Multidimensional analyses of physical performance reveal a size dependent trade-off between suites of traits

1. Animal movement is multidimensional and complex, and to understand the motor system of wild animals in the context of their natural ecology, we must analyze how suites of performance traits both mutualistically and antagonistically affect function —a necessity highlighted by previous work on performance trade-offs. 2. Evidence from some studies of human athletes using multidimensional analyses of performance suggests that overall quality among individuals can mask functional trade-offs within them, yet no studies have tested this idea using wild animals. In this study, we investigated the possible mutualistic and antagonistic associations among eight different whole-animal performance traits in male and female northern quolls (Dasyurus hallucatus). 3. We detected trade-offs between pairs of performance traits when conducted on raw standardized data using both Pearson product moment correlations and partial correlation analyses. For example, grasp strength was negatively associated wi...