A comparison of field measures of boldness and their relationships to survival in young fish

White, James R., Meekan, Mark G., McCormick, Mark I., and Ferrari, Maud C.O. (2013) A comparison of field measures of boldness and their relationships to survival in young fish. PLoS ONE, 8 (7). e68900. pp. 1-11.

[img]
Preview
PDF (Published Version) - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution.

Download (497kB)
View at Publisher Website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0...
 
45
906


Abstract

Boldness is the propensity of an animal to engage in risky behavior. Many variations of novel-object or novel-environment tests have been used to quantify the boldness of animals, although the relationship between test outcomes has rarely been investigated. Furthermore, the relationship of outcomes to any ecological aspect of fitness is generally assumed, rather than measured directly. Our study is the first to compare how the outcomes of the same test of boldness differ among observers and how different tests of boldness relate to the survival of individuals in the field. Newly-metamorphosed lemon damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis, were placed onto replicate patches of natural habitat. Individual behavior was quantified using four tests (composed of a total of 12 different measures of behavior): latency to enter a novel environment, activity in a novel environment, and reactions to threatening and benign novel objects. After behavior was quantified, survival was monitored for two days during which time fish were exposed to natural predators. Variation among observers was low for most of the 12 measures, except distance moved and the threat test (reaction to probe thrust), which displayed unacceptable amounts of inter-observer variation. Overall, the results of the behavioral tests suggested that novel environment and novel object tests quantified similar behaviors, yet these behavioral measures were not interchangeable. Multiple measures of behavior within the context of novel environment or object tests were the most robust way to assess boldness and these measures have a complex relationship with survivorship of young fish in the field. Body size and distance ventured from shelter were the only variables that had a direct and positive relationship with survival.

Item ID: 29393
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1932-6203
Additional Information:

This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Funders: Australian Research Council (ARC), Australian Institute of Marine Science, Yulgilbar Foundation and Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Date Deposited: 20 Sep 2013 01:07
FoR Codes: 06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060205 Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl Marine Ichthyology) @ 10%
06 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 0602 Ecology > 060201 Behavioural Ecology @ 90%
SEO Codes: 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9608 Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity > 960808 Marine Flora, Fauna and Biodiversity @ 100%
Downloads: Total: 906
Last 12 Months: 83
More Statistics

Actions (Repository Staff Only)

Item Control Page Item Control Page