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Braga Goncalves I, Radford AN. Experimental evidence that chronic outgroup conflict reduces reproductive success in a cooperatively breeding fish. eLife 2022; 11:72567. [PMID: 36102799 PMCID: PMC9473690 DOI: 10.7554/elife.72567] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Conflicts with conspecific outsiders are common in group-living species, from ants to primates, and are argued to be an important selective force in social evolution. However, whilst an extensive empirical literature exists on the behaviour exhibited during and immediately after interactions with rivals, only very few observational studies have considered the cumulative fitness consequences of outgroup conflict. Using a cooperatively breeding fish, the daffodil cichlid (Neolamprologus pulcher), we conducted the first experimental test of the effects of chronic outgroup conflict on reproductive investment and output. ‘Intruded’ groups received long-term simulated territorial intrusions by neighbours that generated consistent group-defence behaviour; matched ‘Control’ groups (each the same size and with the same neighbours as an Intruded group) received no intrusions in the same period. Intruded groups had longer inter-clutch intervals and produced eggs with increasingly less protein than Control groups. Despite the lower egg investment, Intruded groups provided more parental care and achieved similar hatching success to Control groups. Ultimately, however, Intruded groups had fewer and smaller surviving offspring than Control groups at 1-month post-hatching. We therefore provide experimental evidence that outgroup conflict can decrease fitness via cumulative effects on reproductive success, confirming the selective potential of this empirically neglected aspect of sociality.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrew N Radford
- School of Biological Sciences/Life Sciences, University of Bristol
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Braga Goncalves I, Radford AN. Intraspecific variation in audience effects during outgroup conflict in a cooperatively breeding fish. Anim Behav 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2022.05.016] [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]
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Schaedelin F, Cunha-Saraiva F, Faltin C, Wagner E, Balshine S. Territorial behaviour and conflict management in a semi-social cichlid fish, Neolamprologus caudopunctatus. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Conflict solving strategies can prevent fights from escalating and reduce the costs of aggressive encounters. Having the capacity to efficiently assess an opponent’s fighting abilities before fully committing to a fight is a useful social skill. Here, we conducted two experiments to investigate how a colony living, cichlid species, Neolamprologus caudopunctatus, changes its aggressive behaviour when faced with familiar vs unfamiliar opponents. First, we staged size matched, same-sex, dyadic resource contests and found that fights were always of low-intensity with neither familiarity nor sex influencing how quickly the conflict ended. Second, we explored the dual defence of mated territorial pairs together defending their territory boundaries against other pairs, either familiar or unfamiliar ones, and discovered that fights between two pairs were more vigorous, and that unfamiliar neighbouring pairs were attacked significantly more often than familiar pairs. We also observed that dark bars sometimes appeared on the sides of contestant’s bodies, and that these bars were far more common in winners than in losers, suggesting that these might be visual signals of dominance. However, conflicts where contestants displayed bars were of longer duration than those without. Taken together, our results further advance our understanding of territoriality and conflict resolution strategies and set the stage for future studies focusing on how animals manage to co-exist in closely aggregated breeding territories and to form colonies.
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Affiliation(s)
- F.C. Schaedelin
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - F. Cunha-Saraiva
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - C. Faltin
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - E. Wagner
- Konrad Lorenz Institute of Ethology, Department of Interdisciplinary Life Science, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160 Vienna, Austria
| | - S. Balshine
- Aquatic Behavioural Ecology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Behaviour, McMaster University, 1280 Main St. West, ON, Canada L8S 4K1
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Perea MF, Perdomo DA, Corredor ZA, González M, Hernandez-Fonseca H, Perea FP. Lunar Cycle Influences Production of Tilapia ( Oreochromis spp) Eggs in an Intensive Outdoor Production System in the Tropics. J Biol Rhythms 2022; 37:177-184. [PMID: 35034507 DOI: 10.1177/07487304211069453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
A robust body of evidence has demonstrated that the lunar cycle plays an important role in the reproduction of fish living in natural environments. However, little is known about the influence of the moon on tilapia reproductive activity in intensive fish farming systems. This study aims to evaluate the influence of the lunar cycle on the reproductive performance of tilapias in an intensive outdoor tropical production system in Latin America. Records of two tilapia strains (Nile tilapia [Oreochromis niloticus; n = 75] and Red tilapia [Oreochromis spp.; n = 1335]) reared in concrete tanks in a commercial fish farm were analyzed. Over a 3-year period, 60,136 captures were made in intervals of 12 to 14 days and 6,600 females were manually spawned. The number of females spawned and the volume of eggs collected from each tank (n = 9) were recorded. Data was analyzed by the general linear model and means were compared by least squares means method. A very slight or no variation was observed when the lunar cycle was split into two halves (crescent and waning). The proportions of females spawned and the volume of eggs per spawned female and per female in the tank varied considerably across the eight periods of the lunar cycle, with greater values in the waning than in the crescent phase. A significantly greater proportion of tilapia spawned and yielded more eggs around the full moon than around the new moon and remaining days of the lunar cycle. The moon cycle affected the reproductive activity of tilapia, which were more reproductively active around the full moon and most of the waning phase.
