Ruffed Grouse Resource Selection Function and Survival Datasets

For overwintering species, individuals’ ability to find refugia from inclement weather and predators likely confers strong fitness benefits. How animals use their environment can be mediated by their personality (e.g., risk-taking), but does personality mediate how overwintering species select refugia? Snow cover is a dynamic winter characteristic that can influence crypsis or provide below-the-snow refugia. We explored how wintering ruffed grouse (Bonasa umbellus) selected snow roosting sites, a behavior that reduces stress and cold exposure. We linked selection for ~700 roosts with survival of 42 grouse, and showed that grouse generally selected deeper snow and warmer areas. Grouse found in shallow snow were less likely to survive winter. However, individuals with personalities for selecting deep snow improved their survival, suggesting that demographic consequences of selecting winter refugia are mediated by differences in personality. Our study provides a crucial, and seldom addressed, link between personality in resource selection and resulting demographic consequences.