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Full-Text Articles in Behavior and Ethology
Social Mechanisms Enhance Escape Responses In Shoals Of Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Culum Brown, Kevin Warburton
Social Mechanisms Enhance Escape Responses In Shoals Of Rainbowfish, Melanotaenia Duboulayi, Culum Brown, Kevin Warburton
Aquaculture Collection
Shoaling behaviour has been shown to provide many benefits to group members. In this study we examined the ability of fish shoals to escape from a novel trawl apparatus. Fish in shoals of 5 found, and escaped through, a hole in the oncoming trawl more quickly than fish in pairs. Fish in the larger shoals displayed a significant decrease in escape latencies over a series of five trawls, providing clear evidence of net avoidance learning, whereas fish in pairs showed no evidence of learning over successive runs. Observations suggested that more information on the location of the escape route was …
Predicting Flock Vigilance From Simple Passerine Interactions: Modelling With Cellular Automata, David B. Bahr, Marc Bekoff
Predicting Flock Vigilance From Simple Passerine Interactions: Modelling With Cellular Automata, David B. Bahr, Marc Bekoff
Ethology Collection
Vigilance in flocks can be described and modelled as a plausible set of local interactions between neighbouring birds. Each bird in the modelled flock chooses to feed or to scan based solely on whether or not its neighbours are feeding or scanning. This simple model has the ability both to reproduce observations that have not been previously explained and to predict flock behaviours that might be confirmed with future field studies. Examples include simulations showing decreased vigilance with increased flock size (as observed in the field), greater time spent scanning when obstacles such as trees are present (as observed) and …
Asymmetry And Fighting Performance In The Shore Crab Carcinus Maenas, Lynne U. Sneddon, John P. Swaddle
Asymmetry And Fighting Performance In The Shore Crab Carcinus Maenas, Lynne U. Sneddon, John P. Swaddle
Veterinary Science and Medicine Collection
Fluctuating asymmetries (left–right differences in symmetric traits) can be negatively related to fitness parameters in a number of biological systems. Hence, it has been suggested that symmetric individuals should outcompete asymmetric individuals during intraspecific agonistic encounters. However, there is a lack of experimental evidence for such a relationship. We investigated the relationship between trait asymmetry (both directional and fluctuating asymmetry) and the outcome of agonistic encounters among size-matched male shore crabs. Our findings indicate that cheliped (‘weapon claw’) directional asymmetry is not related to the outcome of fights, whereas fluctuating asymmetry in the fifth pereiopod, but not the second pereiopod, …
Behavioral Interactions And Conflict Among Domestic Dogs, Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, And People In Boulder, Colorado, Marc Bekoff, Robert W. Ickes
Behavioral Interactions And Conflict Among Domestic Dogs, Black-Tailed Prairie Dogs, And People In Boulder, Colorado, Marc Bekoff, Robert W. Ickes
Ethology Collection
Interactions among domestic dogs (Canis familiaris), black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus), and people were studied at Dry Creek, Boulder, Colorado. Our objective was to develop a basic understanding of the nature of dog–prairie dog interactions in this recreational area, because this is an issue that has high visibility and over which there is conflict in Boulder: There are those who want dogs to run free regardless of their impact on the behavior and lives of prairie dogs and those who want to protect prairie dogs and have dogs restrained or go elsewhere. We found that dogs clearly influenced the behavior …