Early behavioral experience and adult social behavior in the paradise fish, Macropodus opercularis L

Abstract

Macropodus opercularis were reared in isolation, with conspecifics, or cross-reared with nonconspecifics. As young adults, cross-reared subjects presented with live conspecific and mirror image stimuli performed social displays less frequently than controls, while isolates did not differ from controls. In a spawning trial, no differences were found between groups. These results suggest that experience with an alien species may reduce the readiness to perform species-specific social displays. Investigations of imprinting and attachment behavior indicate that social stimulation is necessary for the ontogeny of species-typical social behavior in mammals (Cairns, 1972) and in birds (Bateson, 1966, 1971). Juvenile mice, sheep, and dogs which have previously been kept with members of an alien species may show attachment behavior toward the nonconspecific (Denenberg, Hudgens, and Zarrow, 1964; Nagy, 1965; Cairns and Johnson, 1965; Cairns and Werboff, 1967; Fox, 1969). The effect of cross-species rearing on adults social behavior has apparently not been extensively investigated. As adults, Mus reared with Baiomys show a social preference for Baimoys, though the Mus freely mate with conspecifics (Quadagno and Banks, 1970). Lagerspetz and Heino (1970) found that mice cross-reared with rats preferred rats in a social preference test as adults, and showed reduced sexual behavior toward mice. Adult male guinea pigs which are reared with chickens or rats court conspecifics and the cross-reared species as well (Beauchamp and Hess, 1971, 1973). Social isolation beginning early in development has marked effects on adult behavior. Rats isolated as early as 14 days show normal sexual behavior (Beach, 1958), although neonatal isolation disrupts adult mating behavior (Gruendel and Arnold, 1969). Isolated male guinea pigs, cats, and dogs exhibit poorly organized sexual behavior patterns (Valenstein, Riss, and Young, 1955; Rosenblatt, 1965; Beach, 1968; Coulon, 1971) and isolation-reared rhesus monkeys show profound disruption of adult social behavior (Harlow and Harlow, 1966). In some birds the development of a juvenile social attachment 343