Personality and the emergence of the pace-of-life syndrome concept at the population level

Fighting ability, personality and melanin signalling in free-living Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus)

Background

Individuals' access to resources is often decided during dyadic contests the outcome of which is determined by the fighting (or competitive) ability of the participants. Individuals' fighting ability (termed also as resource-holding power or potential, RHP) is usually associated with individual features (e.g., sex, age, body size) and is also frequently signalled through various ornaments like the black throat patch (bib) in many birds. Individual personality is a behavioural attribute often linked to fighting ability as well. Based on earlier studies, however, the relationship between personality and fighting ability is far from being straightforward. While accounting for sex and body size, we studied whether exploratory behaviour, an aspect of personality, predicts fighting ability when competing for food during winter in free-living Eurasian tree sparrows (Passer montanus). We also investigated whether the bib can serve as a potential indicator of individual competitiveness in this species.

Methods

We captured adult tree sparrows, marked them with a unique combination of colour rings, and collected data about the individuals' sex, body size, bib size and exploratory behaviour. Birds were then released and the agonistic behaviour of the marked individuals was recorded while foraging in groups on bird feeding platforms.

Results

The probability of winning a fight, a proxy for fighting ability of individuals, was not related to exploratory behaviour, in either of the sexes. However, bib size was positively related to probability of winning in females, but not in males. Body size was not associated with probability of winning neither in males, nor in females.

Conclusions

Our results suggest that, at least in tree sparrows, the outcome of dyadic encounters over food during the non-breeding period are not determined by the exploratory personality of individuals. However, our findings provide further support for a status signalling role of the black bib in tree sparrows, and hint for the first time that bib size might function as a status signal in females as well. Finally, our results do not confirm that body size could serve as an indicator of fighting ability (i.e., RHP) in this species.

Personality traits affect learning performance in dwarf goats (Capra hircus)

A wide range of species exhibit time- and context-consistent interindividual variation in a number of specific behaviors related to an individual's personality. Several studies have shown that individual differences in personality-associated behavioral traits have an impact on cognitive abilities. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality traits and learning abilities in dwarf goats. The behavior of 95 goats during a repeated open field (OF) and novel object test (NO) was analyzed, and two main components were identified using principal component analysis: boldness and activity. In parallel, the goats learned a 4-choice visual initial discrimination task (ID) and three subsequent reversal learning (RL) tasks. The number of animals that reached the learning criterion and the number of trials needed (TTC) in each task were calculated. Our results show that goats with the lowest learning performance in ID needed more TTC in RL1 and reached the learning criterion less frequently in RL2 and RL3 compared to animals with better learning performance in ID. This suggests a close relationship between initial learning and flexibility in learning behavior. To study the link between personality and learning, we conducted two analyses, one using only data from the first OF- and NO-test (momentary personality traits), while the other included both tests integrating only animals that were stable for their specific trait (stable personality traits). No relationship between personality and learning was found using data from only the first OF- and NO-test. However, stability in the trait boldness was found to have an effect on learning. Unbold goats outperformed bold goats in RL1. This finding supports the general hypothesis that bold animals tend to develop routines and show less flexibility in the context of learning than unbold individuals. Understanding how individual personality traits can affect cognitive abilities will help us gain insight into mechanisms that can constrain cognitive processing and adaptive behavioral responses.

Cognitive-Behavioral Divergence Is Greater Across Alternative Male Reproductive Phenotypes Than Between the Sexes in a Wild Wrasse

Sexual selection is a powerful diversifier of phenotype, behavior and cognition. Here we compare cognitive-behavioral traits across four reproductive phenotypes (females and three alternative males) of wild-caught ocellated wrasse (Symphodus ocellatus). Both sex and alternative male phenotypes are environmentally determined with sex determination occuring within the first year, and males transition between alternative phenotypes across 2 years (sneaker to satellite or satellite to nesting). We captured 151 ocellated wrasse and tested them on different behavior and cognition assays (scototaxis, shoaling, and two detour-reaching tasks). We found greater divergence across alternative male reproductive phenotypes than differences between the sexes in behavior, problem-solving, and relationships between these traits. Nesting males were significantly less bold than others, while sneaker males were faster problem-solvers and the only phenotype to display a cognitive-behavioral syndrome (significant correlation between boldness and problem-solving speed). Combining these results with prior measurements of sex steroid and stress hormone across males, suggests that nesting and sneaker males represent different coping styles. Our data suggests that transitioning between alternative male phenotypes requires more than changes in physiology (size and ornamentation) and mating tactic (sneaking vs. cooperation), but also involves significant shifts in cognitive-behavioral and coping style plasticity.

Life-history genotype explains variation in migration activity in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

One of the most well-known life-history continuums is the fast-slow axis, where 'fast' individuals mature earlier than 'slow' individuals. 'Fast' individuals are predicted to be more active than 'slow' individuals because high activity is required to maintain a fast life-history strategy. Recent meta-analyses revealed mixed evidence for such integration. Here, we test whether known life-history genotypes differ in activity expression by using Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as a model. In salmon, variation in Vgll3, a transcription cofactor, explains approximately 40% of variation in maturation timing. We predicted that the allele related to early maturation (vgll3*E) would be associated with higher activity. We used an automated surveillance system to follow approximately 1900 juveniles including both migrants and non-migrants (i.e. smolt and parr fish, respectively) in semi-natural conditions over 31 days (approx. 580 000 activity measurements). In migrants, but not in non-migrants, vgll3 explained variation in activity according to our prediction in a sex-dependent manner. Specifically, in females the vgll3*E allele was related to increasing activity, whereas in males the vgll3*L allele (later maturation allele) was related to increasing activity. These sex-dependent effects might be a mechanism maintaining within-population genetic life-history variation.

