Size‐Assortative Shoaling in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>): The Role of Active Choice

Jones, Karen; Croft, Darren P.; Ramnarine, Indar W.; Godin, Jean‐Guy J.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2009.01727.x

Cited by 21 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…A preference for shoaling with large conspecifis over smaller ones has been shown in a number of fish species such as European minnows [61], two-spotted gobies [60], guppies [62] and mosquitofish [63], [64]. Although this behaviour has associated costs, such as increased resource competition, the preference may indicate that benefits (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Body Surface Area in Quantity Discrimination in Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)

Gómez‐Laplaza

Gerlai

2013

PLoS ONE

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Although some fish species have been shown to be able to discriminate between two groups (shoals) of conspecifics differing in the number of members, most studies have not controlled for continuous variables that covary with number. Previously, using angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) we started the systematic analysis of the potential influence of such continuous variables, and found that they play different roles in shoal discrimination depending on whether large (≥4 fish) or small (<4 fish) shoals were contrasted. Here, we examine the potential role of the overall body surface area of stimulus fish in shoal preference, a prominent variable not yet examined in angelfish. We report that both when numerically large (5 versus 10 fish) and when small (2 versus 3 fish) shoals were contrasted, angelfish were unable to discriminate the numerically different shoals as long as the surface area of the contrasted shoals was equated. Thus, we conclude that body surface may be an important continuous variable in shoal discrimination. This conclusion was further supported by the analysis of preference when shoals of the same numerical size but different body surface area were contrasted. We found subjects to spend significantly more time close to the shoals with the greater overall surface area. Last, we conducted an experiment in which we simultaneously controlled a set of continuous variables, including overall surface area, and found angelfish to use the number of shoal members as a cue only in large shoal contrasts but not in small shoal contrasts. This result suggests the potential existence of different processing systems for large and small numbers in fish.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Body Surface Area in Quantity Discrimination in Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)

Gómez‐Laplaza

Gerlai

2013

PLoS ONE

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“…Living with tilapia for long periods of even 120 days, however, neither helped the climbing perch to develop a preference for heterospecific individuals nor did the subject fish exhibit a bias towards familiar heterospecific over unfamiliar heterospecific or unfamiliar conspecific individuals. Moreover, the lack of significant variation in the frequency of decision-switching¾"the frequent movement that fish display across the available stimulus shoals in order to sample them and make an ultimately beneficial choice" (Jones et al 2010)¾shown by our climbing perch in the various social contexts tested may be taken as an indication of the ambivalence displayed by the subject fish towards conspecific and exotic heterospecific individuals. According to Quattrini et al (2018), individual fish may take a decision to join a shoal of heterospecifics if it experiences relatively fewer phenotypic differences between its own and the other species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Living with an Alien Invasive Fish, Tilapia, Influence the Shoaling Decision-Making and Exploratory Behaviour of an Air-Breathing Freshwater Fish, the Climbing Perch?

Binoy

Ingle

Bhattacharya

et al. 2019

Preprint

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The biodiversity of freshwater aquatic ecosystems is threatened by invasive alien species across the world. We studied the impact of the presence of an invasive piscine species, the tilapia Oreochromis mossambicus and acquisition of familiarity with it on the social decision-making and exploratory behaviour of a native, air-breathing, freshwater fish, the climbing perch Anabas testudineus. Our results reveal that the climbing perch did not show any significant preference or aversion to any of the stimulus shoals when unfamiliar monospecific shoals of tilapia, mixed-species shoals of tilapia and climbing perch that were divergent in the composition, or groups comprising only tilapia familiar to the subject fish for a duration of 30, 60, 90 or 120 days, were presented in opposition to a shoal with an equal number of unfamiliar conspecific individuals. No preference for isolated familiar individual tilapia was also observed against its unfamiliar counterpart or a conspecific individual. It is also noteworthy that the propensity of subject climbing perch to initiate exploration of a novel area (a measure of boldness) or exploratory activity and its sociability remained unchanged under different social conditions, including presence of unfamiliar conspecific, familiar conspecific, unfamiliar heterospecific or familiar heterospecific individuals. These results are discussed in the light of ever-increasing levels of invasion by alien fish species and the struggle for survival that currently confront native piscine species in most tropical freshwater ecosystems globally.

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“…It was previously found that large guppy females prefer to shoal with similar-sized (large) but not smaller conspecifics while small guppy females did not shoal assortatively but also preferred to shoal with larger females [26]. Small individuals can benefit from associating with larger conspecifics if the larger ones take away the attention of harassing males [27, 28] or predators [29].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Guppies prefer to follow large (robot) leaders irrespective of own size

Bierbach

Moenck

Lukas

et al. 2018

Preprint

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13Body size is often assumed to determine how successful an individual can lead others with larger individuals 14 being more likely to lead than smaller ones. However, direct evidence for such a relation is scarce. Furthermore, 15 even if larger individuals are more likely to lead, body size correlates often with specific behavioral patterns 16 (e.g., swimming capacity) and it is thus unclear whether larger individuals are more often followed than smaller 17 ones because they are larger or because they behave in a certain way. To control for behavioral differences 18 among differentially-sized leaders, we used biomimetic robotic fish -Robofish -of different sizes. Robofish is 19 accepted as a conspecific by live guppies (Poecilia reticulata) and provides standardized behaviors irrespective 20 of its size. We specifically asked whether larger leaders are preferentially followed when behavior is controlled 21 for and whether the preferences of followers depend on their own body size or their risk taking behavior 22 ('boldness'). We found that live guppies followed larger Robofish leaders closer than smaller ones and this 23 pattern was independent of the followers' own body size as well as risk-taking behavior. This is the first study 24 that shows a 'bigger is better' pattern in leadership in shoaling fish that is fully independent of behavioral 25 differences between differentially-sized leaders and followers' own size and personality. 26

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Size‐Assortative Shoaling in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata): The Role of Active Choice

Cited by 21 publications

References 54 publications

The Role of Body Surface Area in Quantity Discrimination in Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)

The Role of Body Surface Area in Quantity Discrimination in Angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare)

Can Living with an Alien Invasive Fish, Tilapia, Influence the Shoaling Decision-Making and Exploratory Behaviour of an Air-Breathing Freshwater Fish, the Climbing Perch?

Guppies prefer to follow large (robot) leaders irrespective of own size

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