Universität zu Köln

Hellstrom, Gustav, Heynen, Martina, Borcherding, Jost ORCID: 0000-0003-3411-5861 and Magnhagen, Carin (2016). Individual consistency and context dependence in group-size preference of Eurasian perch. Behav. Processes, 133. S. 6 - 12. AMSTERDAM: ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV. ISSN 1872-8308

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Abstract

Many fish spend a large part of their life in groups. The size of the group influences potential costs and benefits of group living, and depending on context a fish may prefer different group sizes. Group-size preference may also depend on personality, with social individuals expected to prefer larger groups than asocial fish. This study investigates context-dependent group size preference in two populations of a highly social fish, young of the year Eurasian perch. The perch were given a choice between a group of two and a group of eight conspecifics under three different situations: the small group was feeding, the small group had access to shelter, and a control treatment with no extra stimuli. In general, the perch associated more with the large group, but significantly less so during the food treatment. Perceived access to shelter did not affect group size preference compared to the control treatment. Consistent individual differences in social attraction were found within each context, but not among all contexts. Also, an individual's sociability did not correlate with its degree of boldness, indicating a lack of a behavioural syndrome between the two personality traits in the studied populations. The results highlight the importance of considering environmental context when studying social behaviour in obligate social fish, and show the complexity of the concept of sociability as a personality trait by demonstrating context dependence in individual consistency in social behaviour. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Creators:	Creators Email ORCID ORCID Put Code Hellstrom, Gustav UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Heynen, Martina UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED Borcherding, Jost UNSPECIFIED orcid.org/0000-0003-3411-5861 UNSPECIFIED Magnhagen, Carin UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED UNSPECIFIED
URN:	urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-253990
DOI:	10.1016/j.beproc.2016.10.009
Journal or Publication Title:	Behav. Processes
Volume:	133
Page Range:	S. 6 - 12
Date:	2016
Publisher:	ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV
Place of Publication:	AMSTERDAM
ISSN:	1872-8308
Language:	English
Faculty:	Unspecified
Divisions:	Unspecified
Subjects:	no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Keywords Language STICKLEBACKS GASTEROSTEUS-ACULEATUS; BEHAVIORAL SYNDROMES; 3-SPINED STICKLEBACKS; HABITAT COMPLEXITY; SHOALING BEHAVIOR; PREDATION RISK; SELFISH HERD; PERSONALITY; BOLDNESS; CHOICE Multiple languages Psychology, Biological; Behavioral Sciences; Zoology Multiple languages
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/25399