Lack of anti-predator recognition in a marine isopod under the threat of an invasive predatory crab

The prey naïveté hypothesis suggests that the failure of prey to recognize novel predators as a threat is caused by a lack of anti-predator adaptations. We tested this hypothesis in a unique natural setting, where the isopod Idotea balthica encountered the rapidly spreading invasive crab, Rhithropanopeus harrissii. Earlier research had indicated high mortality of the isopods during exposure to R. harrissii. The isopod exerted no co-evolutionary history with any littoral crabs and thus the strong impact could be caused by lack of pre-adaptations towards the new predator species. We tested this hypothesis by studying the anti-predator responses of the isopods with water-born cues of R. harrissii and of the native predatory fish Perca fluviatilis. Compared to control water, the isopods lowered their activity when exposed to the fish cue. Instead crab cue did not induce anti-predator behaviour. We also tested the hypothesis that mortality caused by novel predator, similar to predation by P. fluviatilis, would result in differential selection for the two sexes and contribute to the evolution of personalities. However, we found no differences in anti-predator behaviour nor in mortality between the sexes or personalities of the isopods. The outcomes reveal an interesting evolutionary scenario, where predation by a local predator induce soft selection on prey characteristics, but an invasive species cause hard selection without differentiating between prey individuals. Our study—conducted in the dawn of the population outbreak of R. harrissii—provides an excellent reference point for studies resolving the evolutionary impacts of invasive predators on naïve prey.

A Double-Track Pathway to Fast Strategy in Humans and Its Personality Correlates

The fast-slow paradigm of life history (LH) focuses on how individuals grow, mate, and reproduce at different paces. This paradigm can contribute substantially to the field of personality and individual differences provided that it is more strictly based on evolutionary biology than it has been so far. Our study tested the existence of a fast-slow continuum underlying indicators of reproductive effort-offspring output, age at first reproduction, number and stability of sexual partners-in 1,043 outpatients with healthy to severely disordered personalities. Two axes emerged reflecting a double-track pathway to fast strategy, based on restricted and unrestricted sociosexual strategies. When rotated, the fast-slow and sociosexuality axes turned out to be independent. Contrary to expectations, neither somatic effort-investment in status, material resources, social capital, and maintenance/survival-was aligned with reproductive effort, nor a clear tradeoff between current and future reproduction was evident. Finally, we examined the association of LH axes with seven high-order personality pathology traits: negative emotionality, impulsivity, antagonism, persistence-compulsivity, subordination, and psychoticism. Persistent and disinhibited subjects appeared as fast-restricted and fast-unrestricted strategists, respectively, whereas asocial subjects were slow strategists. Associations of LH traits with each other and with personality are far more complex than usually assumed in evolutionary psychology.

Intersexual differences in the exploratory behaviour of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus)

Breeding performance and survival are mechanisms through which animal personality affects fitness. Exploration behaviour (EB) is an easily obtainable personality trait that correlates to multiple life-history traits, thus it has been widely used in animal personality studies. Through in situ Novel Environment exploration tests, we assessed the exploration behaviour of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus) during two breeding seasons. A principal component analysis revealed two behavioural axes regarding the exploration behaviour: slow-fast and timid-daring. We found that male blue tits are significantly slower explorers than female blue tits, suggesting that evolutionary processes act unequally across sexes in our study area. To investigate these processes, we assessed the relationship between exploration behaviour and two fitness aspects: reproduction and survival. Slower-exploring males bred in nests with significantly shorter incubation periods, and timid males had higher local return ratios. Interactions between male and female EB revealed that disassortative pairs were more successful breeders than assortative ones. Further research should explore potential evolutionary implications of intersexual EB differences.

Inter-individual differences in laboratory rats as revealed by three behavioural tasks

Stable inter-individual differences in behaviour and personality have been studied for several decades now. The aim of this study was to test the repeatability of behaviour of the Long Evans strain of laboratory rats in order to assess their inter-individual differences. Male laboratory rats (n = 36) were tested in a series of tasks (Open field test, Elevated plus maze test, and modified T-maze test) repeated over time to assess their personality traits. To evaluate the temporal stability of the behaviour, we calculated repeatability estimates of the examined traits. We also checked for a link in behavioural traits across these experiments, which would suggest the existence of a behavioural syndrome. We found stable inter-individual differences in behaviour. Interestingly, no link emerged between the tasks we studied and therefore we did not find support for a behavioural syndrome. The lack of behavioural correlations between these experiments suggests that the results derived from these tasks should be interpreted carefully, as these experiments may measure various behavioural axes. Moreover, the animals habituate to the apparatus. Consequently, behaviour in the Open field test and Elevated plus maze test is not fully consistent and repeatable across subsequent trials.

Links between personality traits and problem-solving performance in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata)

Consistent individual differences in behaviour across time or contexts (i.e. personality types) have been found in many species and have implications for fitness. Likewise, individual variation in cognitive abilities has been shown to impact fitness. Cognition and personality are complex, multidimensional traits. However, previous work has generally examined the connection between a single personality trait and a single cognitive ability, yielding equivocal results. Links between personality and cognitive ability suggest that behavioural traits coevolved and highlight their nuanced connections. Here we examined individuals' performance on multiple personality tests and repeated problem-solving tests (each measuring innovative performance). We assessed behavioural traits (dominance, boldness, activity, risk-taking, aggressiveness and obstinacy) in 41 captive zebra finches. Birds' scores for boldness and obstinacy were consistent over two years. We also examined whether personality correlated with problem-solving performance on repeated tests. Our results indicate that neophobia, dominance and obstinacy were related to successful solving, and less dominant, more obstinate birds solved the tasks quicker on average. Our results indicate the importance of examining multiple measures over a long period. Future work that identifies links between personality and innovation in non-model organisms may elucidate the coevolution of these two forms of individual differences.

Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies

There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.

Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies

There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.

Personality, sperm traits and a test for their combined dependence on male condition in guppies

There is evidence that animal personality can affect sexual selection, with studies reporting that male behavioural types are associated with success during pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection. Given these links between personality and sexual traits, and the accumulating evidence that their expression can depend on an individual's dietary status (i.e. condition), a novel prediction is that changes in a male's diet should alter both the average expression of personality and sexual traits, and their covariance. We tested these predictions using the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a species previously shown to exhibit strong condition dependence in ejaculate traits and a positive correlation between sperm production and individual variation in boldness. Contrary to expectation, we found that dietary restriction-when administered in mature adult males-did not affect the expression of either behavioural (boldness and activity) or ejaculate traits, although we did find that males subjected to dietary stress exhibited a positive association between sperm velocity and boldness that was not apparent in the unrestricted diet group. This latter finding points to possible context-dependent patterns of covariance between sexually selected traits and personalities, which may have implications for patterns of selection and evolutionary processes under fluctuating environmental conditions.

