Dynamics of among-individual behavioral variation over adult lifespan in a wild insect.

ABSTRACT: Investigating patterns of among and within-individual trait variation in populations is essential to understanding how selection shapes phenotypes. Behavior is often the most flexible aspect of the phenotype, and to understand how it is affected by selection, we need to examine how consistent individuals are. However, it is not well understood whether among-individual differences tend to remain consistent over lifetimes, or whether the behavior of individuals relative to one another varies over time. We examined the dynamics of 4 behavioral traits (tendency to leave a refuge, shyness, activity, and exploration) in a wild population of field crickets (Gryllus campestris). We tagged individuals and then temporarily removed them from their natural environment and tested them under labo

SUBMITTER: Fisher DN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4495759 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jul-Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature