Spatial Exploration Research Articles

Analysis of Physiological, Physical, and Tactical Responses in Small-Sided Games in Women’s Soccer: The Effect of Numerical Superiority

Small-sided and conditioned games (SSGs) are pedagogical tools that help in soccer training, being used to solve tactical problems with the specific demands of the game. In this context, this study aimed to compare physical, physiological, and tactical responses in elite women’s soccer in SSGs with numerical equality (3-a-side) and superiority (3-a-side + 1) in the offensive phase. The sample consisted of 16 female athletes participating in official national competitions. Two consecutive days of data collection were conducted, and a 4 min duration series was carried out. The variables analysed were the total distance covered, the distance covered at different speeds, maximum heart rate (HRmáx), mean heart rate, the spatial exploration index, the stretching index, length, width, and LpWratio. The results showed an increase in distance covered at speeds of 7.20–14.29 km/h (m) (effect size: medium) and a decrease in HRmáx (effect size: small) in the numerical superiority. Regarding tactical response, there was a decrease in the spatial exploration index (effect size: large), length (effect size: medium), and stretching index (effect size: large) for games played in the numerical superiority. Thus, it was observed that SSGs with numerical superiority in women’s soccer suggest more clustered, less exploratory, and more positional behaviour of the athletes.

Spatial fidelity and uniform exploration in the foraging behaviour of a giant predatory ant

Spatial fidelity and uniform exploration in the foraging behaviour of a giant predatory ant

Time series clustering using trend, seasonal and autoregressive components to identify maximum temperature patterns in the Iberian Peninsula

Time series (TS) clustering is a crucial area of data mining that can be used to identify interesting patterns. This study introduces a novel approach to obtain clusters of TS by representing them with feature vectors that define the trend, seasonality and noise components of each series in order to identify areas of the Iberian Peninsula (IP) that follow the same pattern of change in regards to maximum temperature during 1931–2009. This representation allows for dimensionality reduction, and is obtained based on singular spectrum analysis decomposition in a sequential manner, which is a well-developed methodology of TS analysis and forecasting with applications ranging from the decomposition and filtering of nonparametric TS to parameter estimation and forecasting. In this approach, the trend, seasonality and residual components of each TS corresponding to a specific area in the Iberian region are extracted using the proposed SSA methodology. Afterwards, the feature vectors of the TS are obtained by modelling the extracted components and estimating their parameters. Finally, a clustering algorithm is applied to group the TS into clusters, which are defined according to the centroids. This methodology is applied to a climate database with reasonable results that align with the defined characteristics, enabling a spatial exploration of the IP. The results identified three differentiated zones that can be used to describe how the maximum temperature varied: in the northern and central zones, an increase in temperature was noted over time, whereas in the southern zone, a slight decrease was noted. Moreover, different seasonal variations were observed across the zones.

Opto-juxtacellular interrogation of neural circuits in freely moving mice.

Neural circuits are assembled from an enormous variety of neuronal cell types. Although significant advances have been made in classifying neurons on the basis of morphological, molecular and electrophysiological properties, understanding how this diversity contributes to brain function during behavior has remained a major experimental challenge. Here, we present an extension to our previous protocol, in which we describe the technical procedures for performing juxtacellular opto-tagging of single neurons in freely moving mice by using Channelrhodopsin-2-expressing viral vectors. This method allows one to selectively target molecularly defined cell classes for in vivo single-cell recordings. The targeted cells can be labeled via juxtacellular procedures and further characterized via post-hoc morphological and molecular analysis. In its current form, the protocol allows multiple recording and labeling attempts to be performed within individual animals, by means of a mechanical pipette micropositioning system. We provide proof-of-principle validation of this technique by recording from Calbindin-positive pyramidal neurons in the mouse hippocampus during spatial exploration; however, this approach can easily be extended to other behaviors and cortical or subcortical areas. The procedures described here, from the viral injection to the histological processing of brain sections, can be completed in ~4-5 weeks.This protocol is an extension to: Nat. Protoc. 9, 2369-2381 (2014): https://doi.org/10.1038/nprot.2014.161.

