop.no/](https://seapop.no/)). We are grateful for funding provided by NERC (grant numbers NE/S00713X/1 for FMcC and FMck and NE/L002450/1 for SH) and the Research Council of Norway’s Arctic Field Grant (310627, Research in Svalbard (RiS) ID: 11366 for FMcC, and 333121, RiS ID: 11820 for FMck). DATA & FILE OVERVIEW File List: "absol\_hist.csv" is the dataset used to test for assortative mating in kittiwakes (model 1). "all\_kitt\_data3.csv" is the dataset used to investigate the links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing in the kittiwakes (models 2, 3 and 5). "next\_season\_repro.csv" is the dataset used for investigating the effect of re-pairing on future reproduction outcomes (model 4). "pers\_scores\_with\_colony.csv" and "absol\_random.csv" are used to conduct the randomisations to test if re-pairing birds choose partners that are more similar to themselves than their previous mates. The r script for the cleaning and analysis of the data (R Markdown re-pairing script.R) The r markdown file used to generate the pdf guide (R Markdown re-pairing Paper.Rmd) The r markdown word.doc for the cleaning and analysis of the data (R-Markdown-re-pairing-Paper.docx) METHODOLOGICAL INFORMATION Description of methods used for collection/generation of data: two colonies of kittiwakes have been monitored over multple years. Data from 'Grumant' was collected between 2009-18 and data from pyramiden were collected in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022. Identity of pair members were recorded each year using long-term ringing data. Relationship outcome the year following each breeding attempt was recorded. Boldness: Responses of birds to novel object were quantified using an ordinal scale (a) sitting on the nest, with the body resting on the nest cup; (b) body raised off nest cup, but not standing; (c) standing on the nest (legs visible and extending to the base of the nest); (d) off the nest but remaining visible on the ledge close to the nest; and (e) off the ledge (and no longer visible). these were condensed into a single score per bird using Princple Component Analysis. Higher scores = bolder birds. Observation number, observer identity, and bird ID were fitted as fixed effects in a generalized linear model. Individual parameter estimates were mean-centred at the population level (see Patrick et al., 2013 for a detailed description). This created a boldness score of each individual. Instrument- or software-specific information needed to interpret the data: Data processed in R, packages used: dplyr, ggplot2, lme4, MuMIn, sjPlot, car, knitr DATA-SPECIFIC INFORMATION FOR: "absol\_hist.csv" is the dataset used to test for assortative mating in kittiwakes (model 1). male\_ring: male bird unique ID female\_ring.x: female bird unique ID male\_pers.x: male bird pers score female\_pers.x: female bird pers score colony: bird location either Pyramiden or Grumant "all\_kitt\_data3.csv" is the dataset used to investigate the links between personality, reproductive success and re-pairing in the kittiwakes (models 2, 3 and 5). male\_ring: male bird unique ID female\_ring: female bird unique ID colony: bird location either Pyramiden or Grumant pair\_id: unique pair ID cycle\_pair: unique breeding attempt ID year: year of breeding attempt (year t) chick\_sur: outcome of breeding attempt success1/0fail in year t season\_outcome: partnership outcome in year t+1 ulti\_outcome: re-pairing outcome in year t+n missed\_seasons: number of seasons since birds were recorded last male\_pers: male bird pers score female\_pers: female bird pers score absol: absolute difference in boldnesss score between pair members "next\_season\_repro.csv" is the dataset used for investigating the effect of re-pairing on future reproduction outcomes (model 4). ring: bird unique ID sex: Male M/ Female F colony: bird location either Pyramiden or Grumant pair\_id: unique pair ID cycle\_pair: unique breeding attempt ID year\_t: year of breeding attempt (year t) season\_outcome: re-pairing outcome in year t+1 next\_season: reproductive outcome in year t + 1 "pers\_scores\_with\_colony.csv" and "absol\_random.csv" are used to conduct the randomisations to test if re-pairing birds choose partners that are more similar to themselves than their previous mates. "pers\_scores\_with\_colony.csv" colony: bird location either Pyramiden or Grumant pers\_scores: bird's boldness score "absol\_random.csv" focal\_ring: re-pairing bird's unique ID colony.x: bird location either Pyramiden or Grumant orig\_absol: original partnership's absolute difference in boldness score new\_absol: new partnership's absolute difference in boldness score trueDiff: true difference between original and new absolute difference scores F\_pers: focal/ re-pairing bird's boldness score orig\_part\_pers: original partner's boldness score new\_part\_pers: new partner's boldness score