Boldness and behavioral syndromes in the bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus

In recent years, evidence for interindividual variation in "personality" within animal populations has been accumulating. Personality is defined as consistency in an individual's behavioral responses over time and/or across situations. One personality trait that has potentially far-reaching implications for behavioral ecology, and may provide insight into the mechanisms by which consistent behavioral correlations arise, is that of boldness. Boldness is defined as the tendency of an individual to take risks and be exploratory in novel contexts. Using the framework of behavioral syndromes, we tested for individual differences in boldness in the laboratory among field-caught juvenile bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus) within and across the contexts of exploratory behavior, activity, and risk taking (e.g., antipredator) behavior. After such testing, individuals were tagged and returned to their lake of origin as part of a mark-recapture study testing for the repeatability of individual differences in boldness. Here, we report strong and consistent individual differences in boldness within and across all 3 behavioral contexts. Additionally, we observed that at least some boldness behaviors were repeatable after a 1-3 month recapture period. This study provides novel evidence for a boldness syndrome in sunfish, as well as insight into how behavioral types (e.g., shy/bold) may evolve and be maintained in natural populations

Behavioural syndromes in brook charr, Salvelinus fontinalis: prey-search in the field corresponds with space use in novel laboratory situations

Recently emerged brook charr foraging in still-water pools along the sides of streams tend to be either sedentary, feeding from the lower portion of the water column (a sit-and-wait tactic) near the stream bank, or very active, feeding from the upper portion of the water column (an active search tactic) away from the bank. We tested whether the search tactics used by charr in the field represent behavioural syndromes related to activity and space use. After quantifying the behaviour of fish in the field, focal individuals were captured and their behaviour quantified in novel environment experiments in the laboratory. In an aquarium, individuals that used an active search tactic in the field spent a higher proportion of time moving, spent less time near the aquarium bottom, and took less time to find their way out of an erect glass jar, on average, than did individuals that used a sit-and-wait tactic in the field. When presented with near-bank and open-water conditions over 6 days in the laboratory, individuals that used an active search tactic in the field remained active and altered their activity less, on average, than individuals that used a sit-and-wait tactic in the field. Immediate responses to a pebble dropped in the aquarium (simulated risk from above) were not correlated with field behaviour. The search tactics used by brook charr in the field reflect part of a behavioural syndrome related to general activity and space use, but not to startle responses. These initial, individual differences in behaviour provide important raw material for the initial stages of resource polymorphism. © 2007 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour

Does lure colour influence catch per unit effort, fish capture size and hooking injury in angled largemouth bass?

The contemporary tackle box for recreational angling is packed with lures that cover the full spectrum of colours with the assumption that colour influences fishing success. Yet, there is little research that identifies how lure colour might influence capture rates or size-selectivity. Moreover, while much is known about the factors that influence hooking injury or hooking depth (which is a good predictor of mortality in released fish), to our knowledge no studies have examined if such factors are influenced by lure colour in fishes. Here we tested the effects of lure colour on catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE), size-selectivity and hooking injury of largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides, using artificial 12.7. cm un-scented soft-plastic worms. Lures comprising six colours in three colour categories (i.e., dark - bream 'blue', leech 'black'; natural - cigar 'red', wasp; bright - pearl 'white', sherbert 'orange'), which were individually fished for 20-min intervals multiple times per day. Data analysis revealed that CPUE was similar across individual colours and categories. However, bright colours appeared to selectively capture larger fish than either dark or natural lure colours. Lure colour did not influence length-corrected hooking depth or anatomical hooking location. Our study reveals that while different lure colours might capture the imagination and wallet of the angler, they do not influence CPUE or hooking injury in bass but appear to have a small influence on the size of captured fish

Action cameras: Bringing aquatic and fisheries research into view

Digital action cameras (ACs) are increasingly being utilized for aquatic research purposes due to their cost effectiveness, versatility, high-resolution imagery, and durability. Here we review the advantages of AC technology in research, with particular emphases on (a) research videography (both in the field and the laboratory), (b) animal-borne studies, and (c) outreach and education purposes. We also review some of the limitations of this technology as represented by environmental factors (e.g., depth, turbidity) and deployment considerations (e.g., lens choices, imaging settings, battery life). As AC technologies evolve in response to growing public interest in their application versatility, researchers are indirectly reaping the rewards, with technological advances that are innovative, cost-effective, and can withstand frequent use in dynamic and rugged field conditions. With such a diversity of options available, future usefulness of ACs in research will only be limited by the creativity of the scientists using them

Does capture method or the presence of aquatic protected areas influence the selective harvest of behavioural types in largemouth bass?

