Leptokurtic distributions of movement distances observed in field-release studies, in which some individuals move long distances while most remain at or near their release point, are a common feature of mobile animals. However, because leptokurtosis is predicted to be transient in homogeneous populations, persistent leptokurtosis suggests a population heterogeneity. We found evidence for a heterogeneity that may generate persistent leptokurtosis. We tested individuals of the Trinidad killifish Rivulus hartii for boldness in a tank test and released them back into their native stream. Boldness in the tank test predicted distance moved in the field releases, even after effects of size and sex were removed. Further, data from a 19-mo mark-recapture study showed that individual growth correlated positively with movement in a predator-threatened river zone where the Rivulus population is spatially fragmented and dispersal is likely to be a hazardous activity. In contrast, no such correlation existed in a predator-absent zone where the population is unfragmented. These results show that a behavioral trait, not discernible from body size or sex, contributes to dispersal and that a component of fitness of surviving "dispersers" is elevated above that of "stayers," a fundamental assumption or prediction of many models of the evolution of dispersal through hazardous habitat.

Many empirical studies support the premise that animals consider both the benefits of feeding and the cost of mortality when making behavioral decisions, and many theoretical studies predict animal behavior in the presence of a feeding-mortality trade-off. However, empirical work is lacking in studies that quantitatively assess alternative models. Using data from two sets of behavioral experiments examining stream minnows (bluehead chubs) foraging in the presence of sunfish predators (green sunfish), we assess, via statistical model fitting, the utility of four basic optimization models of foraging behavior. Our analysis of feeding and mortality of the minnows indicates that mortality is incurred so as to feed above maintenance requirements, that feeding rate is suppressed in response to the presence of predators, and that the balance of feeding against mortality can be estimated using a life-history parameter theta, interpreted theoretically as the marginal rate of substitution of mortality rate for growth rate. Our results indicate that both body size and age are probably involved in determining the value of theta, and we suggest that future studies should focus on estimating and understanding this parameter.

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