Fuel, fasting, fear: routine metabolic rate and food deprivation exert synergistic effects on risk-taking in individual juvenile European sea bass

1. Individuals of the same species often exhibit consistent differences in metabolic rate, but the effects of such differences on ecologically important behaviours remain largely unknown. In particular, it is unclear whether there is a cause-and-effect relationship between metabolic rate and the tendency to take risks while foraging. Individuals with higher metabolic rates may need to take greater risks while foraging to obtain the additional food required to satisfy their energy requirements. Such a relationship could be exacerbated by food deprivation if a higher metabolic demand also causes greater mass loss and hunger.