Heike Lahusen

Veterinarian and Doctoral Student

Project: Risk taking in grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus Murinus)

Stable and consistent individual behavioural variations in animals that are generally regarded as an expression of animal personalities, might be important drivers of ecological specialization and the evolutionary adaptive potential of species. With this study I want to focus on the underlying proximate factors driving individual variations in risk-taking behaviour of the grey mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus). In the wild, this species lives under a very high predation pressure and risk taking decisions must therefore be taken on a daily basis and should be an important key to survival.  I study captive grey mouse lemurs with a longitudinal approach to investigate systematically the individual behavioural dynamics over time and different risk contexts. I use six different experimental setups and will generate and analyse the behavioural responses of the animals over two to five years. In an integrative approach, the relative effects of various potential drivers on variations in risk-related behaviours shall be investigated and compared. These findings will contribute to a better understanding of risk taking as one facet of animal personality in one of the world’s smallest primates.