Towards a unified framework for studying behavioural tolerance to anthropogenic disturbance

Abstract

Animals vary in how much they respond to risk and the extent to which they can modify their responsiveness over time. How and why animals vary has important consequences for understanding demographic and evolutionary responses to novel or rapidly changing environments. Behavioural tolerance is seen when animals do not have any or have a limited behavioural reaction to a potentially risky situation. Tolerance can emerge from genetic, epigenetic or learning mechanisms, and is mediated by the environment. These mechanisms can influence the speed of acquisition, reversibility, specificity, and duration of the resulting tolerance. Mechanistic clarity is therefore essential to predict the eco-evolutionary consequences of tolerance and to understand and manage human-wildlife interactions in the Anthropocene era.