One of the strongest determinants of behavioural variation is the tradeoff between resource gain and safety. Although classical theory predicts optimal foraging under risk, empirical studies report large unexplained variation in behaviour. Intrinsic individual differences in risk‐taking behaviour might contribute to this variation. By repeatedly exposing individuals of a small mesopredator to different experimental landscapes of risks and resources, we tested 1) whether individuals adjust their foraging behaviour according to predictions of the general tradeoff between energy gain and predation avoidance and 2) whether individuals differ consistently and predictably from each other in how they solve this tradeoff. Wild‐caught individuals (n = 42) of the jumping spider Marpissa muscosa, were subjected to repeated release and open‐field tests to quantify among‐individual variation in boldness and activity. Subsequently, individuals were tested in four foraging tests that differed in risk level (white/dark background colour) and risk variation (constant risk/variable risk simulated by bird dummy overflights) and contained inaccessible but visually perceivable food patches. When exposed to a white background, individuals reduced some aspects of movement and foraging intensity, suggesting that the degree of camouflage serves as a proxy of perceived risk in these predators. Short pulses of acute predation risk, simulated by bird overflights, had only small effects on aspects of foraging behaviour. Notably, a significant part of variation in foraging was due to among‐individual differences across risk landscapes that are linked to consistent individual variation in activity, forming a behavioural syndrome. Our results demonstrate the importance of among‐individual differences in behaviour of animals that forage under different levels of perceived risk. Since these differences likely affect food‐web dynamics and have fitness consequences, future studies should explore the mechanisms that maintain the observed variation in natural populations.

中文翻译：

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冒险行为的个体差异会影响不同恐惧环境中的觅食

行为变化的最强决定因素之一是资源获取与安全之间的权衡。尽管经典理论预测了在风险下的最佳觅食，但经验研究报告说，行为存在很大的无法解释的变化。冒险行为的内在个体差异可能是造成这种差异的原因。通过反复将小型中捕食者的个体暴露于不同的风险和资源实验环境中，我们测试了1）个人是否根据能量获取与避免捕食之间的一般权衡预测来调整觅食行为，以及2）个人与彼此之间如何解决这一折衷。跳蛛Marpissa muscosa的野生捕获个体（n = 42）进行了反复的释放和野外测试，以量化胆量和活动性的个体差异。随后，对个体进行了四次觅食测试，其风险水平（白色/深色背景色）和风险变化（禽类飞越模拟的恒定风险/可变风险）不同，并且包含难以接近但视觉上可感知的食物斑块。当暴露在白色背景下时，个体会降低运动和觅食强度的某些方面，这表明伪装的程度可作为这些掠食者感知风险的代表。鸟类飞越模拟的短时急性捕食风险脉动对觅食行为的影响很小。值得注意的是 觅食差异的很大一部分是由于风险状况之间的个体差异，这些差异与活动的持续个体差异相关，从而形成了行为综合症。我们的结果证明了在不同感知风险水平下觅食的动物行为之间个体差异的重要性。由于这些差异可能会影响食物网的动态并带来适应性后果，因此，未来的研究应探索维持自然种群中观察到的变化的机制。