Lateralization of Aggression during Reproduction in Male Siamese Fighting Fish

Abstract

A preference for the left-eye use during aggressive interactions has been widely reported in the literature, even though in some cases the direction of lateralization varies among individuals within populations. Laterality of aggression in male Siamese fighting fish has been described in a number of studies, yet very little is known about lateralization of aggression during reproduction and/or parental care in fish. Here, we aimed to investigate the relationship between the different reproductive phases and lateralization in eye use during aggressive interactions in males of Siamese fighting fish. Lateralization in eye use is influenced during the early reproductive state, before and after the bubble nest construction stages. We found that nest-holding males preferentially used the right eye before and after bubble nest construction independent of the sex of the intruder. During the later reproductive phases, aggressiveness increased whereby the direction of lateralization rather than the degree was influenced supporting the hypothesis that reproductive state influences behavioral consistency in Siamese fighting fis

Brain and Behavioral Asymmetry: A Lesson From Fish

“…However, Bisazza and De Santi (2003) described right population-level lateralization in mosquitofish, Siamese fighting fish and redtail splitfin (Xenotoca eiseni), suggesting that the difference observed with respect to the fighting fish might be due to different experimental conditions. The same right bias has been recently reported by Forsatkar et al (2015) in nest-holding males fighting fish although the stages of reproduction and the paternal care affected the eye-preference with a shift from the righteye to the left-eye after spawning. Similarly, exposure to an antidepressant drug (fluoxetine) reduced aggressive behavior and caused a change from a right to a left-eye use in this species even if the underlying mechanisms are still unknown (HedayatiRad et al, 2017).…”

“…Females Yes Sovrano et al, 1999 Males No Sovrano et al, 1999 Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) Yes Sovrano et al, 1999 Eurasian minnow (Phoxinus phoxinus) Yes Sovrano et al, 1999 (Continued) Sovrano et al, 1999 Sarasins minnow (Xenopoecilus sarasinorum) Yes Sovrano et al, 2001;Sovrano, 2004 Elephantnose fish (Gnathonemus petersii) Yes Sovrano et al, 2001 Soldierfish (Myripristis pralinia) Yes Roux et al, 2016 Mating behavior Mosquitofish (Gambusia hoolbrooki) Yes Bisazza et al, 1998 Goldbelly topminnow (Girardinus falcatus) Yes Bisazza et al, 1998 Guppy (Poecilia reticulata) Yes Kaarthigeyan and Dharmaretnam, 2005 Agonistic behavior Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens) Yes Cantalupo et al, 1996;Bisazza and De Santi, 2003;Clotfelter and Kuperberg, 2007;Takeuchi et al, 2010;Forsatkar et al, 2015;HedayatiRad et al, 2017 Mosquitofish (Gambusia hoolbrooki) Yes Bisazza and De Santi, 2003 Redtail splitfin (Xenotoca eiseni) Yes Bisazza and De Santi, 2003 asymmetries rather than behavioral lateralization induced by eye-use preference (Stennett and Strauss, 2010). Rotational bias represents another example of motor asymmetry.…”

Replication alert: behavioural lateralisation in a detour test is not repeatable in fishes

“…Our study shows that the detour test as it has traditionally been implemented does not provide accurate, precise, or repeatable estimates of behavioural lateralisation in fishes. However, numerous other methods of assessing eye-use and side preference, including mirror tests, swimming, feeding or attack direction preference, and flume tests, have been applied in a range of species in both field and laboratory settings (see Dadda & Bisazza, 2006a;Dadda et al, 2010a;Takeuchi et al, 2010;Bibost & Brown, 2014;Brown & Bibost, 2014;Forsatkar et al, 2015;Kurvers et al, 2017). Measurements using these methods and their cross-context repeatability should be validated in accordance with TOP guidelines (Nosek et al, 2015) to establish reproducible protocols that inspire confidence.…”

A unique neurogenomic state emerges after aggressive confrontations in males of the fishBetta splendens

“…Males of this species have stereotypical social displays that are well documented (16,17), and individual fights can last for more than an hour. Studies using this fish have yielded several publications in the fields of ecology (18), pharmacology (19,20), toxicology (21), metabolism (22,23), and endocrinology including the study of sex hormones and steroid hormones (24,25). Thus male B. splendens are suitable for investigating changes in neurogenomic states and behavioral states that occur across the stages of territory establishment.…”