Heterogeneous selection on exploration behavior within and among West European populations of a passerine bird

Significance A key question in behavioral ecology is whether individual differences in behavior are adaptive rather than merely representing “noise around an adaptive mean.” We show strong evidence for spatial and temporal variation in survival and recruitment selection both within and among West European great tit ( Parus major ) populations, implying that spatiotemporal variation in environmental conditions contributes to the maintenance of animal personality variation. The majority of the variance in selection was attributable to large-scale geographical variation, selecting for local adaptation in behavior. Temporal variation was also important, counteracting spatially driven local adaptation. Our study thereby demonstrates the importance of acknowledging both large- and small-scale geographical and temporal variation to understand the biological processes maintaining variation in animal behavior.