PECULIARITIES OF ASSOCIATION OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE SUPERCLASS PISCES INTO SOCIAL GROUPS

Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of modern literary sources on the identification of common features that contribute to the maintenance of representatives of different species of the superclass Pisces together, ensuring the social organization of individuals in a school. The article considers a «school» as a group of fish that is kept together by social attraction. The social benefits of such social association are considered, namely: providing protection from predators through mechanisms that include increased detection of predators, reduced chances of capture and entanglement of predators; increasing the ability of fish to find prey, i.e., increased success in finding food; increased probability of finding a sexual partner; hydrodynamic efficiency.
 The article describes and analyzesthe scientific evidence for the existence of phenotypic homogeneity (color, shape, size) between individuals in a school; the mechanisms by which fish are able to distinguish between group members by choosing to associate with similar.
 The popular theory of the «oddity effect» is characterized. It states that rare, phenotypically distinct individuals within a school are more likely to be targeted by predators. It is confirmed that the homogeneity of individuals in a school in terms of color, odor, body size and shape, both in homogeneous and mixed schools, is due to the «oddity effect» and the «confusion effect» and is explained by an adaptive defense mechanism against predation. It is noted that modern research provides new data that contradict the predictions of the «oddity effect», which indicates the prospects for further research on this scientific issue.
 It is noted that the complex interactive behavior of fish is influenced by differences in the sex ratio of interacting individuals in a school. It is emphasized that the influence of hormonal regulation on the social behavior of fish is significant and has its own characteristic features, which, unlike terrestrial animals, are not sufficiently studied, so this area of research is promising.