Identifying personality traits and behavioural syndromes in a threatened freshwater fish (Nannoperca vittata) through comparative analysis with a model species (Poecilia reticulata): Implications for conservation

Abstract

Animal personalities are differences in behaviour among individuals of the same species that are consistent over time and contexts. The integration of animal personality into conservation actions is hampered by limited understanding of personality traits in non-model organisms. We estimated repeatabilities and correlations between behaviours in Nannoperca vittata (western pygmy perch), a threatened freshwater fish species endemic to south-western Australia, and, for comparative purposes, in Poecilia reticulata (guppy), a species frequently used in personality research. Each fish was measured four times for each of seven behavioural variables, presumed to reflect five underlying personality traits. Track length (TL) was used as a measure of activity; time spent in a risky zone (RZ) and time to emergence (ET) for boldness; latency to approach a novel object (LA) and time spent close to the object (TS) for exploration; time spent close to a mirror (CV) for sociability and number of attacks at the mirror (AT) for aggression. Four behavioural variables (TL, RZ, ET and CV) were significantly repeatable in N. vittata and also in P. reticulata. There was a lack of concordance in phenotypic and among-individual correlations between variables in both species, emphasising the importance of partitioning trait covariances to infer behavioural syndromes. Significant among-individual correlations were found between activity, boldness and sociability variables in N. vittata, consistent with a proactive-reactive personality axis, but not in P. reticulata. Personality variation should be considered in conservation actions for N. vittata, particularly with respect to unintended consequences of domestication selection in captive breeding and release.