Animal 'personality', defined as repeatable inter-individual differences in behaviour, is a
concept in biology that faces intense controversy. Critics argue that the field is riddled with …

Endothermy has evolved at least twice, in the precursors to modern mammals and birds. The
most widely accepted explanation for the evolution of endothermy has been selection for …

Aim Understanding and predicting the biological consequences of climate change requires
considering the thermal sensitivity of organisms relative to environmental temperatures. One …

Escape responses of fishes are one of the best characterized vertebrate behaviors, with
extensive previous research on both the neural control and biomechanics of startle …

Behavioral and physiological ecologists have long been interested in explaining the causes
and consequences of trait variation, with a focus on individual differences in mean values …

All animals experience performance trade-offs as they complete tasks such as capturing
prey, defending territories, acquiring mates, and escaping predators. Why then, is it so hard …

Inter-individual variation in physiological performance traits, which is stable over time, can
be of potential ecological and evolutionary significance. The fish escape response is …

Highlights•I review statistical approaches for dealing with common constraints in animal
behaviour studies.•I suggest analytical solutions to these constraints that outperform …

Across a range of taxa, individuals within a species differ in suites of correlated traits. These
trait complexes, known as syndromes, can have dramatic evolutionary consequences as …

The mechanistic foundations of performance trade-offs are clear: because body size and
shape constrains movement, and muscles vary in strength and fibre type, certain physical …