Transcriptomic profiles of consistent risk-taking behaviour across time and contexts in European sea bass

Bolder individuals have greater access to food sources and reproductive partners but are also at increased risk of predation. Boldness is believed to be consistent across time and contexts, but few studies have investigated the stability of this trait across variable environments, such as varying stress loads or long periods of time. Moreover, the underlying molecular components of boldness are poorly studied. Here, we report that boldness of 1154 European sea bass, evaluated using group risk-taking tests, is consistent over seven months and for individuals subjected to multiple environments, including a chronically stressful environment. Differences in risk-taking behaviour were further supported by differences observed in the responses to a novel environment test: shy individuals displayed more group dispersion, more thigmotaxic behaviour and lower activity levels. Transcriptomic analyses performed on extreme phenotypes revealed that bold individuals display greater expression for genes involved in social and exploration behaviours, and memory in the pituitary, and genes involved in immunity and responses to stimuli in the head kidney. This study demonstrates that personality traits come with an underpinning molecular signature, especially in organs involved in the endocrine and immune systems. As such, our results help to depict state-behaviour feedback mechanisms, previously proposed as key in shaping animal personality.

Covariation between glucocorticoids, behaviour and immunity supports the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis: an experimental approach

The biomedical literature has consistently highlighted that long-term elevation of glucocorticoids might impair immune functions. However, patterns are less clear in wild animals. Here, we re-explored the stress-immunity relationship considering the potential effects of behavioural profiles. Thirteen captive roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) were monitored over an eight-week period encompassing two capture events. We assessed how changes in baseline faecal cortisol metabolite (FCM) concentrations following a standardized capture protocol and an immune challenge using anti-rabies vaccination affected changes in 13 immune parameters of innate and adaptive immunity, and whether these changes in baseline FCM levels and immune parameters related to behavioural profiles. We found that individuals with increased baseline FCM levels also exhibited increased immunity and were characterized by more reactive behavioural profiles (low activity levels, docility to manipulation and neophilia). Our results suggest that the immunity of large mammals may be influenced by glucocorticoids, but also behavioural profiles, as it is predicted by the pace-of-life syndrome hypothesis. Our results highlight the need to consider covariations between behaviour, immunity and glucocorticoids in order to improve our understanding of the among-individual variability in the stress-immunity relationships observed in wildlife, as they may be underpinned by different life-history strategies.

The Gut Microbiota May Affect Personality in Mongolian Gerbils

The "gut-microbiota-brain axis" reveals that gut microbiota plays a critical role in the orchestrating behavior of the host. However, the correlation between the host personalities and the gut microbiota is still rarely known. To investigate whether the gut microbiota of Mongolian gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) differs between bold and shy personalities, we compared the gut microbiota of bold and shy gerbils, and then we transplanted the gut microbiota of bold and shy gerbils into middle group gerbils (individuals with less bold and shy personalities). We found a significant overall correlation between host boldness and gut microbiota. Even though there were no significant differences in alpha diversity and beta diversity of gut microbiota between bold and shy gerbils, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes phyla and Odoribacter and Blautia genus were higher in bold gerbils, and Escherichia_shigella genus was lower. Furthermore, the fecal microbiota transplantation showed that changes in gut microbiota could not evidently cause the increase or decrease in the gerbil's boldness score, but it increased the part of boldness behaviors by gavaging the "bold fecal microbiota". Overall, these data demonstrated that gut microbiota were significantly correlated with the personalities of the hosts, and alteration of microbiota could alter host boldness to a certain extent.

Telomere length positively correlates with pace-of-life in a sex- and cohort-specific way and elongates with age in a wild mammal

Understanding ageing and the diversity of life histories is a cornerstone in biology. Telomeres, the protecting caps of chromosomes, are thought to be involved in ageing, cancer risks and life-history strategies. They shorten with cell division and age in somatic tissues of most species, possibly limiting lifespan. The resource allocation trade-off hypothesis predicts that short telomeres have thus co-evolved with early reproduction, proactive behaviour and reduced lifespan, i.e. a fast Pace-of-Life Syndrome (POLS). Conversely, since short telomeres may also reduce the risks of cancer, the anti-cancer hypothesis advances that they should be associated with slow POLS. Conclusion on which hypothesis best supports the role of telomeres as mediators of life-history strategies is hampered by a lack of study on wild short-lived vertebrates, apart from birds. Using seven years of data on wild Eastern chipmunks Tamias striatus, we highlighted that telomeres elongate with age (n = 204 and n = 20) and do not limit lifespan in this species (n = 51). Furthermore, short telomeres correlated with a slow POLS in a sex-specific way (n = 37). Females with short telomeres had a delayed age at first breeding and a lower fecundity rate than females with long telomeres, while we found no differences in males. Our findings support most predictions adapted from the anti-cancer hypothesis, but none of those from the resource allocation trade-off hypothesis. Results are in line with an increasing body of evidence suggesting that other evolutionary forces than resource allocation trade-offs shape the diversity of telomere length in adult somatic cells and the relationships between telomere length and life-histories.

Responses to artificial selection for locomotor activity: A focus on death feigning in red flour beetle

Whole-organism performance, including locomotor activity, is an important fitness trait in many animals. Locomotor activity is often classified into sprint speed and locomotor endurance and differences in sprint speed and locomotor endurance affect on other traits such as life-history traits. Previous studies found that locomotor endurance, sprint speed and brain dopamine (DA) levels are correlated with artificial selection for death feigning (an anti-predator behaviour that we refer to as 'death-feigning syndrome') in some insect species. Thus, if the syndrome has a genetic basis, death feigning, sprint speed and brain DA levels may be affected by artificial selection for locomotor endurance. We artificially selected for locomotor endurance over 10 generations in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum, and established higher (H) and lower activity (L) strains, then compared their death-feigning behaviour, sprint speed and brain DA levels. H-strain beetles exhibited significantly shorter duration of death-feigning, and significantly higher sprint speeds, suggesting variation in death-feigning syndrome. Surprisingly, although brain DA expression affects various animal behaviours, we found no significant differences in the brain DA expressions of H- and L-strain beetles. Thus, our results imply genetic correlations between locomotor endurance, sprint speed and death feigning, but not with brain DA expression, suggesting that differences in the biogenic amine results of our and previous studies may reflect differences in behavioural expression mechanisms.