Development: nurturing and destroying a child

Developmental achievements during the first five years of life are described. From birth children are readily able to engage with and respond to their caregivers, whose attunement is crucial to their welfare. The child learns to differentiate objects and people and develops schemata of relating to others. Spatial exploration and the ability to categorise facilitate the attainment of object and other permanence at around eighteen months of age. At this time children begin to understand that others are intentional agents with internal states that are the sources of attitudes and actions. The child’s identification with others is salient to the formation of identity and the ability to differentiate from others. Play is vital to understanding the nature of symbols. When attachment is secure requisite transitional space is provided and mentalization is achieved. However, a grasp of beliefs and of the difference between appearance and reality is not yet achieved. Attachment characterised by misattunement and/or overt abuse may result in pathological dissociation resulting in developmental deficits that are most extreme in dissociative identity disorder.

Exploring spatial patterns, and identifying factors associated with insufficient cash or food received from a productive safety net program among eligible households in Ethiopia: a spatial and multilevel analysis as an input for international food aid programmers

BackgroundIn low-income countries, households’ food insecurity and the undernutrition of children are the main health problems. Ethiopia is vulnerable to food insecurity and undernutrition among children because its agricultural production system is traditional. Hence, the productive safety net program (PSNP) is implemented as a social protection system to combat food insecurity and enhance agricultural productivity by providing cash or food assistance to eligible households. So, this study aimed to explore spatial patterns of households’ insufficient cash or food receiving from PSNP, and identify its associated factors in Ethiopia.MethodsThe 2019 Ethiopian Mini Demographic and Health Survey dataset was used. A total of 8595 households were included in this study. Data management and descriptive analysis were done using STATA version 15 software and Microsoft Office Excel. ArcMap version 10.7 software was used for spatial exploration and visualization. SaTScan version 9.5 software was used for spatial scan statistics reports. In the multilevel mixed effect logistic regression analysis, explanatory variables with a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered significant factors.ResultsOverall, 13.5% (95% CI: 12.81–14.27%) of the households’ level beneficiaries received cash or food from PSNP. The spatial distribution of households’ benficiaries received cash or food from PSNP was not random, and good access to cash or food from PSNP was detected in Addis Ababa, SNNPR, Amhara, and Oromia regions. Households’ heads aged 25–34 (AOR:1.43, 95% CI: 1.02, 2.00), 35–44 (AOR: 2.41, 95% CI: 1.72, 3.37), and > 34 (AOR: 2.54, 95% CI: 1.83, 3.51) years, being female (AOR: 1.51, 95% CI: 1.27,1.79), poor households (AOR: 1.91, 95% CI:1.52, 2.39), Amhara (AOR:.14, 95% CI: .06, .39) and Oromia (AOR:.36, 95% CI:.12, 0.91) regions, being rural residents (AOR:2.18, 95% CI: 1.21,3.94), and enrollment in CBHS (AOR: 3.34, 95% CI:2.69,4.16) are statistically significant factors.ConclusionsHouseholds have limited access to cash or food from the PSNP. Households in Addis Ababa, SNNPR, Amhara, and Oromia regions are more likely to receive benefits from PSNP. Encouraging poor and rural households to receive benefits from the PSNP and raise awareness among beneficiaries to use the benefits they received for productivity purposes. Stakeholders would ensure the eligibility criteria and pay close attention to the hotspot areas.

