Personality predicts dispersal and settlement in a novel habitat – a mesocosm experiment

Abstract

Studying the relationship between dispersal tendencies and personality, or 'dispersal syndromes', under ecologically relevant conditions is challenging, especially in fish. Laboratory studies lack environmental complexity and scale, while field-based approaches are often unfeasible. We here mimicked dispersal events; encompassing all three phases of dispersal (departure, transience, settlement) in a large experimental mesocosm containing a gradient of low- and high-quality breeding sites. Using Passive Integrated Transponder (PIT)-tagged three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we remotely monitored the movements and behaviours of two groups, each consisting of 40 individuals of known personality, continuously over two weeks. We tested whether personality variation explained differences in departure timing, transience movements, settlement success and spatial distribution along the environmental gradient. We found evidence for a dispersal syndrome. Specifically, more active/aggressive individuals dispersed quicker in the mesocosm, spent more time on territories and collected more eggs. However, we did not detect phenotype-environment correlations. Our findings highlight the importance of personality-dependent dispersal, with specific behavioural types driving dispersal and settlement success. Furthermore, our mesocosm setup provides unique insights into dispersal dynamics in a system where detailed observations in all dispersal stages are rare. Despite limitations, behavioural experiments in mesocosms serve as a valuable bridge between laboratory and natural systems.