Linking vgll3 genotype and aggressive behaviour in juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)

We tested the possibility that vgll3, a gene linked with maturation age in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), may be associated with behaviour by measuring aggressiveness and feeding activity in 380 juveniles with different vgll3 genotypes. Contrary to our prediction, individuals with the genotype associated with later maturation (vgll3*LL) were significantly more aggressive than individuals with the genotype associated with earlier maturation (vgll3*EE). Individuals with higher aggression were also significantly lighter in colour and had higher feeding activity. Although higher aggression was associated with higher feeding activity, there was no association between feeding activity and vgll3 genotype. Increased aggression of vgll3*LL individuals was independent of their sex and size, and genotypes did not differ in their condition factor. These results imply that aggressive behaviour may have an energetic cost impairing growth and condition, especially when food cannot be monopolized. This may have implications for individual fitness and aquaculture practices.

Activity, boldness and schooling in freshwater fish are affected by river salinization

Rivers are experiencing increasing anthropogenic pressures and salinity has shown to affect freshwater fish behaviour, potentially disrupting ecological processes. In this study, the aim was to determine the sub-lethal effects of salinization on freshwater fish behaviour, using a widespread native cyprinid species, the Iberian barbel (Luciobarbus bocagei) as the model species. Behavioural trials in a mesocosms setting were performed to assess the effects of three levels of a salinity gradient - control (no salt added to the water, 0.8 mS/cm), low (9 mS/cm), and high concentration (18 mS/cm) - on fish routine activity, shoal cohesion and boldness. Upon increasing the salinity levels in the flume-channels, fish showed a significant reduction on their i) swimming activity (76% of searching behaviour in the control vs. 57% in high salinity), and ii) shoal cohesion (0.95 shoal cohesion ratio in the control vs. 0.76 in high salinity), while iii) an increase of bolder individuals, measured by a higher number of attempts to escape the altered environment (106 total jumps in the control vs. 262 in high salinity), was simultaneously observed. Behavioural changes in fish can reflect shifts in ecological condition. Thus, the behavioural responses of fish caused by salinization stress should be further researched, in addition to the interaction with other environmental stressors, in order to understand the true scope of the consequences of salinization for fish species.

Multigenerational exposure to increased temperature reduces metabolic rate but increases boldness in Gambusia affinis

Acute exposure to warming temperatures increases minimum energetic requirements in ectotherms. However, over and within multiple generations, increased temperatures may cause plastic and evolved changes that modify the temperature sensitivity of energy demand and alter individual behaviors. Here, we aimed to test whether populations recently exposed to geothermally elevated temperatures express an altered temperature sensitivity of metabolism and behavior. We expected that long‐term exposure to warming would moderate metabolic rate, reducing the temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with concomitant reductions in boldness and activity. We compared the temperature sensitivity of metabolic rate (acclimation at 20 vs. 30°C) and allometric slopes of routine, standard, and maximum metabolic rates, in addition to boldness and activity behaviors, across eight recently divergent populations of a widespread fish species (Gambusia affinis). Our data reveal that warm‐source populations express a reduced temperature sensitivity of metabolism, with relatively high metabolic rates at cool acclimation temperatures and relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures compared to ambient‐source populations. Allometric scaling of metabolism did not differ with thermal history. Across individuals from all populations combined, higher metabolic rates were associated with higher activity rates at 20°C and bolder behavior at 30°C. However, warm‐source populations displayed relatively bolder behavior at both acclimation temperatures compared to ambient‐source populations, despite their relatively low metabolic rates at warm acclimation temperatures. Overall, our data suggest that in response to warming, multigenerational exposure (e.g., plasticity, adaptation) may not result in trait change directed along a simple “pace‐of‐life syndrome” axis, instead causing relative decreases in metabolism and increases in boldness. Ultimately, our data suggest that multigenerational warming may produce a novel combination of physiological and behavioral traits, with consequences for animal performance in a warming world.

A fast pace-of-life is traded off against a high thermal performance

The integration of life-history, behavioural and physiological traits into a ‘pace-of-life syndrome’ is a powerful concept in understanding trait variation in nature. Yet, mechanisms maintaining variation in ‘pace-of-life’ are not well understood. We tested whether decreased thermal performance is an energetic cost of a faster pace-of-life. We characterized the pace-of-life of larvae of the damselfly Ischnura elegans from high-latitude and low-latitude regions when reared at 20°C or 24°C in a common-garden experiment, and estimated thermal performance curves for a set of behavioural, physiological and performance traits. Our results confirm a faster pace-of-life (i.e. faster growth and metabolic rate, more active and bold behaviour) in the low-latitude and in warm-reared larvae, and reveal increased maximum performance, R_max, but not thermal optimum T_opt, in low-latitude larvae. Besides a clear pace-of-life syndrome integration at the individual level, larvae also aligned along a ‘cold–hot’ axis. Importantly, a faster pace-of-life correlated negatively with a high thermal performance (i.e. higher T_opt for swimming speed, metabolic rate, activity and boldness), which was consistent across latitudes and rearing temperatures. This trade-off, potentially driven by the energetically costly maintenance of a fast pace-of-life, may be an alternative mechanism contributing to the maintenance of variation in pace-of-life within populations.

Convergence of life history and physiology during range expansion toward the phenotype of the native sister species

In our globally changing planet many species show range expansions whereby they encounter new thermal regimes that deviate from those of their source region. Pressing questions are to what extent and through which mechanisms, plasticity and/or evolution, species respond to the new thermal regimes and whether these trait changes are adaptive. Using a common-garden experiment, we tested for plastic and evolutionary trait changes in life history and a set of understudied biochemical/physiological traits during the range expansion of the damselfly Ischnura elegans from France into a warmer region in Spain. To assess the adaptiveness of the trait changes we used the phenotype of its native sister species in Spain, I. graellsii, as proxy for the locally adapted phenotype. While our design cannot fully exclude maternal effects, our results suggest that edge populations adapted to the local conditions in the newly invaded region through the evolution of a faster pace-of-life (faster development and growth rates), a smaller body size, a higher energy budget and increased expression levels of the heat shock gene DnaJ. Notably, based on convergence toward the phenotype of the native sister species and its thermal responses, and the fit with predictions of life history theory these potential evolutionary changes were likely adaptive. Nevertheless, the convergence toward the native sister species is incomplete for thermal plasticity in traits associated with anaerobic metabolism and melanization. Our results highlight that evolution might at least partly contribute in an adaptive way to the persistence of populations during range expansion into new thermal environments and should be incorporated when predicting and understanding species' range expansions.

