Linking stress and individual behavioural variation
By studying natural populations of European lacerids we aim to explore how varying stress levels influence individual behavioural variation, the interactions between behavioural components, and the relationships between behaviour and other phenotypic traits. Specifically, (1) the role of mild versus acute stress in the development, stabilization, and degradation of individual behavioural strategies, the effects of stress on components of behavioural variation, and the correlations between them; (2) how stress influences the relationship between behaviour and other repeatable traits such as physiology and thermoregulation; (3) how multiple stressor environments affect individual behavioural variation; and (4) the impact of maternal stress and its transgenerational effects on the repeatable phenotypic traits and behavioural coping styles of offspring.