Abstract
Divergent selection is a powerful driver of speciation and has been widely studied in relation to the physical characters of organisms. Behavioural traits also significantly contribute to the evolutionary processes of divergence. However, studying such effects is fraught with difficulties as the development of behavioural traits is likely to be complex and is moulded by ontogenetic processes such as shifts in habitat use. Here we explored how several aspects of juvenile behavioural variation may relate to adaptive divergence in a freshwater fish. We assessed whether and how juveniles of two recently evolved, sympatric morphs of Arctic charr, Salvelinus alpinus, a small benthivorous and a planktivorous charr, show genetically based differences in personality that conform to their respective ecological niches, and whether these differences could contribute to reproductive isolation by generating maladaptive hybrid behaviours. Studying three aspects of behavioural variation (average trait value, consistent individual differences and trait correlations), we assessed the sociality and risk-taking propensity of hybrids and pure-morph offspring reared in common conditions. While no difference in average behavioural responses could be observed, the hybrids tended to show less repeatable behaviours and were not intermediate for behavioural syndromes that appear to differ between the two morphs. These results provide limited evidence of personality trait divergence among polymorphic fish, and suggest subtle, nonadditive effects of hybridization on the development of such traits.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 57-73 |
| Number of pages | 17 |
| Journal | Animal Behaviour |
| Volume | 175 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - May 2021 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We are very thankful to Alia Desclos for her contribution in conducting the tests and processing the videos and her help in maintaining the rearing set-up. We thank Skúli Skúlason for his comments on the manuscript, and Zophonías O. Jónsson, the members of the ‘Arctic charr and salmonid’ group of the university of Iceland, and the owner of the farm of Mjóanes, Jóhann Jónsson, for their help during sampling. We are also thankful to Camille Leblanc, Bjarni K. Kristjánsson and Neil Metcalfe for constructive discussions on the experimental design and the conceptual aspects of the study. We thank Kári H. Árnason, Rakel þorbjörnsdóttir and Christian Beuvard for the organization and maintenance of the rearing facility. This work was entirely funded by the Icelandic Centre of Research, RANNÍS (Icelandic Research Fund grant no.173802–051).
Funding Information:
We are very thankful to Alia Desclos for her contribution in conducting the tests and processing the videos and her help in maintaining the rearing set-up. We thank Sk?li Sk?lason for his comments on the manuscript, and Zophon?as O. J?nsson, the members of the ?Arctic charr and salmonid? group of the university of Iceland, and the owner of the farm of Mj?anes, J?hann J?nsson, for their help during sampling. We are also thankful to Camille Leblanc, Bjarni K. Kristj?nsson and Neil Metcalfe for constructive discussions on the experimental design and the conceptual aspects of the study. We thank K?ri H. ?rnason, Rakel ?orbj?rnsd?ttir and Christian Beuvard for the organization and maintenance of the rearing facility. This work was entirely funded by the Icelandic Centre of Research, RANN?S (Icelandic Research Fund grant no.173802?051).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour
Other keywords
- adaptive divergence
- animal personality
- behavioural syndrome
- reproductive isolation
- resource polymorphism
- speciation