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Hirons-Major C, Ruberto T, Swaney WT, Reddon AR. Submissive behaviour is affected by group size in a social fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240539. [PMID: 39076789 PMCID: PMC11285878 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240539] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 07/31/2024]
Abstract
For social groups to form and be stable over time, animals must develop strategies to cope with conflict among group members. Animals may behave submissively either by fleeing from an aggressor, or by signalling submission. The use of these two submissive responses may vary depending on the social and ecological context. Group size is a key aspect of social context for group living animals, as individuals in smaller groups may respond to aggression differently than those from larger groups. Here, we examine the relationship between group size and submissive behaviour in a cooperatively breeding fish, the daffodil cichlid (Neolamprologus pulcher). We found that subordinate fish showed similar levels of submission signals in response to dominant aggression in larger and smaller groups, however, subordinates from larger groups were less likely to flee from dominant aggression than those in smaller groups. Subordinates in larger groups also showed more digging behaviour which may be also used to avoid conflict with the dominant group members. Our data show that social context affects submissive behaviour in a cooperatively breeding fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chelsie Hirons-Major
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Tommaso Ruberto
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - William T. Swaney
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Adam R. Reddon
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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2
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Smith BA, Costa APB, Kristjánsson BK, Parsons KJ. Experimental evidence for adaptive divergence in response to a warmed habitat reveals roles for morphology, allometry and parasite resistance. Ecol Evol 2024; 14:e10907. [PMID: 38333102 PMCID: PMC10850817 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.10907] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 12/02/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Ectotherms are expected to be particularly vulnerable to climate change-driven increases in temperature. Understanding how populations adapt to novel thermal environments will be key for informing mitigation plans. We took advantage of threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations inhabiting adjacent geothermal (warm) and ambient (cold) habitats to test for adaptive evolutionary divergence using a field reciprocal transplant experiment. We found evidence for adaptive morphological divergence, as growth (length change) in non-native habitats related to head, posterior and total body shape. Higher growth in fish transplanted to a non-native habitat was associated with morphological shape closer to native fish. The consequences of transplantation were asymmetric with cold sourced fish transplanted to the warm habitat suffering from lower survival rates and greater parasite prevalence than warm sourced fish transplanted to the cold habitat. We also found divergent shape allometries that related to growth. Our findings suggest that wild populations can adapt quickly to thermal conditions, but immediate transitions to warmer conditions may be particularly difficult.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bethany A. Smith
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
| | - Ana P. B. Costa
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth ScienceUniversity of MiamiCoral GablesFloridaUSA
| | | | - Kevin J. Parsons
- School of Biodiversity, One Health & Veterinary MedicineUniversity of GlasgowGlasgowUK
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3
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Culbert BM, Barnett JB, Ligocki IY, Salena MG, Wong MYL, Hamilton IM, Balshine S. Colorful facial markings are associated with foraging rates and affiliative relationships in a wild group-living cichlid fish. Curr Zool 2024; 70:70-78. [PMID: 38476131 PMCID: PMC10926260 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoac100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/11/2022] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Many animals use color to signal their quality and/or behavioral motivations. Colorful signals have been well studied in the contexts of competition and mate choice; however, the role of these signals in nonsexual, affiliative relationships is not as well understood. Here, we used wild social groups of the cichlid fish Neolamprologus pulcher to investigate whether the size of a brightly colored facial patch was related to 1) individual quality, 2) social dominance, and/or 3) affiliative relationships. Individuals with larger patches spent more time foraging and tended to perform more aggressive acts against conspecific territory intruders. We did not find any evidence that the size of these yellow patches was related to social rank or body size, but dominant males tended to have larger patches than dominant females. Additionally, patch size had a rank-specific relationship with the number of affiliative interactions that individuals engaged in. Dominant males with large patches received fewer affiliative acts from their groupmates compared to dominant males with small patches. However, subordinates with large patches tended to receive more affiliative acts from their groupmates while performing fewer affiliative acts themselves. Taken together, our results suggest that patch size reflects interindividual variation in foraging effort in this cichlid fish and offer some of the first evidence that colorful signals may shape affiliative relationships within wild social groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brett M Culbert
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - James B Barnett
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Isaac Y Ligocki
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Biology, Millersville University, Millersville, PA, USA
| | - Matthew G Salena
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
| | - Marian Y L Wong
- School of Earth, Atmospheric and Life Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ian M Hamilton
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Department of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Sigal Balshine
- Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
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Schons RF, Vitt S, Thünken T. Resource heterogeneity but not inbreeding affects growth and grouping behaviour in socially foraging juvenile cichlid fish. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Rieke F. Schons
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
| | - Simon Vitt
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
| | - Timo Thünken
- Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology University of Bonn Bonn Germany
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Frommen JG, Thünken T, Santostefano F, Balzarini V, Hettyey A. Effects of chronic and acute predation risk on sexual ornamentation and mating preferences. Behav Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Phenotypic plasticity is widespread in animals. Still, how plastic responses to predator presence affect traits under sexual selection and influence mating preferences is not well understood. Here, we examined how simulated chronic predator presence during development and acute predator presence during mate choice affect the expression of male secondary sexual traits and female mating preference in the three-spined stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Males reared under chronic predator presence developed less intense red breeding coloration but showed higher courtship activity than males that grew up in a predator-free environment. Acute predator presence during mate choice trials did not influence male behavior or ornamentation. Predator presence experienced during development did not affect female mating preferences, whereas acute predator presence altered preferences for male courtship activity. Male body size and eye coloration influenced the intensity of female mating preferences, while the trait changing most in response to predator presence during development (red coloration) had no significant impact. The observed interplay between developmental plasticity in male ornamental traits and environment-dependent female mating preferences may lead to dynamic processes altering the strength and direction of sexual selection depending on both the chronic and acute risk of predation. These processes may contribute to the maintenance of within- and among-population variation in secondary sexual traits, and may, ultimately, facilitate speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joachim G Frommen
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstr. 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstr. 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Conservation, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group, Ecology and Environment Research Centre, Manchester Metropolitan University, Manchester, UK
| | - Timo Thünken
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstr. 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
| | - Francesca Santostefano
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstr. 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
- Département des Sciences Biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-ville Montréal, QC, Canada
| | - Valentina Balzarini
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstr. 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
- Division of Behavioural Ecology, Institute of Ecology and Evolution, University of Bern, Wohlenstr. 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall, UK
| | - Attila Hettyey
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstr. 1a, 1160 Vienna, Austria
- Lendület Evolutionary Ecology Research Group, Plant Protection Institute, Centre for Agricultural Research, Eötvös Loránd Research Network, Herman Ottó út 15, Budapest 1022, Hungary
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Reddon AR. FE Spotlight: The right fish for the job: Local ecology affects morphology in a cooperative breeder. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Adam R. Reddon
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
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7
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Josi D, Frommen JG. Through a glass darkly? Divergent reactions of eight Lake Tanganyika cichlid species towards their mirror image in their natural environment. Ethology 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.13207] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Dario Josi
- Department of Natural Sciences Ecology and Environment Research Centre Conservation, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester UK
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Division of Behavioural Ecology University of Bern Hinterkappelen Switzerland
| | - Joachim G. Frommen
- Department of Natural Sciences Ecology and Environment Research Centre Conservation, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour Research Group Manchester Metropolitan University Manchester UK
- Institute of Ecology and Evolution Division of Behavioural Ecology University of Bern Hinterkappelen Switzerland
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