The ecology and evolution of behavioural plasticity

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*Behavioural plasticity is the ability of individuals to change their behaviour in response to variations in environmental (including social) conditions. Compared to individuals with fixed behaviours, plastic individuals should be able to alter their behaviour to maximize their success under any given circumstance. Yet, although natural selection should a priori erode variation in plasticity, individuals within populations generally differ widely among each other in their levels of behavioural plasticity. So far, the question of why and how these differences in behavioural plasticity are maintained has been mainly addressed from theoretical analyses, while most empirical studies have quantified these differences without regard to their origin or adaptive value. The proposed research aims at i) identifying the mechanisms that contribute to the maintenance of individual differences in behavioural plasticity and ii) determining the consequences of those differences for long-term persistence of populations under new or changing environmental conditions. Specifically the proposed program has three main goals: i) determining the importance of physiological constraints on the expression of individual plasticity, ii) establishing the links between personality and plasticity, and iii) understanding the role of sexual selection on the evolution of cognitive skills and behavioural plasticity. The research will use a mix of newly generated experimental data on zebra finches and theoretical approaches. Results from this program will be particularly relevant for conservation policies for species conservation and reintroduction. Furthermore, this research will contribute to the training of conceptual scientists that will acquire useful methodological skills to design experiments and generate testable theory. **