Boldness predicts divorce rates in wandering albatrosses ( Diomedea exulans )

• Published in: Biology Letters
• Main Authors: Sun, Ruijiao, van de Walle, Joanie, Patrick, Samantha, Barbraud, Christophe, Weimerskirch, Henri, Delord, Karine, Jenouvrier, Stéphanie
• Other Authors: Biology Department - Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), School of Environmental Sciences Liverpool, University of Liverpool, Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé - UMR 7372 (CEBC), La Rochelle Université (ULR)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2022
• Subjects: behavioural syndromes; monogamy; social networks; mate competition; sex bias; boldness; [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Diomedea exulans; Wandering Albatross
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-03782711; https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0301

International audience Personality predicts divorce rates in humans, yet how personality traits affect divorce in wild animals remains largely unknown. In a male-skewed population of wandering albatross ( Diomedea exulans ), we showed that personality predicts divorce; shyer males exhibited higher divorce rates than bolder males but no such relationship was found in females. We propose that divorce may be caused by the intrusion of male competitors and shyer males divorce more often because of their avoidance of territorial aggression, while females have easier access to mates regardless of their personality. Thus, personality may have important implications for the dynamics of social relationships.