Collective Behavior in Wild Zebrafish

Shelton, Delia S.; Shelton, Sierra G; Daniel, Danita K.; Raja, Manickam; Bhat, Anuradha; Tanguay, Robyn L; Higgs, Dennis M.; Martins, Emı́lia P.

doi:10.1089/zeb.2019.1851

Cited by 35 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…For example, in other systems, aquatic plants can work as refuge against predators (Lantz et al, 2010;Orrock et al, 2013;Penaluna et al, 2016) but in environments lacking such refuges, gathering in bigger groups can reduce predation through dilution, group guarding and improved collective decision making (e.g., Magurran et al, 1985;Godin, 1997;Hoare et al, 2004;Brown et al, 2006;Ward et al, 2011). Still or slowly flowing water has been linked with larger aggregations of fish compared to faster flowing water (e.g., Hockley et al, 2014;Eggertsen et al, 2016), but the opposite has been shown as well (e.g., Shelton et al, 2020). Many factors interact with flow to alter shoaling behavior, for example, parasite infection (Hockley et al, 2014) and the presence or absence of predators (Allouche and Gaudin, 2001).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Variation in the Pygmy Halfbeak Dermogenys collettei: Comparing Shoals With Contrasting Ecologies

et al. 2021

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Variation in biotic and abiotic factors among populations affects individual behaviors by transforming the social landscape and shaping mating systems. Consequently, describing behaviors in natural populations requires consideration of the biological and physical factors that different individuals face. Here, we examined variation in socio-sexual and locomotor behaviors in a small, livebearing, freshwater fish, the pygmy halfbeak Dermogenys collettei, across natural populations in Singapore. The pygmy halfbeak is a surface feeding fish that spends most of the time near the water surface, making it ideal for non-invasive behavioral observations. We compared behaviors between sexes among 26 shoals while simultaneously accounting for environmental variation. We demonstrated that sexual interactions and locomotor behaviors differed among shoals with varying levels of canopy cover and water flow. Specifically, in areas with greater canopy cover, sexual interactions decreased, whereas time spent in a stationary position increased. Sexual interactions were more numerous in still water, where fish spent less time swimming. Variation in the expression of socio-sexual and locomotor behaviors were not associated with differences in the amount of aquatic vegetation, water depth or halfbeak shoal size. Agonistic interactions were robust to environmental effects, showing little variation among environments. However, there were strong sex effects, with males performing more agonistic behaviors and spending less time in a stationary position compared to females, regardless of the environment. Moreover, sexual interactions, measured as actively performed by males and passively received by females, were on average more frequent in males than in females. Our findings help us explore the proximal causes of intraspecific behavioral variation and suggest that fundamental information on socio-sexual behaviors from wild populations can lead to a better understanding of how sexual selection operates when the strength of natural selection varies across environments.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioral Variation in the Pygmy Halfbeak Dermogenys collettei: Comparing Shoals With Contrasting Ecologies

et al. 2021

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“…Zebrafish exposed to plastic pollution [ 96 , 97 ], arsenic [ 98 ], lead [ 99 ], antibiotics [ 100 ], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [ 101 ], organic pollutants [ 102 ], elevated temperatures [ 103 ], or emerging pollutants [ 104 ] may exhibit altered body mass, size, and swimming behavior. Similarly, hypoxia [ 52 , 105 ] and water flow [ 49 , 52 , 70 , 71 ] are associated with changes in zebrafish morphological and behavioural phenotypes. Other studies documented larger fish with deeper bodies and caudal peduncles in flowing water, and relatively dwarfed regions in fish from stagnant water, similar to the present study ( Figure 2 and Figure 3 ); sites sampled in the previous studies overlapped with the present study [ 52 , 71 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We conducted a field study at two field sites in India during the post-monsoon season in November 2017. Wild zebrafish were previously studied at these field sites [ 49 , 70 , 71 , 72 ]. The sites differed in documented pollution, human population density, oxygenation, and water flow ( Table 1 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wild Zebrafish Sentinels: Biological Monitoring of Site Differences Using Behavior and Morphology

Kelly

Shelton

Daniel

et al. 2021

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Environmental change poses a devastating risk to human and environmental health. Rapid assessment of water conditions is necessary for monitoring, evaluating, and addressing this global health danger. Sentinels or biological monitors can be deployed in the field using minimal resources to detect water quality changes in real time, quickly and cheaply. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are ideal sentinels for detecting environmental changes due to their biomedical tool kit, widespread geographic distribution, and well-characterized phenotypic responses to environmental disturbances. Here, we demonstrate the utility of zebrafish sentinels by characterizing phenotypic differences in wild zebrafish between two field sites in India. Site 1 was a rural environment with flowing water, low-hypoxic conditions, minimal human-made debris, and high iron and lead concentrations. Site 2 was an urban environment with still water, hypoxic conditions, plastic pollution, and high arsenic, iron, and chromium concentrations. We found that zebrafish from Site 2 were smaller, more cohesive, and less active than Site 1 fish. We also found sexually dimorphic body shapes within the Site 2, but not the Site 1, population. Advancing zebrafish sentinel research and development will enable rapid detection, evaluation, and response to emerging global health threats.

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“…Appearance, personality traits such as boldness and aggression, and social dynamics such as group size and shoaling behavior can however vary considerably between different wild populations, influenced by the geographic location of the populations as well as the water flow and vegetation present 6,7 . In the field, some populations show polarized shoaling behavior -individuals orienting in the same direction -while others don't, notes Shelton.…”

Section: Findings Afieldmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…"Do we need to have all of those dimensions to get an accurate picture of their behavior?" Yes and no -while they do indeed move in three dimensions when the water is deep enough, zebrafish also inhabit shallow waters, where it becomes hard for them to swim up and down 7 . "Two-dimensional analysis … does accurately allow us to capture their behavior, " she says.…”

Section: Back To the Labmentioning

confidence: 99%

Where the wild zebrafish are

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Collective Behavior in Wild Zebrafish

Cited by 35 publications

References 108 publications

Behavioral Variation in the Pygmy Halfbeak Dermogenys collettei: Comparing Shoals With Contrasting Ecologies

Behavioral Variation in the Pygmy Halfbeak Dermogenys collettei: Comparing Shoals With Contrasting Ecologies

Wild Zebrafish Sentinels: Biological Monitoring of Site Differences Using Behavior and Morphology

Where the wild zebrafish are

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