Meeting Abstract
While variability exists among individuals in a population, trade-offs limit the range of phenotypes an individual can express. For example, physiological trade-offs are commonly associated with the allocation of resources to growth versus development, while behavioral trade-offs can be associated with balancing between resource acquisition and predation risk. Trade-offs can also occur in the phenotypes expressed within an individual across different life stages. Behavioral consistencies, also known as personalities, may play a key role in either facilitating or setting bounds on the growth and development rates of individuals across crucial life stages. We are investigating how 1) trade-offs between individuals with “active” or “less active” behavioral personalities interact with trade-offs between growth and development, 2) how these interactions affect individual performance in habitats that favor differing strategies and 3) how these interactions drive variation among individuals in a population. Specifically, in this study we partition recently hatched Hyla squirella tadpoles for either activity rates (active or less active) or initial size (large or small) and compare their performance with tadpoles consisting of a mixture of these phenotypic groupings in the presence or absence of water bug predators (Belostoma flumineum). We find that initial phenotypes significantly affected, survival and mass, age, and snout-vent length at metamorphosis. Our results provide important insights into mechanisms that may underlie among individual differences within populations.