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Affiliation(s)
- Miguel F Perea
- Facultad de Ciencia y Tecnología, Escuela de Biología, Ecología y Gestión, Universidad del Azuay, Cuenca, Ecuador
| | - Daniel A Perdomo
- Grupo de Investigación en Producción Animal, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Núcleo Universitario "Rafael Rangel," Universidad de Los Andes, Trujillo, Venezuela
| | - Zenaida A Corredor
- Departamento de Salud Animal, Instituto Nacional de Salud Agrícola Integral, San Cristóbal, Venezuela
| | - Mario González
- Grupo de Investigación en Producción Animal, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Núcleo Universitario "Rafael Rangel," Universidad de Los Andes, Trujillo, Venezuela.,Departamento de Salud Animal, Instituto Nacional de Salud Agrícola Integral, San Cristóbal, Venezuela
| | - Hugo Hernandez-Fonseca
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Pharmacology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Saint George's University, True Blue, Grenada
| | - Fernando P Perea
- Grupo de Investigación en Producción Animal, Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias, Núcleo Universitario "Rafael Rangel," Universidad de Los Andes, Trujillo, Venezuela.,Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias, Universidad de Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador
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Braga Goncalves I, Richmond E, Harding HR, Radford AN. Impacts of additional noise on the social interactions of a cooperatively breeding fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210982. [PMID: 34350024 PMCID: PMC8316797 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210982] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/10/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a global pollutant known to affect the behaviour of individual animals in all taxa studied. However, there has been relatively little experimental testing of the effects of additional noise on social interactions between conspecifics, despite these forming a crucial aspect of daily life for most species. Here, we use established paradigms to investigate how white-noise playback affects both group defensive actions against an intruder and associated within-group behaviours in a model fish species, the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher. Additional noise did not alter defensive behaviour, but did result in changes to within-group behaviour. Both dominant and subordinate females, but not the dominant male, exhibited less affiliation and showed a tendency to produce more submissive displays to groupmates when there was additional noise compared with control conditions. Thus, our experimental results indicate the potential for anthropogenic noise to affect social interactions between conspecifics and emphasize the possibility of intraspecific variation in the impacts of this global pollutant.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ines Braga Goncalves
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Emily Richmond
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Harry R. Harding
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
| | - Andrew N. Radford
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, 24 Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
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Jindal S, Bose APH, O'Connor CM, Balshine S. A test of male infanticide as a reproductive tactic in a cichlid fish. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:160891. [PMID: 28405376 PMCID: PMC5383833 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2016] [Accepted: 02/07/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Infanticide and offspring cannibalism are taxonomically widespread phenomena. In some group-living species, a new dominant individual taking over a group can benefit from infanticide if doing so induces potential mates to become reproductively available sooner. Despite widespread observations of infanticide (i.e. egg cannibalism) among fishes, no study has investigated whether egg cannibalism occurs in fishes as a result of group takeovers, or how this type of cannibalism might be adaptive. Using the cooperatively breeding cichlid, Neolamprologus pulcher, we tested whether new unrelated males entering the dominant position in a social group were more likely to cannibalize eggs, and whether such cannibalism would shorten the interval until the female's next spawning. Females spawned again sooner if their broods were removed than if they were cared for. Egg cannibalism occurred frequently after a group takeover event, and was rarer if the original male remained with the group. While dominant breeder females were initially highly aggressive towards newcomer males that took over the group, the degree of resistance depended on relative body size differences between the new pair and, ultimately, female aggression did not prevent egg cannibalism. Egg cannibalism, however, did not shorten the duration until subsequent spawning, or increase fecundity during subsequent breeding in our laboratory setting. Our results show that infanticide as mediated through group takeovers is a taxonomically widespread behaviour.
