Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish
Summary: Developmental plasticity at the behavioral repertoire level allows animals to incrementally adjust their behavioral phenotypes to match their environments through ontogeny. Quantifying this plasticity in sufficient resolution across substantial periods of development, however, has been chal...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-09-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225014506 |
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| author | Sean M. Ehlman Ulrike Scherer David Bierbach Luka Stärk Marvin Beese Max Wolf |
| author_facet | Sean M. Ehlman Ulrike Scherer David Bierbach Luka Stärk Marvin Beese Max Wolf |
| author_sort | Sean M. Ehlman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Developmental plasticity at the behavioral repertoire level allows animals to incrementally adjust their behavioral phenotypes to match their environments through ontogeny. Quantifying this plasticity in sufficient resolution across substantial periods of development, however, has been challenging. Here, we use high-resolution tracking to monitor 45 genetically identical Amazon mollies (Poecilia formosa) reared in near-identical environments over their first four weeks of life. We analyze behavior at 0.2-s resolution to assess plasticity across entire behavioral repertoires. Testing a key prediction from Bayesian models—that plasticity should decline in stable environments—we measure plasticity using both individual behavioral metrics and a bespoke “behavioral entropy” approach in a multi-dimensional phenotype space. Surprisingly, and despite closely conforming to model assumptions, we find a consistent initial two-week increase in movement plasticity before a decline. These results challenge expectations about how plasticity unfolds early in life and highlight the importance of continuous behavioral tracking for evaluating developmental theories. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-25991a45559b46cd963a1ed06e2edb05 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-25991a45559b46cd963a1ed06e2edb052025-08-24T05:14:01ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-09-0128911318910.1016/j.isci.2025.113189Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fishSean M. Ehlman0Ulrike Scherer1David Bierbach2Luka Stärk3Marvin Beese4Max Wolf5Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany; Corresponding authorLeibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany; Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, GermanyLeibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany; SCIoI Exzellenzcluster, 10587 Berlin, GermanySummary: Developmental plasticity at the behavioral repertoire level allows animals to incrementally adjust their behavioral phenotypes to match their environments through ontogeny. Quantifying this plasticity in sufficient resolution across substantial periods of development, however, has been challenging. Here, we use high-resolution tracking to monitor 45 genetically identical Amazon mollies (Poecilia formosa) reared in near-identical environments over their first four weeks of life. We analyze behavior at 0.2-s resolution to assess plasticity across entire behavioral repertoires. Testing a key prediction from Bayesian models—that plasticity should decline in stable environments—we measure plasticity using both individual behavioral metrics and a bespoke “behavioral entropy” approach in a multi-dimensional phenotype space. Surprisingly, and despite closely conforming to model assumptions, we find a consistent initial two-week increase in movement plasticity before a decline. These results challenge expectations about how plasticity unfolds early in life and highlight the importance of continuous behavioral tracking for evaluating developmental theories.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225014506ZoologyNeuroscienceDevelopmental neuroscience |
| spellingShingle | Sean M. Ehlman Ulrike Scherer David Bierbach Luka Stärk Marvin Beese Max Wolf Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish iScience Zoology Neuroscience Developmental neuroscience |
| title | Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| title_full | Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| title_fullStr | Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| title_full_unstemmed | Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| title_short | Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| title_sort | developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish |
| topic | Zoology Neuroscience Developmental neuroscience |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225014506 |
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