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Social familiarity and shoal formation in juvenile fishes
Author(s) -
LeeJenkins S. S. Y.,
Godin J.G. J.
Publication year - 2010
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.1095-8649.2009.02512.x
Subject(s) - juvenile , biology , fundulus , sympatric speciation , shoal , ecology , lepomis , lepomis macrochirus , zoology , preference , population , fishery , predation , fish <actinopterygii> , demography , oceanography , sociology , economics , microeconomics , geology
The potential influence of social familiarity in shoal‐choice decisions was investigated in two sympatric species of north temperate fishes, juvenile banded killifish Fundulus diaphanus and juvenile bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus . Groups of socially familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics were formed in the laboratory using wild‐caught fishes. Juvenile F. diaphanus demonstrated a strong preference for familiar conspecific shoalmates, whereas juvenile L. macrochirus exhibited no preference for either unfamiliar or familiar conspecific shoalmates. The differential influence of familiarity on shoalmate choice in juveniles of these two species could be due to their different ecologies, local population densities and life histories.