Data from: An experimental test of the effect of predation upon behaviour and trait correlations in threespine stickleback

Benthic and limnetic threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) are a classic example of ecological speciation. Behavioural and armour divergence between these species has been predicted to be the result of divergent selection driven in part by differential predation from cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki). To experimentally test this prediction, we reared split families of benthic–limnetic hybrids in the presence or absence of trout predation. Our results show that the presence of trout had little effect upon stickleback behaviour. We then compared performance in behavioural assays among stickleback that varied in armour to test if armour morphology correlates with behaviour. Our measurements revealed trait correlations between several behaviours and components of armour morphology. Trout predation did not result in an increased correlation between traits, therefore differential trout predation between benthics and limnetics is unlikely to be the cause of these correlations. The presence of trait correlations in advanced generation hybrids suggests that pleiotropy or linkage between genes underlying behaviour and armour morphology may be greater than previously appreciated.底栖型与湖沼型三棘刺鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）是生态物种形成（ecological speciation）的经典研究范例。这两类棘鱼间的行为与骨板盔甲（armour）分化，被推测源自分歧选择（divergent selection），而该选择部分受到溪红点鲑（Oncorhynchus clarki）差异化捕食压力的驱动。为实验验证该推测，我们将底栖-湖沼型杂交后代的分离家系，分别置于有、无溪红点鲑捕食压力的环境中进行饲养。本研究的实验结果显示，溪红点鲑的存在对三棘刺鱼的行为几乎无影响。随后，我们针对骨板形态（armour morphology）存在差异的三棘刺鱼，比较其在行为学测定实验（behavioural assays）中的表现，以验证骨板形态与行为是否存在相关性。本研究的测量结果显示，多项行为特征与骨板形态的不同组分之间存在显著关联。溪红点鲑的捕食并未导致性状间关联程度升高，因此底栖型与湖沼型棘鱼间的差异化捕食压力，不太可能是这些性状关联的成因。本研究在高级世代杂交后代中仍检测到性状关联，这提示调控行为与骨板形态的基因之间，其多效性（pleiotropy）或基因连锁（linkage）程度可能远超此前的认知。