The behaviour-performance continuum: how does individual variation in locomotor abilities relate to behaviour?

ABSTRACT: A series of terminological, technical, conceptual, and statistical challenges present themselves when trying to study correlations between measures of performance abilities (what an animal can do) and behavioural traits (what an animal chooses to do). We attempt to synthesise literature on this topic, with a specific focus on locomotor performance and behavioural traits measured with standardised tests. We argue that measures of forced performance (e.g. endurance on a motorised treadmill) and voluntary behaviour (e.g. wheel running) often fall along a continuum, sometimes grading into each other. On the performance end of the continuum, tests should measure what an animal can do when motivation is maximal and/or it is given no choice but to exert itself maximally. On the behavioural end of

SUBMITTER: Careau V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12783434 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature