Meeting Abstract

77.2  Sunday, Jan. 6  Variation Within and Among Populations in the Behavioral Types of Mangrove Rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus) GARCIA, MJ*; DOBBINS, M; VAUGHN, S; EARLEY, RL; Univ. of Alabama; Univ. of Alabama; Univ. of Alabama; Univ. of Alabama mjgarcia@crimson.ua.edu

An individual’s fitness depends critically on their ability to obtain and retain resources, which may be linked to their willingness to leave shelter (boldness), explore novel habitats, or engage in aggressive encounters. These behavioral attributes often are consistent within but divergent among individuals; that is, individuals often exhibit consistent individual differences in behavior, or behavioral types. The aim of this study was to evaluate consistency of behavioral types (boldness, exploration, and aggression) within individuals and differences among individuals, genotypes, and populations in the mangrove rivulus. This fish is a self-fertilizing hermaphrodite and long bouts of selfing result in completely homozygous individuals capable of producing offspring that are genetically identical to parent and kin. This allows us to replicate at the genotype level, and to examine the genetic underpinnings of behavioral variation with greater resolution than in species with conventional reproductive systems (e.g., outcrossing). Thirty-three genotypes were derived from field caught individuals collected from seven geographic locations, which vary in both physical and community-level characteristics. Individuals of the F2 generation were collected from each genotype and were raised in standardized conditions. At 11-months of age behavioral assays of boldness, exploration, and aggression were performed. Behavioral types were then examined to determine differences within- and between-genotypes and populations. Given environmental variation among populations, we predicted that differential selection pressures would result in significant variation in behavioral types across populations while reducing within-population variation.