Behavioral plasticity, behavioral syndromes and animal personality in crustacean decapods: An imperfect map is better than no map

Abstract

Despite their key role as model organisms in many behavioral studies, crustacean decapods have been only slightly touched upon by the recent surge of scientific interest in animal personality. Only seven articles investigated the issue in a handful of species among hermit crabs, crabs, and crayfish. Obviously, a limited number of publications does not mean that personality is rare in decapods. On the contrary, few studies might be the result of a form of reluctance by behavioral ecologists to deal with such a phenomenon in these and other invertebrates. This reluctance contrasts with the enthusiasm shown in tackling the beha­vioral plasticity issue. Here we discuss the possible theoretical and methodological difficulties raised by applying the animal personality perspective to decapods and analyze implications of personality studies for their ecology, conservation, and welfare. By highlighting gaps in knowledge and directions of future research, our intention is to increase scientific emphasis on the issue [Current Zoology 58 (4): 567–579, 2012].

Keywords

• Crustacean decapods
• Behavioral plasticity
• Animal personality
• Behavioral syndromes
• Conservation
• Animal welfare