DOI: 10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcn9
title: Context-dependent multimodal behaviour in a coral reef fish: Stage 1 & 2 total duration and count data in behaviour trials

description: Animals are expected to respond flexibly to changing circumstances, with
 multimodal signalling providing potential plasticity in social
 interactions. Whilst numerous studies have documented context-dependent
 behavioural trade-offs in terrestrial species, far less work has
 considered such decision-making in fish, especially in natural conditions.
 Coral reef ecosystems host 25% of all known marine species, making them
 hotbeds of competition and predation. We conducted experiments with wild
 Ambon damselfish (Pomacentrus amboinensis) to investigate
 context-dependent responses to a conspecific intruder; specifically, how
 nest defence is influenced by an elevated predation risk. We found that
 nest-defending male Ambon damselfish responded aggressively to a
 conspecific intruder, spending less time sheltering and more time
 interacting, as well as signalling both visually and acoustically. In the
 presence of a model predator compared to a model herbivore, males spent
 less time interacting with the intruder, with a tendency towards reduced
 investment in visual displays compensated for by an increase in acoustic
 signalling instead. We therefore provide ecologically valid evidence that
 the context experienced by an individual can affect its behavioural
 responses and multimodal displays towards conspecific threats.
description: We recorded behaviours of Ambon damselfish using GoPro cameras.
 From the GoPro footage of each trial, we coded the behaviour available in
 this dataset using Behavioural Observation Research Interactive Software
 (BORIS) version 8.0.9. We scored time spent by the focal male sheltering
 (in the nest or adjacent rubble) and interacting with the intruder (within
 two body lengths of it); when it was interacting, we scored the number of
 aggressive acts (chasing, striking, darting) directed at the intruder. The
 time when the focal fish was not in view was also recorded. From a
 signalling perspective, we scored the time visually displaying (extending
 the anal and dorsal fin and/or fanning the tail towards the intruder) and
 counted occurrences of single or multiple pulses (vocal “syllables” within
 1 s of each other) of aggressive “wipe” and “knock”
 vocalisations.
description: # Context-dependent multimodal behaviour in a coral reef fish: Stage 1
 & 2 total duration and count data in behaviour trials
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcn9](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.44j0zpcn9) This dataset contains the proportions and rates of behaviours extracted (using Behavioural Observation Research Interactive Software (BORIS) version 8.0.9) from underwater cameras recording behavioural responses of the Ambon Damselfish to 1) a conspecific intruder in a bag vs an empty bag (as a control) and 2) a conspecific intruder in a bag alongside a model predator vs a model herbivore (as a control). ## Description of the data and file structure Data is split into two .csv files (one for Stage 1 and one for Stage 2). Each stage also has the scripts available from R studio version 1.4.1103 used to analyse the data (notes explaining the steps are included in the scripts themselves). Present in the data files is: "Site": refers to a general location across the field site where the focal individual was located. "Tile": refers to the particular nest tile which the focal individual defended throughout the experiment. "Order": refers to the treatment order in which the trial was conducted. "Trial": refers to the particular trial that the focal individual was exposed to such as "predator" for the predator model. "Observation ID": is a code given to refer to all of the above information in one abbreviated form. "Behavior": refers to which behaviour the rates and proportions that follow were coding for. Further columns list the the duration of behaviours (measured in seconds) or the number of times they occurred followed by the calculations of proportions and rates depending on whether it was looked at throughout the trial time or the time in which the focal individual was interacting with the intruder. All behaviours are described with their name in the "behaviour" column. The only abbreviation used is "OOS" which means "Out of Shot" for when the focal individual is not visible on the underwater camera recording. "NA's" are listed in the data columns for proportions when it was a behaviour analysed as a rate, and vice versa. For example, an acoustic "pop" vocalisation, listed under the "Behavior" column as "Acoustic:_Knock/pop_single" was measured in the rate of occurrences (not durations of the behaviour) and so the columns for the proportion of that behaviour are listed as "NA" (Not applicable). ## Code/Software We carried out all statistical analyses in R studio version 1.4.1103 using proportions of time and event rates as dependent variables. The included scripts were used to analyse the data (notes explaining the steps are included in the scripts themselves).