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Schooling preferences for familiar fish in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata
Author(s) -
Magurran A. E.,
Seghers B. H.,
Shaw P. W.,
Carvalho G. R.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.1994.tb01322.x
Subject(s) - poecilia , guppy , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , preference , poeciliidae , population , zoology , ecology , demography , fishery , statistics , mathematics , sociology
Although schooling behaviour is an important antipredator response of guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) in Trinidad it is not known whether fish elect to school with particular individuals. Familiarity is a simple mechanism that could lead to non‐random associations within schools. In this paper we test the idea that prior experience of particular individuals influences the choice of partners during schooling. We show (in a laboratory study) that female guppies prefer to associate with familiar individuals. However, we are unable to detect any schooling preference for unfamiliar females from the same population.