Behavioural patterns that develop during ex situ breeding and rearing of endangered species greatly influence the success of reintroduction to nature. In cooperation with the Hungarian Meadow Viper Conservation Center (operated by MME BirdLife Hungary), we are studying how the various elements of the rearing environment affect the behavioural development of young Hungarian meadow vipers (Vipera ursinii rakosiensis) in ex situ conditions and later after release to the wild. Our study focus on direct and indirect effects of ecologically relevant variables (size/complexity of rearing site, type of wintering method, length of winter, prey availability, presence of predators) on individual behavioural and  other traits relevant to survival. Our feed-back enables the fine-tuning of the rearing protocol of this strictly protected species, meanwhile helping the design and planning of similar species conservation programs in the future.

Environmental stress can be defined as a condition evoked in an organism by one or more biotic or abiotic environmental stimuli (‘stressor’) that bring the organism near or over the edges of its regulatory capacity. To cope with stressful situations, the ability to flexibly adjust behaviour to changing environments (i.e. behavioural plasticity) is essential. Recent behavioural ecology studies argue that behavioural plasticity, together with the long-studied behavioural type (individual mean behaviour) and behavioural predictability (precision of expressing the behavioural type at the given prevailing conditions) are different components of animals’ behavioural strategy. Stress is presumably very important during the emergence and stabilization of such strategies, however, empirical results regarding how acute and/ or chronic stress affects the individual components of behavioural variation are scarce at best. More importantly, studies targeting the impact of stress on links between the three components are virtually non-existent. In the proposed project, I aim to use a multi-level experimental approach. I will study (i) the effect of stress on the presence/absence/strength of behavioural consistency and the components of behavioural variation, also, (ii) the transgenerational effects of maternal stress using Iberolacerta cyreni lizards. Further, I will study (iii) the specific effects of anthropogenic stressors on behavioural consistency in two isopod species, Asellus aquaticus and Armadillidium vulgare. Importantly, the complex methodology will include (iv) the use of meta-analytic methods, to synthesize and evaluate available results in stress ecology.