Correlated behavioural plasticities: insights from plasticity evolution, the integrated phenotype and behavioural syndromes

Integrated phenotypes, that is, correlated suites of traits, can impact both evolutionary and ecological processes. Similarly, phenotypic plasticity, or the ability of one genotype to generate multiple pheno-types, can act as both a facilitator and constraint on evolutionary processes. While there has been an increasing focus on correlated behavioural means (i.e. behavioural syndromes), less attention has been paid to how plasticity in different behavioural traits may be correlated. Such correlated behavioural plasticities are likely to affect evolution and ecology, although possibly in different ways. Here, we review key insights from three research fields, behavioural syndromes, phenotypic plasticity and integrated phenotypes to provide a conceptual framework to understand why, how and when plasticities of different behavioural traits may become correlated. In particular, the conditions under which plasticity and behavioural syndromes are predicted to be important are also where correlated behavioural plas-ticities are likely to have the strongest impacts. In this review, we define correlated behavioural plas-ticities, summarize the conditions that are likely to give rise to them and highlight testable predictions in an effort to spark targeted research into this important phenomenon. We also provide a worked example to highlight how studying correlated plasticity can yield important new insights.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).