Does the presence of an odd individual affect group choice?

Abstract

Odd animals are often targeted by predators, but can other group members exploit this “oddity effect” to their advantage by reducing their own predation risk? We found that the strength of the oddity effect varies across coral reef fish species. When the oddity effect was apparent, fish neither joined nor avoided groups with an odd individual, suggesting that possible benefits of associating with a vulnerable group member are reduced by greater predation risk to the group as a whole.