Are fast explorers slow reactors? Linking personality type and anti-predator behaviour

Abstract

Response delays to predator attack may be adaptive, suggesting that latency to respond does not always reflect predator detection time, but can be a decision based on starvation-predation risk trade-offs. In birds, some anti-predator behaviours have been shown to be correlated with personality traits such as activity level and exploration. Here, we tested for a correlation between exploration behaviour and response latency time to a simulated fish predator attack in a fish species, juvenile convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata). Individual focal fish were subjected to a standardized attack by a robotic fish predator while foraging, and separately given two repeated trials of exploration of a novel environment. We found a strong positive correlation between exploration and time taken to respond to the predator model. Fish that were fast to explore the novel environment were slower to respond to the predator. Our study therefore provides some of the first experimental evidence for a link between exploration behaviour and predator-escape behaviour. We suggest that different behavioural types may differ in how they partition their attention between foraging and anti-predator vigilance.

Behavioral Correlations Associated with Fear of Humans Differ between Rural and Urban Burrowing Owls

“…However, exploration and antipredatory behavior were positively related among urban birds, but not among their rural counterparts. Exploration and fear of humans have been shown to be positively correlated in domestic red junglefowls (Agnvall et al, 2012), although studies relating exploration and antipredator behavior yielded inconclusive results (Jones and Godin, 2010;Couchoux and Cresswell, 2011). Explorative behaviors can be advantageous when invading novel habitats such as urban areas (Martin and Fitzgerald, 2005), neophilic/explorative phenotypes having advantages in exploiting novel food resources or food available in novel contexts (Tryjanowski et al, 2016).…”

Behavioural and kinematic components of the fast-start escape response in fish: individual variation and temporal repeatability

“…As a result, prey that are attacked when close to a refuge exhibit a smaller reaction distance (Ydenberg and Dill, 1986). In fish, Jones and Godin described a trade-off between escape performance and exploratory foraging behaviour, where fast escape reactors were slower explorers and vice versa (Jones and Godin, 2010). Trade-offs may also exist between the burst performance used in the escape response and other types of swimming.…”

“…There is a growing interest in investigating phenotypic variation in quantitative performance traits such as the escape response (Oufiero and Garland, 2009;Jones and Godin, 2010) because this may provide insight into their ecological or evolutionary significance. To have such significance, it is essential to demonstrate that individual variation in the trait is temporally stable and therefore an intrinsic, potentially life-long, characteristic of the individual (Oufiero and Garland, 2009), and thus subject to natural selection (Arnold, 1983).…”

Multidimensionality in parasite-induced phenotypic alterations: ultimateversusproximate aspects

“…According to Barber and Dingemanse (Barber and Dingemanse, 2010), behaviours that are altered following infection with 'manipulative' parasites often correspond to major personality axes in behavioural studies. Indeed, considerations about animal personality have often revolved around the shy-bold continuum, which is of particular relevance to inter-individual variation in antipredator behaviour (Pellegrini et al, 2010;Jones and Godin, 2010). In parallel, several studies have shown that hosts infected with parasites with complex life cycles often show marked alterations of their anti-predatory behaviour (Libersat and Moore, 2000;Perrot-Minnot et al, 2007;Kaldonski et al, 2007).…”