Majelantle, Tshepiso LesediGanswindt, AndrePirk, Christian Walter WernerBennett, Nigel CharlesHart, Daniel William2023-04-052023-04-052022-11-09Majelantle, T.L.; Ganswindt, A.; Pirk, C.W.W.; Bennett, N.C.; Hart, D.W. Aggression, Boldness, and Exploration Personality Traits in the Subterranean Naked Mole-Rat (Heterocephalus glaber) Disperser Morphs. Animals 2022, 12, 3083. https://DOI.org/10.3390/ani12223083.2076-2615 (online)10.3390/ani12223083http://hdl.handle.net/2263/90381Animal personality traits (consistent behavioral differences between individuals in their behavior across time and/or situation) affect individual fitness through facets, such as dispersal. In eusocial naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber) colonies, a disperser morph may arise with distinct morphological, behavioral, and physiological characteristics. This study aimed to quantify the personality traits of a cohort of disperser morphs of naked mole-rat (NMR). Behavioral tests were performed on twelve disperser morphs (six males and six females) in an observation tunnel system that was novel and unfamiliar. Novel stimuli (fresh snakeskin, tissue paper, and conspecific of the same sex) were introduced for fifteen minutes, and the behavioral acts of the individual were recorded. A total of 30 behaviors were noted during the behavioral tests of which eight were used to quantify aggression, boldness, and exploration. The NMR disperser morphs showed consistent individual differences in boldness, and exploration across time and test, indicating a distinct personality. In addition, new naked mole-rat responses including disturbance behaviors; confront, barricade, and stay-away, were recorded. Further investigations into the relationships between animal personality traits and social hierarchy position in entire colonies are needed for more informative results as we further investigate the role of personality in cooperatively breeding societies.en© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.BarricadeBathyergidaeBehavioral actsBehavioral syndromeResponse to disturbanceNaked mole-rat (NMR)Naked mole-rat (Heterocephalus glaber)Animal personality traitsArticle