There is good evidence that natural selection drives the evolution of locomotor performance, but the processes that generate the among-individual variation for selection to act on are relatively poorly understood. We measured prolonged swimming performance, U crit , and morphology in a large cohort (n=461) of wild-type zebrafish (Danio rerio) at ∼6 months and again at ∼9 months. Using mixedmodel analyses to estimate repeatability as the intraclass correlation coefficient, we determined that U crit was significantly repeatable (r=0.55; 95% CI: 0.45-0.64). Performance differences between the sexes (males 12% faster than females) and changes with age (decreasing 0.07% per day) both contributed to variation in U crit and, therefore, the repeatability estimate. Accounting for mean differences between sexes within the model decreased the estimate of U crit repeatability to 21% below the naïve estimate, while fitting age in the models increased the estimate to 14% above the naïve estimate. Greater consideration of factors such as age and sex is therefore necessary for the interpretation of performance repeatability in wild populations. Body shape significantly predicted U crit in both sexes in both assays, with the morphology-performance relationship significantly repeatable at the population level. However, morphology was more strongly predicative of performance in older fish, suggesting a change in the contribution of morphology relative to other factors such as physiology and behaviour. The morphologyperformance relationship changed with age to a greater extent in males than females.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
customersupport@researchsolutions.com
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Copyright © 2025 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.