Lack of social preference between unfamiliar and familiar juvenile Port Jackson sharks<scp><i>Heterodontus portusjacksoni</i></scp>

Pouca, Catarina Vila; Brown, Culum

doi:10.1111/jfb.13982

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 47 publications

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“…These social benefits are not limited to obligate social species. The solitary octopus (Octopus vulgaris) (Fiorito and Scotto 1992) and several nongrouping species of fish (Webster and Laland 2017), including solitary sharks (Vila Pouca and Brown 2019;Vila Pouca et al 2020), use social learning. However, the effects of the social environment on learning can be complex.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

Jones

Spence-Jones

Webster

et al. 2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Learning can enable rapid behavioural responses to changing conditions but can depend on the social context and behavioural phenotype of the individual. Learning rates have been linked to consistent individual differences in behavioural traits, especially in situations which require engaging with novelty, but the social environment can also play an important role. The presence of others can modulate the effects of individual behavioural traits and afford access to social information that can reduce the need for ‘risky’ asocial learning. Most studies of social effects on learning are focused on more social species; however, such factors can be important even for less-social animals, including non-grouping or facultatively social species which may still derive benefit from social conditions. Using archerfish, Toxotes chatareus, which exhibit high levels of intra-specific competition and do not show a strong preference for grouping, we explored the effect of social contexts on learning. Individually housed fish were assayed in an ‘open-field’ test and then trained to criterion in a task where fish learnt to shoot a novel cue for a food reward—with a conspecific neighbour visible either during training, outside of training or never (full, partial or no visible presence). Time to learn to shoot the novel cue differed across individuals but not across social context. This suggests that social context does not have a strong effect on learning in this non-obligatory social species; instead, it further highlights the importance that inter-individual variation in behavioural traits can have on learning. Significance statement Some individuals learn faster than others. Many factors can affect an animal’s learning rate—for example, its behavioural phenotype may make it more or less likely to engage with novel objects. The social environment can play a big role too—affecting learning directly and modifying the effects of an individual’s traits. Effects of social context on learning mostly come from highly social species, but recent research has focused on less-social animals. Archerfish display high intra-specific competition, and our study suggests that social context has no strong effect on their learning to shoot novel objects for rewards. Our results may have some relevance for social enrichment and welfare of this increasingly studied species, suggesting there are no negative effects of short- to medium-term isolation of this species—at least with regards to behavioural performance and learning tasks.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

Jones

Spence-Jones

Webster

et al. 2021

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Smart sharks: a review of chondrichthyan cognition

Brown

Schluessel

2022

Anim Cogn

Self Cite

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Abstract450 million years of evolution have given chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and allies) ample time to adapt perfectly to their respective everyday life challenges and cognitive abilities have played an important part in that process. The diversity of niches that sharks and rays occupy corresponds to matching diversity in brains and behaviour, but we have only scratched the surface in terms of investigating cognition in this important group of animals. The handful of species that have been cognitively assessed in some detail over the last decade have provided enough data to safely conclude that sharks and rays are cognitively on par with most other vertebrates, including mammals and birds. Experiments in the lab as well as in the wild pose their own unique challenges, mainly due to the handling and maintenance of these animals as well as controlling environmental conditions and elimination of confounding factors. Nonetheless, significant advancements have been obtained in the fields of spatial and social cognition, discrimination learning, memory retention as well as several others. Most studies have focused on behaviour and the underlying neural substrates involved in cognitive information processing are still largely unknown. Our understanding of shark cognition has multiple practical benefits for welfare and conservation management but there are obvious gaps in our knowledge. Like most marine animals, sharks and rays face multiple threats. The effects of climate change, pollution and resulting ecosystem changes on the cognitive abilities of sharks and stingrays remain poorly investigated and we can only speculate what the likely impacts might be based on research on bony fishes. Lastly, sharks still suffer from their bad reputation as mindless killers and are heavily targeted by commercial fishing operations for their fins. This public relations issue clouds people’s expectations of shark intelligence and is a serious impediment to their conservation. In the light of the fascinating results presented here, it seems obvious that the general perception of sharks and rays as well as their status as sentient, cognitive animals, needs to be urgently revisited.

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Social decision making is influenced by size of shoal but not boldness, sociability or familiarity in Deccan mahseer (Tor khudree)

Varma

Singh

Vijayan

et al. 2020

Marine and Freshwater Behaviour and Physiology

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Shoals formed by many piscine species are fission-fusion societies where decisions to leave or join a group can have consequences on the fitness of individuals. Some important factors that determine shoal choice are shoal size, familiarity and species composition. However, individuals and species often exhibit distinct shoaling preferences. Individual differences in shoaling preferences may also be related to personality traits such as boldness and sociability.In this study, we examined the link between shoaling decisions and personality traits in a hatchery reared population of an endangered megafish, the Deccan Mahseer (Tor khudree).We found that this fish exhibits a distinct preference for larger shoals at ratios of 1:2 or greater. However, they did not prefer to associate with an isolated familiar individual over unfamiliar ones or with a member of their own species over an invasive species. Moreover, shoaling preferences in individuals did not correlate with their boldness or sociability. These results suggest that hatchery reared mahseers which are reintroduced into natural habitats may shoal with invasive species, negatively affecting their viability. Modifying social behaviour of mahseers by amending rearing practices may be a useful strategy to improve outcomes of restocking interventions.

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Lack of social preference between unfamiliar and familiar juvenile Port Jackson sharksHeterodontus portusjacksoni

Cited by 4 publications

References 47 publications

Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

Individual behavioural traits not social context affects learning about novel objects in archerfish

Smart sharks: a review of chondrichthyan cognition

Social decision making is influenced by size of shoal but not boldness, sociability or familiarity in Deccan mahseer (Tor khudree)

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