Increases in predation favor evolutionary shifts in behavioral plasticity in Trinidadian killifish

Behavioral plasticity is expected to be favored in risky environments, such as when prey species coexist with predators, because prey must alternate between fitness related foraging/mating behaviors and antipredator behaviors that enhance survival. We compared behavioral plasticity in Trinidadian killifish that are found in sites with and without predators. We quantified aggressive and antipredator behaviors via a mirror assay in second-generation lab-reared and wild-caught killifish before and after exposure to predator cues. We compared two types of aggression including: overt aggression (ramming, biting, lunging, tail-slapping) and display aggression (spine arching, bending into an s-shape, and opercular flaring). We additionally compare the amount of time the fish spent frozen as a proxy for anti-predator behavior. We show clear differences in plasticity between populations with and without predators. Killifish from sites with predators decreased overt aggression in response to expo..., The following data sets were collected from second-generation lab-reared and wild-caught Trinidadian killifish (Anablepoides hartii) in 2023. They represent a predator cue experiment in which fish were assayed for aggression and antipredator behaviors before (pre-trial) and after (pre-trial) introduction of a predator odor cue to determine how predator presence influences behavior. The data are in long-format to facilitate repeated measures analyses. , , # Predator Cue Experiments

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1pt](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.xwdbrv1pt)

## Description of the data and file structure

These data represent efforts to determine how predator presence influences evolution of behavioral plasticity in Trinidadian killifish *(Anablepsoides hartii)*. There are .csv files corresponding to our second-generation lab-reared fish and wild-caught killifish. There is also a .zip folder with a subset of the behavioral videos taken (DRYAD does not allow more than 300 GB of data to be uploaded and the total of these videos is over that). Video file names correspond to the fish name (column: Name) in the .csv files. All data were collected in 2023. We performed a mirror-aggression behavioral assay pre and post addition of a predator odor cue. Individual aggressive behaviors are listed (ramming, biting, etc.) in counts as well as time spent frozen (an antipredator behavior) in seconds during the assay. Please note that in the Pre...,