Abstract
The role of interspecific social interactions during species invasions may be more decisive than previously thought. Research has revealed that invasive fish improve their foraging success by shoaling with native Mexican species, and potentially increase the chances of invasion success. However, do native individuals tend to associate with invaders as well? We tested the hypothesis that the twoline skiffia (Neotoca bilineata) and the Lerma livebearer (Poeciliopsis infans), both native endemic Mexican topminnows, will associate with guppies, a notorious invasive species present in Mexico. Our investigation shows that guppies, twoline skiffias and Lerma livebearers have a mutual tendency to associate with each other. Although there is a marked tendency to shoal with heterospecifics in this system, shoaling partners do not necessarily benefit equally from the association. Further research on invasive-native social interactions is needed to promote our understanding of potential facilitation by natives.
Highlights
Animals associate when the “joint project” delivers benefits to all the individuals involved [1]
Size of the focal individual relative to that of their shoal mates was not different between the species of the focal or the shoal (ANOVA, F2,126< 1.63, p > 0.2), nor did it explain any significant proportion of the tendency of fish to associate with guppies (r2 = 0.004, p = 0.28), twoline skiffias (r2 = 0.001, p = 0.34) or Lerma livebearers (r2 = 0.01, p = 0.54)
Tendency to associate with other species was different between guppies, twoline skiffias and Lerma livebearer
Summary
Animals associate when the “joint project” (e.g., finding food, exploring surroundings or avoiding predators) delivers benefits to all the individuals involved [1]. These associations occur most often among conspecifics, temporary aggregations that include different species have been observed across taxonomic groups [2, 3]. Individual fish actively choose when to join a mixed species shoal based on size and species involved [6] Other drivers such as phenotypic similarity, group size [7], nutritional state of members [8] and parasite load [9] may be involved. In the case of associations between fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) and brook sticklebacks
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