Project description
Exploring the food-mortality trade-off
How does the relationship between boldness (the extent to which animals take risks) and food intake shape anti-predator escape responses? The EU-funded DynFish project will answer this question, shedding light on how the mechanisms of the food-mortality trade-off generate personality variation in boldness. Specifically, the project will conduct experimental work on individuals and groups of three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Individuals and groups will be tested in a set-up to precisely control the behaviour of a predator model and study how escape responses vary with individual boldness, food intake and social interactions. The project will also conduct computer simulations to characterise the food-mortality trade-off. Additionally, it will explore the mechanisms underlying individual differences in boldness, and provide new insights into the evolution and maintenance of personality variation, which is common in social species.
Fields of science
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)
Coordinator
BS8 1QU Bristol
United Kingdom
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