SEAHORS: Spatial Exploration of ArcHaeological Objects in R Shiny

This paper presents SEAHORS, an R shiny application available as an R package, dedicated to the intra-site spatial analysis of piece-plotted archaeological remains. This open-source script generates 2D and 3D scatter and density plots for archaeological objects located with cartesian coordinates. Many different GIS software already exist for this, but they mostly require specific skills and training to be used and are rarely designed for the particular needs of archaeological applications. The goal of SEAHORS is to make the two and three-dimensional intra-site spatial exploration of archaeological data as user-friendly as possible, in order to give the opportunity to researchers not familiar with GIS and R software to utilise such approaches. SEAHORS has an easily accessible interface and can import data from text and Excel files (.csv and .xls/xlsx respectively) without preformatting. The application includes functions to concatenate columns and to merge databases, for example when spatial data (XYZ coordinates) and analytical data (e.g. taxonomical attribution of faunal remains, typo-technological attributes of artifacts, etc.) are stored in separate files. SEAHORS can generate five types of plots: 3D, 2D and density plots, as well as 2D plots by slices (i.e. subdivisions according to a third dimension) and 2D plots with a modification of the angle of projection (i.e. to explore spatial organization without the constraints of the field grid orientation). SEAHORS has visualization tools with several sorting and formatting options (color, size, etc.) applicable to coordinates and all possible analytical variables (i.e. levels, spits, identified species, taphonomical alterations, etc.). Orthophotos can also be imported and directly used in the program. The application also allows the grouping of objects into new variables by selecting items on the interactive 2D plots. We present an overview of the application’s functions by using the case study of the Cassenade Paleolithic site (France).

Analyzing piece-plotted artifacts just got simpler: A good solution to the wrong problem?

This paper presents SEAHORS, an R shiny application available as an R package, dedicated to the intra-site spatial analysis of piece-plotted archaeological remains. This open-source script generates 2D and 3D scatter and density plots for archaeological objects located with cartesian coordinates. Many different GIS software already exist for this, but they mostly require specific skills and training to be used and are rarely designed for the particular needs of archaeological applications. The goal of SEAHORS is to make the two and three-dimensional intra-site spatial exploration of archaeological data as user-friendly as possible, in order to give the opportunity to researchers not familiar with GIS and R software to utilise such approaches. SEAHORS has an easily accessible interface and can import data from text and Excel files (.csv and .xls/xlsx respectively) without preformatting. The application includes functions to concatenate columns and to merge databases, for example when spatial data (XYZ coordinates) and analytical data (e.g. taxonomical attribution of faunal remains, typo-technological attributes of artifacts, etc.) are stored in separate files. SEAHORS can generate five types of plots: 3D, 2D and density plots, as well as 2D plots by slices (i.e. subdivisions according to a third dimension) and 2D plots with a modification of the angle of projection (i.e. to explore spatial organization without the constraints of the field grid orientation). SEAHORS has visualization tools with several sorting and formatting options (color, size, etc.) applicable to coordinates and all possible analytical variables (i.e. levels, spits, identified species, taphonomical alterations, etc.). Orthophotos can also be imported and directly used in the program. The application also allows the grouping of objects into new variables by selecting items on the interactive 2D plots. We present an overview of the application’s functions by using the case study of the Cassenade Paleolithic site (France).

Exploratory preferences explain the human fascination for imaginary worlds in fictional stories

Imaginary worlds are present and often central in many of the most culturally successful modern narrative fictions, be it in novels (e.g., Harry Potter), movies (e.g., Star Wars), video games (e.g., The Legend of Zelda), graphic novels (e.g., One Piece) and TV series (e.g., Game of Thrones). We propose that imaginary worlds are popular because they activate exploratory preferences that evolved to help us navigate the real world and find new fitness-relevant information. Therefore, we hypothesize that the attraction to imaginary worlds is intrinsically linked to the desire to explore novel environments and that both are influenced by the same underlying factors. Notably, the inter-individual and cross-cultural variability of the preference for imaginary worlds should follow the inter-individual and cross-cultural variability of exploratory preferences (with the personality trait Openness-to-experience, age, sex, and ecological conditions). We test these predictions with both experimental and computational methods. For experimental tests, we run a pre-registered online experiment about movie preferences (N = 230). For computational tests, we leverage two large cultural datasets, namely the Internet Movie Database (N = 9424 movies) and the Movie Personality Dataset (N = 3.5 million participants), and use machine-learning algorithms (i.e., random forest and topic modeling). In all, consistent with how the human preference for spatial exploration adaptively varies, we provide empirical evidence that imaginary worlds appeal more to more explorative people, people higher in Openness-to-experience, younger individuals, males, and individuals living in more affluent environments. We discuss the implications of these findings for our understanding of the cultural evolution of narrative fiction and, more broadly, the evolution of human exploratory preferences.

