Executive Summary : | Animal personality, also known as temperament or coping styles, is a growing phenomenon with significant ecological and evolutionary implications. However, the function and evolution of this personality are poorly understood. This research aims to examine diverse personality traits across the lifetime of individuals in wild Peninsular rock agama, Psammophilus dorsalis, and test the influence of multiple selective factors in maintaining personality variation. Three prominent hypotheses for the maintenance of personality variation are proposed: the state-dependence evolutionary hypothesis, the life history trade-offs hypothesis, and the key sexual selection hypothesis. The research will use a wild lizard population, where individuals will be observed under natural ecological contexts over their lifetime. Multiple personality traits related to boldness, exploration, activity, aggressiveness, and mate-attraction will be repeatedly measured on tagged individuals through field observations and experiments. State variables, such as body size, body condition, and ectoparasite load, will be measured. Multiple fitness components, such as survival, mating success, and reproductive success, will be measured to capture the relationship between traits and fitness and test evolutionary hypotheses. The study adopts a rare and challenging approach of measuring multiple traits and fitness components over the lifetime of individuals in a wild population, aiming to further our understanding of the evolutionary relevance of animal personality and selection pressures that maintain multiple personality traits in wild populations. |