How does early-life adversity shape telomere dynamics during adulthood? Problems and paradigms

Although early-life adversity has been associated with negative consequences during adulthood, growing evidence shows that such adversity can also lead to subsequent stress resilience and positive fitness outcomes. Telomere dynamics are relevant in this context because of the link with developmental conditions and longevity. However, few studies have assessed whether the effects of early-life adversity on developmental telomere dynamics may relate to adult telomere dynamics. We propose that the potential links between early-life adversity and adult telomere dynamics could be driven by developmental constraints (the Constraint hypothesis), by the nature/severity of developmental adversity (the Resilience hypothesis), or by developmental-mediated changes in individual life-history strategies (the Pace of Life hypothesis). We discuss these non-mutually exclusive hypotheses, explore future research directions, and propose specific studies to test these hypotheses. Our article aims to expand our understanding of the evolutionary role of developmental conditions on adult telomere dynamics, stress resilience and ageing.

How to behave when marooned: the behavioural component of the island syndrome remains underexplored

Animals on islands typically depart from their mainland relatives in assorted aspects of their biology. Because they seem to occur in concert, and to some extent evolve convergently in disparate taxa, these changes are referred to as the 'island syndrome'. While morphological, physiological and life-history components of the island syndrome have received considerable attention, much less is known about how insularity affects behaviour. In this paper, we argue why changes in personality traits and cognitive abilities can be expected to form part of the island syndrome. We provide an overview of studies that have compared personality traits and cognitive abilities between island and mainland populations, or among islands. Overall, the pickings are remarkably slim. There is evidence that animals on islands tend to be bolder than on the mainland, but effects on other personality traits go either way. The evidence for effects of insularity on cognitive abilities or style is highly circumstantial and very mixed. Finally, we consider the ecological drivers that may induce such changes, and the mechanisms through which they might occur. We conclude that our knowledge of the behavioural and cognitive responses to island environments remains limited, and we encourage behavioural biologists to make more use of these 'natural laboratories for evolution'.

Glucocorticoids of European Bison in Relation to Their Status: Age, Dominance, Social Centrality and Leadership

Stress is the body's response to cope with the environment and generally better survive unless too much chronic stress persists. While some studies suggest that it would be more stressful to be the dominant individual of the group, others support the opposite hypothesis. Several variables can actually affect this relationship, or even cancel it. This study therefore aims to make the link between social status and the basal level of stress of 14 wild European bison (Bison bonasus, L. 1758) living together. We collected faeces and measured the faecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM). We showed that FGM is linked to different variables of social status of European bison, specifically age, dominance rank, eigenvector centrality but also to interactions between the variables. Preferential leaders in bison, i.e., the older and more dominant individuals which are more central ones, are less stressed compared to other group members. Measurement of such variables could thus be a valuable tool to follow and improve the conservation of species by collecting data on FGM and other social variables and adapt group composition or environmental conditions (e.g., supplement in food) according to the FGM concentration of herd individuals.

Inter-annual fluctuations of sociability in the common shrew (Sorex araneus L.) as determined by a preference test: A case of balancing selection?

The specific aim of our study was to test individual common shrews from a population monitored long-term. In a preference test, we revealed sex-related differences in behavioural traits of young common shrews and consistent individual differences in sociability, boldness and in an exploration pattern that have not been reported previously. More active animals were bolder and more superficial in the exploration of non-social objects as compared to shier shrews. Significant inter-annual differences in sociability, boldness and exploratory activity were observed. When we assessed correlations of sociability with population density, non-residents' abundance, activity shared in space, survivorship and home range size, we found a positive association with shared spatial activity and home range size. Contrary to expectation, sociability did not correlate with the density of residents and survivorship. A significant negative association of sociability with non-residents' abundance was documented. Survivorship was associated only with an exploration pattern. The thoroughness of exploration positively correlated with non-residents' abundance. We regard the inter-annual changes in sociability that we observed in the test as a by-product of survival of shrews with various exploration patterns that are associated with dispersal. We can hypothesise that the personality differences registered in this study are maintained by balancing frequency-dependent selection of animals that is associated with differences in habitat quality throughout the population cycle.

Dispersal syndrome and landscape fragmentation in the salt-marsh specialist spider Erigone longipalpis

Dispersal and its evolution play a key role for population persistence in fragmented landscapes where habitat loss and fragmentation increase the cost of between-habitat movements. In such contexts, it is important to know how variation in dispersal and other traits is structured, and whether responses to landscape fragmentation are aligned with underlying dispersal-trait correlations, or dispersal syndromes. We therefore studied trait variation in Erigone longipalpis, a European spider species specialist of (often patchy) salt marshes. We collected spiders in two salt-marsh landscapes differing in habitat availability. We then reared lab-born spiders for two generations in controlled conditions, and measured dispersal and its association with various key traits. E. longipalpis population densities were lower in the more fragmented landscape. Despite this, we found no evidence of differences in dispersal, or any other trait we studied, between the two landscapes. While a dispersal syndrome was present at the among-individual level (dispersers were more fecund and faster growing, among others), there was no indication it was genetically driven: among-family differences in dispersal were not correlated with differences in other traits. Instead, we showed that the observed phenotypic covariations were mostly due to within-family correlations. We hypothesize that the dispersal syndrome is the result of asymmetric food access among siblings, leading to variation in development rates and carrying over to adult traits. Our results show we need to better understand the sources of dispersal variation and syndromes, especially when dispersal may evolve rapidly in response to environmental change.

Artificial selection for predatory behaviour results in dietary niche differentiation in an omnivorous mammal

The diet of an individual is a result of the availability of dietary items and the individual's foraging skills and preferences. Behavioural differences may thus influence diet variation, but the evolvability of diet choice through behavioural evolution has not been studied. We used experimental evolution combined with a field enclosure experiment to test whether behavioural selection leads to dietary divergence. We analysed the individual dietary niche via stable isotope ratios of nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) in the hair of an omnivorous mammal, the bank vole, from four lines selected for predatory behaviour and four unselected control lines. Predatory voles had higher hair δ¹⁵N values than control voles, supporting our hypothesis that predatory voles would consume a higher trophic level diet (more animal versus plant foods). This difference was significant in the early but not the late summer season. The δ¹³C values also indicated a seasonal change in the consumed plant matter and a difference in food sources among selection lines in the early summer. These results imply that environmental factors interact with evolved behavioural tendencies to determine dietary niche heterogeneity. Behavioural selection thus has potential to contribute to the evolution of diet choice and ultimately the species' ecological niche breadth.