Links between the Energy Intensity of Public Urban Transport, Regional Economic Growth and Urbanisation: The Case of Poland

The article concerns the verification of links between the energy intensity of public urban transport, regional economic development and urbanisation in the light of sustainable development challenges and club convergence processes. Three research questions were formulated in the article: (1) Does the regional economic development of voivodeships affect the energy intensity of public urban transport? (2) Does urbanisation shape energy consumption patterns in public urban transport (and are there agglomeration effects)? (3) Does the level of urbanisation of voivodeships depend on their regional level? The study covered 16 subregions of Poland from 2010 to 2020. A spatial dynamic exploration of the relationships between energy intensity patterns of public urban transport and the phenomenon of urbanisation and regional economic development was carried out. Panel models of vector autoregression and panel causality testing were used. The influence of the economic development of regions and the level of urbanisation on energy intensity patterns of public urban transport was confirmed. The link between economic development and the process of urbanisation was identified. An additional effect was noticed (novelty knowledge), i.e., there is a delayed club convergence between voivodeships in the area of energy intensity of public urban transport, regional economic development and urbanisation (polyconvergence).

Cognitive improvement via a modulated rhythmic pulsed magnetic field in D-galactose-induced accelerated aging mice

Rhythmic physical stimulations have emerged as effective noninvasive intervention strategies in the treatment of pathological cognitive deficits. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can regulate neural firing and improve the learning and memory abilities of rodents or patients with cognitive deterioration. However, the effects of elaborate magnetic stimulation with low intensity during aging or other neurological disordering processes on cognitive decline remain unclear. In this study, we developed an elaborate modulated pulsed magnetic field (PMF) stimulation with a complex pattern in the theta repeated frequency and gamma carrier frequency and then determined the effects of this rhythmic PMF on the cognitive function of accelerated aging mice established by chronic subcutaneous injection of D-galactose (D-gal). The results of the Morris water maze (MWM) test showed that mice treated with modulated PMF displayed shorter swimming distance and latency time in the spatial exploration acquisition trial and exhibited a significant preference in the target presumptive platform area in the probe trial, all of which indicated the enhancement in spatial learning and memory abilities upon PMF stimulation of the accelerated aging mice. The novel object recognition (NOR) test results showed a similar tendency as the MWM results although without statistical significance. Further determination of histological structures demonstrated that the cognitive function-related hippocampal CA3 neurons degenerated upon D-gal injection, which could also be partially rescued by PMF application. In comparison with the high-intensity TMS approach, low-intensity magnetic stimulation could be much safer and allow deeper penetration without adverse effects such as seizure. In summary, modulated PMF, even with low intensity, could effectively improve rodent cognitive functions impaired by D-gal-induced accelerated aging, which might provide a new safe therapeutic strategy for cognitive deficits as well as other neurological disorders.

Green imaginaries

Our current models of urban and rural development urgently require radical rethinking due to the problems caused by rapid twentieth-century urbanisation.The notion of nature as a socio-cultural construct driven by our need to understand and control our environment is a significant argument in the debate of how Western urban planners perceive the dichotomy between the notions of nature and city. In this light, nature, in contrast to culture, is one of the main obstacles to a socio-ecological future. This paper argues that alternative views on the notion of nature and its relationship to culture are needed to imagine radical socio-ecological change. The aim is therefore to discuss how alternative ways of understanding this relationship could provide a practice of sustainable urban planning and design through a series of spatial explorations into socio-ecological processes. Focusing on changing urban and landscape conditions, the paper maps the forces and processes behind their transformations over time to project alternative future scenarios. Departing from the framework for developing these explorations into ‘Green Imaginaries’, their transformative and generative potential as strategies for sustainable futures beyond the dichotomy of nature and culture is discussed.

