Abstract
Summary Fast‐start swimming provides an integrated physiological index of performance and a measure of ability to escape predators, so may be expected to covary with other important composite life‐history traits such as growth rate. Variation in resource availability during growth and development is common, and organisms may show compensatory responses (such as catch‐up growth) to periods of low food availability. However, such responses usually carry costs. We examined fast‐start performance in adult Green Swordtails in relation to growth regime experienced as a juvenile. In contrast to previous studies we found that conditions experienced early in life did not significantly affect fast‐start swimming performance, indicating that escape ability is at a premium in green swordtails. Fish raised on ad libitum food had similar performance to fish raised on a restricted diet and fish experiencing compensatory growth, controlling for body size. Body depth was positively related to fast‐start performance in both males and females, with males having faster escape responses than females for a given body depth. Remarkably, males with the relatively longest sexual ornaments (‘swords’) had the greatest escape ability, suggesting that sword length may be a good indicator of quality among males of similar age.
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