Abstract
This study (1) investigated variation among populations and the effects of sex and body size on boldness, activity and shoal-association tendency among wild zebrafish, and (2) tested for existence of correlations between behaviours, controlling for sex and body size. Individuals across four natural populations were tested for general activity in a novel situation, number of predator inspections undertaken and tendency to associate with a conspecific shoal in the presence of predators. Results showed a significant effect of population on boldness with a population from high-predation habitat being bolder than populations from low-predation habitats. Males showed significantly higher tendencies than females to associate with a conspecific shoal in the presence of predators. Further, a negative relationship was found between activity and boldness only within two low-predation populations. Individual body size had a strong effect on the activity–boldness relationship within the low-predation population from flowing water habitat. Smaller fish were bolder and less active while larger fish were more cautious and active. Overall, the results indicated that while population-level behavioural responses might be shaped by predation pressure, state-dependent factors could determine behavioural correlations among individuals within populations.
Highlights
Existence of behavioural correlations imply that plasticity in behavioural traits may be limited, constraining the ability of2018 The Authors
The results showed a significant population effect only for boldness, which was measured by frequency of predator inspections undertaken by an individual
The frequency of predator inspections could be possibly related to the extent of predation pressure in the natural habitat [40]
Summary
Existence of behavioural correlations imply that plasticity in behavioural traits may be limited, constraining the ability of2018 The Authors. Existence of behavioural correlations imply that plasticity in behavioural traits may be limited, constraining the ability of. When boldness and 2 aggressiveness are positively correlated, boldness could be expressed as an outcome of selection for higher aggressiveness, even though boldness may not always be a favourable trait like in conditions of high predation [1]. For species with diverse geographical distributions, different behavioural types might be favoured in different ecological conditions and the existence of correlations would result in suboptimal behaviour in some environments [2]. A context refers to a functional behavioural category such as feeding, predator avoidance, predatory inspections or exploration [4]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