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Wang ZT, Nachtigall PE, Akamatsu T, Wang KX, Wu YP, Liu JC, Duan GQ, Cao HJ, Wang D. Passive Acoustic Monitoring the Diel, Lunar, Seasonal and Tidal Patterns in the Biosonar Activity of the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) in the Pearl River Estuary, China. PLoS One 2015; 10:e0141807. [PMID: 26580966 PMCID: PMC4651564 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0141807] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2015] [Accepted: 10/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
A growing demand for sustainable energy has led to an increase in construction of offshore windfarms. Guishan windmill farm will be constructed in the Pearl River Estuary, China, which sustains the world's largest known population of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis). Dolphin conservation is an urgent issue in this region. By using passive acoustic monitoring, a baseline distribution of data on this species in the Pearl River Estuary during pre-construction period had been collected. Dolphin biosonar detection and its diel, lunar, seasonal and tidal patterns were examined using a Generalized Linear Model. Significant higher echolocation detections at night than during the day, in winter-spring than in summer-autumn, at high tide than at flood tide were recognized. Significant higher echolocation detections during the new moon were recognized at night time. The diel, lunar and seasonal patterns for the echolocation encounter duration also significantly varied. These patterns could be due to the spatial-temporal variability of dolphin prey and illumination conditions. The baseline information will be useful for driving further effective action on the conservation of this species and in facilitating later assessments of the effects of the offshore windfarm on the dolphins by comparing the baseline to post construction and post mitigation efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhi-Tao Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China
- Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States of America
| | - Paul E. Nachtigall
- Marine Mammal Research Program, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, United States of America
| | - Tomonari Akamatsu
- National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering, Fisheries Research Agency, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Ke-Xiong Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China
| | - Yu-Ping Wu
- School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, P. R. China
| | - Jian-Chang Liu
- Transport Planning and Research Institute, Ministry of Transport, Beijing, P. R. China
| | - Guo-Qin Duan
- Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority, Guangzhou, P. R. China
| | - Han-Jiang Cao
- Hongkong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Authority, Guangzhou, P. R. China
| | - Ding Wang
- The Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P. R. China
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O'Connor CM, Reddon AR, Ligocki IY, Hellmann JK, Garvy KA, Marsh-Rollo SE, Hamilton IM, Balshine S. Motivation but not body size influences territorial contest dynamics in a wild cichlid fish. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.06.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Ligocki IY, Reddon AR, Hellmann JK, O’Connor C, Marsh-Rollo S, Balshine S, Hamilton I. Social status influences responses to unfamiliar conspecifics in a cooperatively breeding fish. BEHAVIOUR 2015. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
In group living animals, individuals may visit other groups. The costs and benefits of such visits for the members of a group will depend on the attributes and intentions of the visitor, and the social status of responding group members. Using wild groups of the cooperatively breeding cichlid fish (Neolamprologus pulcher), we compared group member responses to unfamiliar ‘visiting’ conspecifics in control groups and in experimentally manipulated groups from which a subordinate the same size and sex as the visitor was removed. High-ranking fish were less aggressive towards visitors in removal groups than in control groups; low-ranking subordinates were more aggressive in the removal treatment. High-ranking females and subordinates the same size and sex as the visitor responded most aggressively toward the visitor in control groups. These results suggest that visitors are perceived as potential group joiners, and that such visits impose different costs and benefits on current group members.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isaac Y. Ligocki
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Adam R. Reddon
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Jennifer K. Hellmann
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
| | - Constance M. O’Connor
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Susan Marsh-Rollo
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Sigal Balshine
- bDepartment of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
| | - Ian M. Hamilton
- aDepartment of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- cDepartment of Mathematics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
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Sant'Anna BS, Borges RP, Hattori GY, Pinheiro MAA. Reproduction and management of the mangrove crab Ucides cordatus (Crustacea, Brachyura, Ucididae) at Iguape, São Paulo, Brazil. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2014; 86:1411-21. [PMID: 25211111 DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201420140093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2014] [Accepted: 05/02/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The mangrove crab Ucides cordatus is one of the most exploited crustaceans in Brazil. The present study investigated the breeding season of this species and the period of the "andada" phenomenon, when the crabs are active outside their burrows and perform agonistic behaviors. Furthermore related them to environmental factors, in a mangrove on the coast of Brazil, with inferences about management of this crab. The crabs reproduced from October through February. The "andada" occurred from November through February, with typical characteristics in the first two months, during the full and new moon periods, and was influenced positively by the air and soil temperature, luminosity, and tidal amplitude, and negatively by salinity. Based on the results of the present study, the period when the "andada" occurs in other parts of Brazil could be defined, which will aid in managing this fishery. For Iguape, state of São Paulo, Brazil, we suggest a legal off-season for both sexes in December or during the full and new moon, including January.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno S Sant'Anna
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Aquicultura e Pesca, Instituto de Pesca do Estado de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
| | | | - Gustavo Y Hattori
- Universidade Federal do Amazonas/UFAM, Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Tecnologia/ICET, Itacoatiara, AM, Brasil
| | - Marcelo A A Pinheiro
- Universidade Estadual Paulista/UNESP, Campus Experimental do Litoral Paulista/ CLP, São Vicente, SP, Brasil
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Effect of lunar periodicity on the locomotor activity of silver-stage Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica. J ETHOL 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-014-0394-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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