Is spontaneous locomotor activity repeatable? A case study on juvenile newts
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| Year of publication | 2018 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
| Citation | |
| Description | Locomotor activity is among major attributes of living organisms. Although this trait determines important ecological processes, such as dispersal and species interactions, the sources of its variation are not fully understood. We repeatedly examined the influence of body temperature (13, 18, 23, and 28°C) and individual identity on spontaneous locomotor activity in juvenile alpine newts, Ichthyosaura alpestris, during two consecutive weeks. Spontaneous locomotor activity was characterized by four traits: total distance traveled, maximum velocity, frequency of movements and total activity. Body temperature, individual identity and the week of measurement had various influence on the examined traits. Those traits which were affected by body temperature and individual identity during the first round of measurements, were not affected by them during the second round, except for frequency of movements. Despite distinct absolute values in all traits, individual values from one week were positively associated with those from the second week. In other words, more active individuals during the first week were also more active during the second week suggesting short term repeatability of this trait. Thermal dependence of spontaneous locomotor activity diverged from assumptions of current theory. This result has implications for further modeling the effect of climate change on species interactions. |
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