Pleizier Naomi, Wilson Alexander D M, Shultz Aaron D, Cooke Steven J
Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada.
Fish Ecology and Conservation Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biology and Institute of Environmental Science, Carleton University, 1125 Colonel By Dr., Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6, Canada; Centre for Integrative Ecology, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3216 Australia.
Physiol Behav. 2015 Dec 1;152(Pt A):68-78. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.09.011. Epub 2015 Sep 13.
Although consistent individual-level differences in behaviour are widespread and potentially important in evolutionary and ecological processes, relatively few studies focus on the physiological mechanisms that might underlie and regulate these individual-level differences in wild populations. We conducted experiments to determine whether checkered pufferfish (Sphoeroides testudineus), which were collected from a dynamic (in terms of depth and water temperature) tidal mangrove creek environment in The Bahamas, have consistent individual-level differences in locomotor activity and the response to a simulated predator threat, as well as swimming performance and puffing in response to stressors. The relationships between personality and performance traits were evaluated to determine whether they represented stress-coping styles or syndromes. Subsequently, a displacement study was conducted to determine how personality and performance in the laboratory compared to movements in the field. In addition, we tested whether a physiological dose of the stress hormone cortisol would alter individual consistency in behavioural and performance traits. We found that pufferfish exhibited consistent individual differences in personality traits over time (e.g., activity and the duration of a response to a threat) and that performance was consistent between the lab and the natural enclosure. Locomotor activity and the duration of startled behaviour were not associated with swimming and puffing performance. Locomotor activity, puffing performance, and swimming performance were not related to whether fish returned to the tidal creek of capture after displacement. Similarly, a cortisol treatment did not modify behaviour or performance in the laboratory. The results reveal that consistent individual-level differences in behaviour and performance were present in a population from a fluctuating and physiologically challenging environment but that such traits are not necessarily correlated. We also determined that certain individual performance traits were repeatable between the lab and a natural enclosure. However, we found no evidence of a relationship between exogenous cortisol levels and behavioural traits or performance in these fish, which suggests that other internal and external mechanisms may underlie the behaviours and performance tested.
尽管行为上个体水平的一致性差异广泛存在，且在进化和生态过程中可能具有重要意义，但相对较少的研究关注野生种群中这些个体水平差异背后可能存在并调节它们的生理机制。我们进行了实验，以确定从巴哈马一个动态（在深度和水温方面）的潮汐红树林小溪环境中采集的花斑河豚（Sphoeroides testudineus）在运动活动、对模拟捕食者威胁的反应、游泳性能以及对应激源的鼓气反应方面是否存在一致的个体水平差异。评估了个性与性能特征之间的关系，以确定它们是否代表应激应对方式或综合征。随后，进行了一项位移研究，以确定实验室中的个性和性能与野外运动情况相比如何。此外，我们测试了生理剂量的应激激素皮质醇是否会改变行为和性能特征的个体一致性。我们发现河豚在个性特征上随时间表现出一致的个体差异（例如活动以及对威胁的反应持续时间），并且实验室和自然围场中的性能是一致的。运动活动和受惊行为的持续时间与游泳和鼓气性能无关。运动活动、鼓气性能和游泳性能与鱼在位移后是否回到捕获的潮汐小溪无关。同样，皮质醇处理并未改变实验室中的行为或性能。结果表明，在一个波动且生理上具有挑战性环境中的种群中存在行为和性能上一致的个体水平差异，但这些特征不一定相关。我们还确定某些个体性能特征在实验室和自然围场之间是可重复的。然而，我们没有发现这些鱼的外源皮质醇水平与行为特征或性能之间存在关系的证据，这表明其他内部和外部机制可能是所测试行为和性能的基础。
