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.

底栖型与浮游型三刺棘鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）是生态物种形成的经典研究范例。学界此前推测，这两个类群间的行为与装甲结构分化，部分源自斑首红点鲑（Oncorhynchus clarki）的差异化捕食所驱动的歧化选择。为对该推测开展实验验证，我们将底栖-浮游型杂交后代的拆分家系分别置于有、无斑首红点鲑捕食压力的环境中进行饲养。实验结果显示，斑首红点鲑的存在对棘鱼的行为几乎无影响。随后，我们针对装甲形态存在差异的棘鱼，比较其在行为学实验中的表现，以验证装甲形态与行为是否存在相关性。测量结果显示，多项行为指标与装甲形态的不同组分之间存在性状关联。斑首红点鲑的捕食并未导致性状间关联程度上升，因此底栖类群与浮游类群间的差异化捕食压力，不太可能是上述性状关联的成因。在多代杂交后代中仍存在性状关联，这表明调控行为与装甲形态的基因之间，可能存在比此前认知更强的多效性或连锁关系。