Líffræðifélag Íslands - biologia.is
Líffræðiráðstefnan 2025
Erindi/veggspjald / Talk/poster E105
Höfundar / Authors: Gabrielle Ladurée (1), Laura K. Weir (2), David Benhaïm (1), Stefán Ó. Steingrímsson (1)
Starfsvettvangur / Affiliations: (1)Holar University, (Department of Aquaculture and Fish Biology), Saudarkrokur, Iceland; (2) Saint Mary's University, (Department of Biology), Halifax, (Nova Scotia), Canada *
Kynnir / Presenter: Gabrielle Ladurée
Consistent individual behavioural variation plays a crucial role in shaping ecological interactions and driving evolutionary processes. While laboratory studies assess personality traits under controlled conditions, their ecological validity is uncertain, as behaviour in natural settings is influenced by complex environmental and social factors. Here, we use juvenile Arctic charr to investigate whether traits commonly described as boldness and aggressiveness can reliably correlate with corresponding behaviours in natural settings, and whether these traits form a behavioural syndrome across contexts. Ninety-six individuals were tagged and tested twice for boldness and aggressiveness in both lab and field settings. In the lab, fish underwent standardised open-field tests, whereas in the field they were placed in 12 stream enclosures, split evenly between high and low shelter treatments. Boldness and aggressiveness were repeatable within both settings. However, there was no covariance in these traits across contexts, nor evidence of a boldness–aggressiveness behavioural syndrome. Our findings suggest that laboratory assessments of personality may not reliably predict behaviour in complex, ecologically relevant situations. Refining laboratory tests will be essential for drawing reliable conclusions about how personality shapes social status, life history, and fitness in natural populations.