DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g0m41
title: Data from: Testing the stability of behavioural coping style across stress contexts in the Trinidadian guppy

description: Within populations, individuals can vary in stress response, a
 multivariate phenomenon comprising neuroendocrine, physiological and
 behavioural traits. Verbal models of individual stress “coping style” have
 proposed that the behavioural component of this variation can be described
 as a single axis, with each individual's coping style being
 consistent across time and stress contexts. Focusing on this behavioural
 component of stress response and combining repeated measures of multiple
 traits with a novel multivariate modelling framework, we test for the
 existence of coping style variation and assess its stability across
 contexts in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Specifically, we
 test the following hypotheses: (1) there exists repeatable
 among-individual behavioural (co)variation (“personality”) within a mild
 stress context consistent with a risk-averse–risk-prone continuum of
 behavioural coping style, (2) there is population-level plasticity in
 behaviour as a function of stressor severity, (3) there is
 among-individual variation in plasticity (i.e. IxE), and (4) the presence
 of IxE reduces cross-context stability of behavioural coping style. We
 found significant repeatable among-individual behavioural (co)variation in
 the mild stress context (open field trial), represented as an I matrix.
 However, I was not readily described by a simple risk-averse–risk-prone
 continuum as posited by the original coping style model. We also found
 strong evidence for population-level changes in mean behaviour with
 increasing stressor severity (simulated avian and piscine predation
 risks). Single-trait analyses did show the presence of
 individual-by-environment interactions (IxE), as among-individual
 cross-context correlations were significantly less than +1. However,
 multitrait analysis revealed the consequences of this plasticity variation
 were minimal. Specifically, we found little evidence for changes in the
 structure of I between mild and moderate stress contexts overall, and only
 minor changes between the two moderate contexts (avian vs. piscine
 predator). We show that a multivariate approach to assessing changes in
 among-individual (co)variance across contexts can prevent the
 over-interpretation of statistically significant, but small,
 individual-by-environment effects. While behavioural flexibility enables
 populations (and individuals) to respond rapidly to changes in the
 environment, multivariate personality structure can be conserved strongly
 across such contexts.
description: Testing behavioural
 coping styles across stress contextsBehavioural data
 collected in modified open field trials (OFTs), pre- and post-predator
 stimulus, as described in Houslay et al (2017). Each individual
 (distinguished by the ID variable) was observed in up to a maximum of 16
 contexts: 8 x pre-stimulus, 4 x post-bird strike, 4 x post-cichlid
 presence. Each trial lasted 150s. The behavioural traits were measured by
 BiObserve Viewer II software, and are defined as follows: Area (percentage
 of 1x1cm grid squares entered during the trial); Exposed (duration of time
 spent in the central exposed zone of the tank); Freezings (number of times
 the fish's velocity went below a minimum movement threshold); Shelter
 (duration of time spent in the shelter); TrackLen (the total distance
 travelled by the fish, in cm).Houslayetal_FuncEcol_2017.csv