Selectively removing fish based on particular traits, such as body size, may shift trait abundance in the remaining population, resulting in a phenomenon called fisheries-induced evolution. Recently, there is growing interest in evaluating the effects of fisheries-induced evolution on fish behaviour. Aquatic protected areas (APAs) have been designated in some habitats in efforts to prohibit harvesting and maintain natural ranges of phenotypic variation for impacted species. Here, we attempted to test whether APAs that prohibit all forms of fishing have an evolutionary influence on adult largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) behaviour by investigating the relationship between capture method and behavioural type. Fish, caught via active (angling) and passive (hoop net) capture techniques in both protected (70+ year old APAs in eastern Ontario) and adjacent nonprotected areas, were subjected to standard tests of boldness (refuge emergence, general activity, and flight-initiationdistance). A behavioural syndrome characterized by consistent within-individual variation and correlation of boldness behaviours (activity and refuge emergence) was present. Our results provide evidence that APAs may promote behavioural diversification and protect traits selectively targeted by recreational angling

Correction: How Long Is Too Long in Contemporary Peer Review? Perspectives from Authors Publishing in Conservation Biology Journals.

<p>Correction: How Long Is Too Long in Contemporary Peer Review? Perspectives from Authors Publishing in Conservation Biology Journals</p

Capture technique and fish personality: Angling targets timid bluegill sunfish, lepomis macrochirus

Size-selective harvesting associated with commercial and recreational fishing practices has been shown to alter life history traits through a phenomenon known as fishing-induced evolution. This phenomenon may be a result of selection pathways targeting life-history traits directly or indirectly through correlations with behavioral traits. Here, we report on the relationship between individual differences in behavior and capture technique (beach seining versus angling) in wild-caught juvenile bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). Both fish caught by using a seine net (seined) and fish caught by using a lure (angled) were individually tested under standardized laboratory conditions for their boldness, water-column use, and general activity. Observed inter-individual differences in boldness were strongly correlated with method of capture in the wild. Fish caught by angling were more timid and had fewer ectoparasites than fish caught using a seine net. However, this relationship did not carry over to an experiment in a large outdoor pool with seine-caught, individually tagged wild fish, where bolder individuals were more likely to be angled in open water away from refuges than more timid individuals, based on their previously assessed boldness scores. Our study is both novel and important, as it describes the relationship between capture technique and boldness in a natural population and underscores the potential risk of sampling biases associated with method of animal capture for behavioral, population, and conservation biologists

The need for speed in a crisis discipline: Perspectives on peer-review duration and implications for conservation science

Scholarly peer review relies on rigorous yet fair assessments of articles by qualified referees in a timely manner. We considered the extent to which a prolonged peer-review process can delay the dissemination of results in a conservation context by combining insight from a survey with our own perspectives. A survey of authors who published peer-reviewed articles in biodiversity and conservation in 2012 and 2013 yielded 461 responses from participants in 119 countries. Approximately 44% of respondents thought that slow review times might hamper conservation, while only ~5% provided specific examples of how slow reviews had actually impeded conservation actions or policy formation. When queried about the value of expediting the review process for studies of high policy or conservation relevance, ca. 1/3 of respondents thought it was a worthwhile idea in principle, though mechanics of implementing such practices are unclear. Author self-identification of potentially important papers could lead to requesting a rapid review provided that a paper meets certain criteria-an approach already used by some generalist journals. Given the urgency of many conservation-oriented initiatives, we encourage the entire editor - ial team (staff, editors, referees, authors) to make a concerted effort towards improving the speed of the peer-review process while maintaining quality. Such efforts would reflect the notion that timeliness is a key component of scientific relevance to practitioners and policy makers in a crisis discipline. We conclude that there is a 'need for speed' and advocate that rapid, rigorous and thorough peer review can be accomplished and can provide collective benefits to the scientific community and global biodiversity