Data from: Routine metabolic rate is not associated with boldness in zebrafish

Consistent individual differences in behavior are prevalent throughout the
animal kingdom and are thought to be important contributors to
evolutionary adaptation. However, the biological basis for individual
differences is poorly understood. One explanatory framework that has
gained traction is the pace of life syndrome (POLS) hypothesis. The POLS
hypothesis proposes that behavioral variation arises from variation in
basic physiological functions like metabolism. In particular, the POLS
predicts that individuals with higher baseline metabolic demands will be
more willing to take risks to attain the requisite resources. To date,
support for this hypothesis when applied within species has been mixed,
leading to the tentative conclusion that the relationship between
metabolism and behavior depends on factors like species, sex, and context.
We sought to determine if the POLS hypothesis held in zebrafish, a widely
used model organism with well-developed genetic and neurobiological tools
that would allow us to better understand how biological and environmental
factors influence predictions of the POLS hypothesis. We tested the POLS
hypothesis in adult zebrafish by measuring the relationship between
routine metabolic rate, as assessed by oxygen consumption, and exploration
of a novel tank. We found no clear relationship between boldness-related
behaviors in the novel tank and metabolism in female or male zebrafish of
the TU or WIK strains. Our findings suggest that a key prediction of the
POLS hypothesis does not hold in zebrafish.