Differences in the temporal scale of reproductive investment across the slow-fast continuum in a passerine

Life-history strategies differ with respect to investment in current versus 'future' reproduction, but when is this future? Under the novel 'temporality in reproductive investment hypothesis', we postulate variation should exist in the time frame over which reproductive costs are paid. Slow-paced individuals should pay reproductive costs over short (e.g. inter-annual) time scales to prevent reproductive costs accumulating, whereas fast-paced individuals should allow costs to accumulate (i.e. senescence). Using Fourier transforms, we quantify adjustments in clutch size with age, across four populations of blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Fast populations had more prevalent and stronger long-term changes in reproductive investment, whereas slower populations had more prevalent short-term adjustments. Inter-annual environmental variation partly accounted for short-, but not long-term changes in reproductive investment. Our study reveals individuals differ in when they pay the cost of reproduction and that failure to partition this variation across different temporal scales and environments could underestimate reproductive trade-offs.

Alternative migratory strategies related to life history differences in the Walleye (Sander vitreus)

BACKGROUND

While Pace of Life Syndrome predicts behavioural differences between individuals with differential growth and survival, testing these predictions in nature is challenging due to difficulties with measuring individual behaviour in the field. However, recent advances in acoustic telemetry technology have facilitated measurements of individual behaviour at scales not previously possible in aquatic ecosystems.

METHODS

Using a Walleye (Sander vitreus) population inhabiting Black Bay, Lake Superior, we examine whether life history characteristics differ between more and less mobile individuals as predicted by Pace of Life Syndrome. We tracked the movement of 192 individuals from 2016 to 2019 using an acoustic telemetry study, relating patterns in annual migratory behaviour to individual growth, and seasonal changes in optimal thermal-optical habitat.

RESULTS

We observed two consistent movement patterns in our study population-migratory individuals left Black Bay during late summer to early fall before returning to the bay, whereas residents remained within the bay year-round. The average maximum length of migrant Walleye was 5.5 cm longer than residents, and the sex ratios of Walleye caught during fall surveys was increasingly female-biased towards the mouth of Black Bay, suggesting that a majority of migrants were females. Further, Walleye occupancy outside of Black Bay was positively associated with increasing thermal-optical habitat.

CONCLUSIONS

Walleye in Black Bay appear to conform to Pace of Life Syndrome, with migrant individuals gaining increased fitness through increased maximum size, which, given size-dependent fecundity in this species, likely results in greater reproductive success (via greater egg deposition vs. non-migrants). Further, apparent environmental (thermal) controls on migration suggest that migratory Walleye (more so than residents) may be more sensitive to changing environmental conditions (e.g., warming climate) than residents.

Ecological and social pressures interfere with homeostatic sleep regulation in the wild

Sleep is fundamental to the health and fitness of all animals. The physiological importance of sleep is underscored by the central role of homeostasis in determining sleep investment – following periods of sleep deprivation, individuals experience longer and more intense sleep bouts. Yet, most sleep research has been conducted in highly controlled settings, removed from evolutionarily relevant contexts that may hinder the maintenance of sleep homeostasis. Using triaxial accelerometry and GPS to track the sleep patterns of a group of wild baboons (Papio anubis), we found that ecological and social pressures indeed interfere with homeostatic sleep regulation. Baboons sacrificed time spent sleeping when in less familiar locations and when sleeping in proximity to more group-mates, regardless of how long they had slept the prior night or how much they had physically exerted themselves the preceding day. Further, they did not appear to compensate for lost sleep via more intense sleep bouts. We found that the collective dynamics characteristic of social animal groups persist into the sleep period, as baboons exhibited synchronized patterns of waking throughout the night, particularly with nearby group-mates. Thus, for animals whose fitness depends critically on avoiding predation and developing social relationships, maintaining sleep homeostasis may be only secondary to remaining vigilant when sleeping in risky habitats and interacting with group-mates during the night. Our results highlight the importance of studying sleep in ecologically relevant contexts, where the adaptive function of sleep patterns directly reflects the complex trade-offs that have guided its evolution.

Preserving identity in capture–mark–recapture studies: increasing the accuracy of minimum number alive (MNA) estimates by incorporating inter-census trapping efficiency variation

Quantifying abundance is often key to understanding ecological and evolutionary processes in wild populations. Despite shortcomings in producing accurate abundance estimates, minimum number alive (MNA) remains a widely used tool, due to its intuitive computation, reliable performance as an abundance indicator, and linkage to individual life-histories. Here, we propose a novel “efficiency-modified” MNA (eMNA) metric, which aims to preserve MNA’s favourable aspects while remedying its flaws, by incorporating (a) growth correlates to back-age individuals first captured as adults, and (b) estimates of undetected persistence beyond last capture based on time-varying capture efficiency. We evaluate eMNA through samplings of a simulated baseline population parameterised using data from a long-term demographic study of European badgers (Meles meles), under three different levels of capture efficiency (low; intermediate/“real” based on badger field data; high). We differentiate between eMNA’s performance as an abundance estimator—how well it approximates true abundance (accuracy)—and as an abundance indicator—how tightly it correlates with population abundance and changes thereof (precision). eMNA abundance estimates were negatively biased at all capture efficiencies. However, this bias was negligible at intermediate-to-high capture efficiency, particularly once low-information terminal sampling years (the first year and final three years of simulated studies) were removed. Excluding these years, eMNA under-estimated abundance by only 3.5 badgers (1.5% of population) at intermediate (real) capture efficiencies, and performed as a precise abundance indicator, with half the standard deviation of Cormack–Jolly–Seber probabilistic estimates and proving robust to inter-sampling variation in capture efficiency. Using undetected persistence probabilities to parameterise survival regression, we recreated baseline age-based survival relationships, albeit with some negative bias for under-represented ages. We offer considerations on the continued limitations of using eMNA for abundance estimates, minimum study duration for reliability, the metric’s benefits when individual identity is required, and potential for further improvement.

