Postdoc Maria Vittoria Mazzamuto’s project was chosen for funding by Fondazione CRUI (Conference of Italian University Rectors) and is now featured on their website. Congratulations, Mari!
The Foundation awarded 80 1-year scholarships for Italian Universities to develop research projects in collaboration with international institutions. Mazzamuto’s project is part of a longstanding collaboration between the Koprowski Conservation Research Laboratory at University of Arizona and the Environment Analysis and Management Unit at University of Insubria, Italy. Mazzamuto’s project specifically investigates linkages between animal personality and body temperature in response to acute stress measured with non-invasive technology, which could help researchers shed light on personality differences and their consequences. The website is now up and running, featuring the project on their home page: https://www.progetto-goforit.it/
Here is an English translation of her abstract:
Infrared thermography has been tested to evaluate the link between animal personality in the wild and the response to acute stress in terms of body temperature variation due to the activation of the sympathetic-adreno-medullary system. Individuals of Fremont’s squirrel in Arizona (USA) were captured (acute stress), photographed with a thermal imaging camera, and tested for personality expression. The analyses conducted revealed that, despite the advantages of a non-invasive means of detecting the temperature of wild animals, infrared thermography alone may not be sufficient to detect small changes in surface body temperature.
