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High Repeatability of Anti-Predator Responses and Resting Metabolic Rate in a Beetle

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Abstract

Measures of repeatability are essential for understanding behavioral consistency and individual differences in behavior, i.e. animal personalities. We studied anti-predator responses of the yellow mealworm beetle (Tenebrio molitor) and performed behavioral tests in plastic containers representing a typical laboratory environment of T. molitor. Behavioral tests were repeated in Eppendorf test tubes where we also measured resting metabolic rate (RMR). Results show that the response latency to a threatening/startling stimulus, and the total time spent in the state of tonic immobility, correlated across the tests. The behavioral responses were repeatable and RMR covaried phenotypically with personality: we found a negative correlation between response latency time and time spent immobile, a positive correlation between response latency and RMR, and a negative correlation between RMR and total time spent immobile. These correlations were also similar across trials performed in the Eppendorf test tubes and the plastic containers.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the European Social Fund within the Project “Support for the implementation of doctoral studies at Daugavpils University” (Agreement Nr. 2009/0140/1DP/1.1.2.1.2./09/IPIA/VIAA/015) to Inese Kivleniece. We are thankful to Tuul Sepp for her help with the figure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Vanemuise 46, Tartu, 51014, Estonia

    Indrikis Krams & Raivo Mänd

  2. Institute of Systematic Biology, University of Daugavpils, Vienības 13, Daugavpils, 5401, Latvia

    Indrikis Krams, Inese Kivleniece, Tatjana Krama & Ljubova Sivacova

  3. Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Science, Kreutzwaldi 1, Tartu, 51014, Estonia

    Aare Kuusik & Marika Mänd

  4. Department of Psychology and Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, Austin Peay Building 301B, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA

    Todd M. Freeberg

  5. Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, 20014, Finland

    Indrikis Krams & Markus J. Rantala

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  1. Indrikis Krams
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Correspondence to Indrikis Krams.

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Krams, I., Kivleniece, I., Kuusik, A. et al. High Repeatability of Anti-Predator Responses and Resting Metabolic Rate in a Beetle. J Insect Behav 27, 57–66 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-013-9408-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10905-013-9408-2

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