Genetic integration of behavioural and endocrine components of the stress response

The vertebrate stress response comprises a suite of behavioural and physiological traits that must be functionally integrated to ensure organisms cope adaptively with acute stressors. Natural selection should favour functional integration, leading to a prediction of genetic integration of these traits. Despite the implications of such genetic integration for our understanding of human and animal health, as well as evolutionary responses to natural and anthropogenic stressors, formal quantitative genetic tests of this prediction are lacking. Here, we demonstrate that acute stress response components in Trinidadian guppies are both heritable and integrated on the major axis of genetic covariation. This integration could either facilitate or constrain evolutionary responses to selection, depending upon the alignment of selection with this axis. Such integration also suggests artificial selection on the genetically correlated behavioural responses to stress could offer a viable non-invasive route to the improvement of health and welfare in captive animal populations.

Variation in inhibitory control does not influence social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking, in red junglefowl females

Individual variation in cognition, seen in many taxa, is not well understood, despite its potential evolutionary consequences. Inhibitory control is an aspect of cognition which differs between individuals. However, how selection could act on this variation remains unclear. First, individual consistency over time of behaviours affected by inhibitory control, and how these behaviours relate to each other, is not well understood. Second, consequences in ecologically relevant contexts of variation in behaviours affected by  inhibitory control, are scarcely investigated. Therefore, we explored the temporal consistency and inter-relatedness of two behaviours influenced by inhibitory control (impulsive action and persistence) and how these link to social rank, foraging efficiency, and risk taking in adult female red junglefowl (Gallus gallus). We measured impulsive action in a detour test, and persistence in both a detour test and a foraging test. Impulsive action and persistence, measured in a detour test, were moderately consistent over time, and positively correlated. This implies that selection could act on inhibitory control via these behaviours, and selection on one behaviour could affect the other. However, we found no evidence of links between inhibitory control and social rank, foraging efficiency, or risk taking. This implies that selection may not act on inhibitory control via these measures, and that, in general, there may be a lack of strong selection on inhibitory control. This, in turn, could help explain individual variation in this aspect of cognition. Future research should explore the specificity of when inhibitory control has implications for individuals, and continue to investigate how variation in cognitive traits influences how individuals behave in contexts with potential evolutionary implications.

Physiology can predict animal activity, exploration, and dispersal

Physiology can underlie movement, including short-term activity, exploration of unfamiliar environments, and larger scale dispersal, and thereby influence species distributions in an environmentally sensitive manner. We conducted meta-analyses of the literature to establish, firstly, whether physiological traits underlie activity, exploration, and dispersal by individuals (88 studies), and secondly whether physiological characteristics differed between range core and edges of distributions (43 studies). We show that locomotor performance and metabolism influenced individual movement with varying levels of confidence. Range edges differed from cores in traits that may be associated with dispersal success, including metabolism, locomotor performance, corticosterone levels, and immunity, and differences increased with increasing time since separation. Physiological effects were particularly pronounced in birds and amphibians, but taxon-specific differences may reflect biased sampling in the literature, which also focussed primarily on North America, Europe, and Australia. Hence, physiology can influence movement, but undersampling and bias currently limits general conclusions.

Fitness, risk taking, and spatial behavior covary with boldness in experimental vole populations

Individuals of a population may vary along a pace-of-life syndrome from highly fecund, short-lived, bold, dispersive "fast" types at one end of the spectrum to less fecund, long-lived, shy, plastic "slow" types at the other end. Risk-taking behavior might mediate the underlying life history trade-off, but empirical evidence supporting this hypothesis is still ambiguous. Using experimentally created populations of common voles (Microtus arvalis)-a species with distinct seasonal life history trajectories-we aimed to test whether individual differences in boldness behavior covary with risk taking, space use, and fitness. We quantified risk taking, space use (via automated tracking), survival, and reproductive success (via genetic parentage analysis) in 8 to 14 experimental, mixed-sex populations of 113 common voles of known boldness type in large grassland enclosures over a significant part of their adult life span and two reproductive events. Populations were assorted to contain extreme boldness types (bold or shy) of both sexes. Bolder individuals took more risks than shyer ones, which did not affect survival. Bolder males but not females produced more offspring than shy conspecifics. Daily home range and core area sizes, based on 95% and 50% Kernel density estimates (20 ± 10 per individual, n = 54 individuals), were highly repeatable over time. Individual space use unfolded differently for sex-boldness type combinations over the course of the experiment. While day ranges decreased for shy females, they increased for bold females and all males. Space use trajectories may, hence, indicate differences in coping styles when confronted with a novel social and physical environment. Thus, interindividual differences in boldness predict risk taking under near-natural conditions and have consequences for fitness in males, which have a higher reproductive potential than females. Given extreme inter- and intra-annual fluctuations in population density in the study species and its short life span, density-dependent fluctuating selection operating differently on the sexes might maintain (co)variation in boldness, risk taking, and pace-of-life.

Does the match between individual and group behavior matter in shoaling sticklebacks?

In animals living in groups, the social environment is fundamental to shaping the behaviors and life histories of an individual. A mismatch between individual and group behavior patterns may have disadvantages if the individual is incapable of flexibly changing its state in response to the social environment that influences its energy gain and expenditure. We used different social groups of juvenile three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) with experimentally manipulated compositions of individual sociability to study the feedback between individual and group behaviors and to test how the social environment shapes behavior, metabolic rate, and growth. Experimentally created unsociable groups, containing a high proportion of less sociable fish, showed bolder collective behaviors during feeding than did corresponding sociable groups. Fish within groups where the majority of members had a level of sociability similar to their own gained more mass than did those within mismatched groups. Less sociable individuals within sociable groups tended to have a relatively low mass but a high standard metabolic rate. A mismatch between the sociability of an individual and that of the majority of the group in which it is living confers a growth disadvantage probably due to the expression of nonadaptive behaviors that increase energetic costs.

