Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2023
Höfundar / Authors: Gabrielle Ladurée (1), David Benhaïm (1) , Laura K. Weir (2), Stefán Ó. Steingrímsson (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: (1) Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology, Hólar University, Saudarkrokur, Iceland. (2) Department of Biology, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
Kynnir / Presenter: Gabrielle Ladurée
Predation risk constrains individuals to make trade-offs between foraging and predator avoidance, which in turn can impact their growth and distribution. In stream salmonids, predation risk can vary with environmental conditions, but less is known about how these variables interact with personality traits. Wild juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) were captured and assessed for personality traits in the laboratory. They were then placed in 12 stream enclosures (8 fish/enclosure) in their native stream. The enclosures had different habitat complexity conditions (five shelters vs. one shelter) either in stable or unstable contexts, i.e. habitat complexity conditions regularly switched or not. Repeated estimates of space use and foraging activity were collected in the field before and after exposure to a fake predator. We expected fish to exhibit distinct behavioural responses to predator exposure according to habitat complexity, i.e., lower shelter availability should result in fish aggregating and being more active. In contrast, fish exposed to high shelter availability should exhibit more sheltering behaviour with lower activity levels. Also, we expect bolder fish to be more active, emerge more rapidly after predator exposure and grow faster than shyer ones. Here, we present how Arctic charr adjust their behaviour to predation risk in stable and fluctuating environments and how it links with personality and growth.