Social Context Influences Aggressive and Courtship Behavior in a Cichlid Fish

Julie K Desjardins,Hans A Hofmann,Russell D Fernald,Gonzalo G De Polavieja

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0032781

Julie K Desjardins, Hans A Hofmann + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0032781

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Journal: PLoS ONE	Publication Date: Jul 12, 2012
Citations: 127	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: The University of Texas at Austin, Stanford University

Abstract

Social interactions require knowledge of the environment and status of others, which can be acquired indirectly by observing the behavior of others. When being observed, animals can also alter their signals based on who is watching. Here we observed how male cichlid fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) behave when being watched in two different contexts. In the first, we show that aggressive and courtship behaviors displayed by subordinate males depends critically on whether dominant males can see them, and in the second, we manipulated who was watching aggressive interactions and showed that dominant males will change their behavior depending on audience composition. In both cases, when a more dominant individual is out of view and the audience consists of more subordinate individuals, those males signal key social information to females by displaying courtship and dominant behaviors. In contrast, when a dominant male is present, males cease both aggression and courtship. These data suggest that males are keenly aware of their social environment and modulate their aggressive and courtship behaviors strategically for reproductive and social advantage.

Highlights

Within group living or colonial animals, to be successful individuals need to know specific details about their environment and their status relative to other individuals
Human children are acutely aware of social hierarchies and modulate their aggressive behavior based on the presence or absence of a more dominant individual [8]
Cross-correlation analysis between T and NT males showed that NT males never behaved aggressively at the same time as the dominant male

Summary

Introduction

Within group living or colonial animals, to be successful individuals need to know specific details about their environment and their status relative to other individuals. Animals gain such information either directly through interactions, or indirectly through observation. Animal signals in this context can be directed at an intended receiver and seen by bystanders in the social community (e.g., [1]). This attention structure and displaced aggression has been documented in a number of vertebrate species including baboons [10], reptiles [11], trout [12], and can have profound effects on individual health [13]

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