Interindividual variation in the use of social information during learning in honeybees

Slow-fast differences in cognition among individuals have been proposed to be an outcome of the speed-accuracy trade-off in decision-making. Based on the different costs associated with acquiring information via individual and social learning, we hypothesized that slow-fast cognitive differences would also be tied to the adoption of these different learning modes. Since foragers in honeybee colonies likely have both these information acquisition modes available to them, we chose to test them for interindividual differences in individual and social learning. By measuring performance on a learning task with and without a social cue and quantifying learning rate and maximum accuracy in these two tasks, our results show the existence of a speed-accuracy trade-off in both the individual and the social learning contexts. However, the trade-off is steeper during individual learning, which was slower than social learning but led to higher accuracy. Most importantly, our results also show that bees that attained high accuracy on the individual learning task had low accuracy on the social learning task and vice versa. We discuss how these two information acquisition strategies tie to slow-fast differences in cognitive phenotypes and how they might contribute to division of labour and social behaviour.

Bold and bright: shy and supple? The effect of habitat type on personality-cognition covariance in the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii)

Animals exhibit considerable and consistent among-individual variation in cognitive abilities, even within a population. Recent studies have attempted to address this variation using insights from the field of animal personality. Generally, it is predicted that animals with "faster" personalities (bolder, explorative, and neophilic) should exhibit faster but less flexible learning. However, the empirical evidence for a link between cognitive style and personality is mixed. One possible reason for such conflicting results may be that personality-cognition covariance changes along ecological conditions, a hypothesis that has rarely been investigated so far. In this study, we tested the effect of habitat complexity on multiple aspects of animal personality and cognition, and how this influenced their relationship, in five populations of the Aegean wall lizard (Podarcis erhardii). Overall, lizards from both habitat types did not differ in average levels of personality or cognition, with the exception that lizards from more complex habitats performed better on a spatial learning task. Nevertheless, we found an intricate interplay between ecology, cognition, and personality, as behavioral associations were often habitat- but also year-dependent. In general, behavioral covariance was either independent of habitat, or found exclusively in the simple, open environments. Our results highlight that valuable insights may be gained by taking ecological variation into account while studying the link between personality and cognition.

Beyond BMI: Personality traits' associations with adiposity and metabolic rate

Various personality traits are known to correlate with body mass index (BMI). However, this index of adiposity conflates fat mass with lean body mass and may therefore lead to biased estimates of correlations. Yet, rarely have studies looked beyond BMI to understand how adiposity and other physiological characteristics relate to these psychological traits. Using previously validated formulas, we calculated an improved measure of adiposity (relative fat mass, RFM), as well as basal metabolic rate (BMR); explored their associations with various personality traits; and assessed how personality traits' associations with RFM differ from their associations with BMI. In a subsample of the Estonian Biobank (N = 3535), we compared how the five domains and 30 facets of NEO Personality Inventory-3 correlated with RFM, BMI, and BMR. Various traits, notably Openness to Experience and its facets, were associated with RFM above and beyond BMI; these traits may relate to lower adiposity through eating habits. Assertiveness, a facet of Extraversion, correlated more strongly with BMI than with RFM and also correlated with BMR. These correlations mirror associations of metabolic rate with conceptually similar traits in non-human animals and are consistent with Assertiveness being based on biological processes. Finally, BMI-personality trait correlations appeared to conflate personality traits' associations with fat mass and lean mass; the use of BMI as an indicator of adiposity can lead to both attenuated and inflated estimates of personality trait-adiposity associations.

Sex, body size, and boldness shape the seasonal foraging habitat selection in southern elephant seals

Selecting foraging habitat is a fundamental behavior in the life of organisms as it directly links resource acquisition to fitness. Differences in habitat selection among individuals may arise from several intrinsic and extrinsic factors, and yet, their interaction has been given little attention in the study of wild populations. We combine sex, body size, and boldness to explain individual differences in the seasonal foraging habitat selection of southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) from the Kerguelen Archipelago. We hypothesize that habitat selection is linked to the trade-off between resource acquisition and risk, and that individuals differ in their position along this trade-off because of differences in reproductive strategies, life stages, and metabolic requirements. Before the post-molt foraging trip, we used a novel object approach test to quantify the boldness of 28 subadult and adult females and 42 subadult males and equipped them with data loggers to track their movements at sea. Subadult males selected neritic and oceanic habitats, whereas females mostly selected less productive oceanic habitats. Both sexes showed a seasonal shift from Antarctic habitats in the south in the summer to the free of ice subantarctic and subtropical habitats in the north in the winter. Males avoided oceanic habitats and selected more productive neritic and Antarctic habitats with body size mostly in the winter. Bolder males selected northern warmer waters in winter, while shyer ones selected the Kerguelen plateau and southern colder oceanic waters. Bolder females selected the Kerguelen plateau in the summer when prey profitability is assumed to be the highest. This study not only provides new insights into the spatiotemporal foraging ecology of elephant seals in relation to personality but also emphasizes the relevance of combining several intrinsic and extrinsic factors in understanding among-individual variation in space use essential in wildlife management and conservation.

Exploring relationships between oxygen consumption and biologger-derived estimates of heart rate in two warmwater piscivores

Estimating metabolic rate in wild, free-swimming fish is inherently challenging. Here, we explored using surgically implanted heart rate biologgers to estimate metabolic rate in two warmwater piscivores, bowfin Amia calva (Linneaus 1766) and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède 1802). Fish were surgically implanted with heart rate loggers, allowed to recover for 24 h, exposed to a netting and air exposure challenge, and then placed into respirometry chambers so that oxygen consumption rate (Ṁ_O2 ) could be measured in parallel to heart rate (f_H ) for a minimum of 20 h (ca. 20 estimates of Ṁ_O2 ). Heart rate across the duration of the experiment (at 19°C) was significantly higher in largemouth bass (mean ± s.d., 45 ± 14 beats min^-1 , range 18-86) than in bowfin (27 ± 9 bpm, range 16-98). Standard metabolic rate was also higher in largemouth bass (1.06 ± 0.19 mg O₂  kg^-1  min^-1 , range 0.46-1.36) than in bowfin (0.89 ± 0.17 mg O₂  kg^-1  min^-1 , range 0.61-1.28). There were weak relationships between f_H and Ṁ_O2 , with heart rate predicting 28% of the variation in oxygen consumption in bowfin and 23% in largemouth bass. The shape of the relationship differed somewhat between the two species, which is perhaps unsurprising given their profound differences in physiology and life history, illustrating the need to carry out species-specific validations. Both species showed some potential for a role of f_H in efforts to estimate field metabolic rates, although further validation experiments with a wider range of conditions (e.g., digestive states, swimming activity) would likely help improve the strength of the Ṁ_O2 -f_H relationship for use in field applications.