Comprehensive evaluation and spatial layout of high-quality logistics industry development based on accelerated genetic algorithm-projection pursuit model

Logistics industry is not only the link connecting economic activities, but also an important thrust to stimulate domestic demand. Under the development background of the new era, the high-quality development of logistics industry has become an indispensable force for high-quality economic development. Reasonable and effective evaluation is an important prerequisite to promote its high-quality development. Guided by the concept of high-quality development, it innovatively adds the dimension of logistics development resource cost. Based on the data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2011 to 2019, in view of the limitations of projection pursuit, genetic algorithm and projection pursuit are organically combined, which were used to measure the high-quality development level of China’s regional logistics and analyze its spatial distribution characteristics. The reliability and accuracy of the evaluation results are improved, and the spatial information nature is analyzed by spatial exploration The results showed that the most important dimensions affecting the high-quality development of the logistics industry were logistics carrying capacity and technological innovation support. During the study period, there were significant differences in the high-quality development of regional logistics. The average annual logistics industry in the three provinces of Guangdong, Shandong and Jiangsu had relatively high level of high-quality development. By contrast, the development level of the three provinces of Tibet, Qinghai and Hainan was relatively low. In general, although the high-quality development of the logistics industry was increasing year by year, showing a trend of high level in the eastern region, followed by central region, low level in the western region, the gap had not been effectively shortened. In addition, the high-quality development of the regional logistics industry had a significant positive geographical correlation, showing a trickle drop effect in space.

The consistency of exploration behaviours across life stages in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes.

Many species show inter-individual variation in exploratory behaviours that are consistent over time, reflecting a personality. Differences in exploration can affect how individuals acquire resources and use their environment. However, few studies have considered whether exploratory behaviours are consistent across developmental life stages, such as when individuals disperse out the natal territory or when they become sexually mature. We therefore investigated the consistency of exploration behaviours towards a novel object and novel environment in a native Australian rodent, the fawn-footed mosaic-tailed rat Melomys cervinipes across development. Individuals were tested in an open field test and novel object test for five trials across four different life stages (pre-weaning, recently weaned, independent juvenile, sexually mature adult). We found that individual mosaic-tailed rats were consistent in their exploration of novel objects over these life stages, as these behaviours were repeatable. However, how individuals explored novel environments was not repeatable and changed across development, with exploration peaking during the independent juvenile stage. These results suggest that the way an individual interacts with novel objects may be somewhat constrained by genetic or epigenetic effects early in development, whereas spatial exploration could be more flexible to facilitate developmental shifts, such as dispersal. The life stage of an animal should therefore be taken into consideration when assessing personality in different species.

Eat, seek, rest? An orexin/hypocretin perspective.

Seeking and ingesting nutrients is an essential cycle of life in all species. In classical neuropsychology these two behaviours are viewed as fundamentally distinct from each other, and known as appetitive and consummatory, respectively. Appetitive behaviour is highly flexible and diverse, but typically involves increased locomotion and spatial exploration. Consummatory behaviour, in contrast, typically requires reduced locomotion. Another long-standing concept is "rest and digest", a hypolocomotive response to calorie intake, thought to facilitate digestion and storage of energy after eating. Here, we note that the classical seek➔ingest➔rest behavioural sequence is not evolutionarily advantageous for all ingested nutrients. Our limited stomach capacity should be invested wisely, rather than spent on the first available nutrient. This is because nutrients are not simply calories: some nutrients are more essential for survival than others. Thus, a key choice that needs to be made soon after ingestion: to eat more and rest, or to terminate eating and search for better food. We offer a perspective on recent work suggesting how nutrient-specific neural responses shape this choice. Specifically, the hypothalamic hypocretin/orexin neurons (HONs) - cells that promote hyperlocomotive explorative behaviours - are rapidly and differentially modulated by different ingested macronutrients. Dietary non-essential (but not essential) amino acids activate HONs, while glucose depresses HONs. This nutrient-specific HON modulation engages distinct reflex arcs, seek➔ingest➔seek and seek➔ingest➔rest, respectively. We propose that these nutri-neural reflexes evolved to facilitate optimal nutrition despite the limitations of our body.

Towards diverging land prices in agricultural districts? Evidence from Italy before and after the great crisis

In recent decades, farmland markets have risen sharply due to their attractiveness as safe investment and savings allocation instruments. This growth has occurred globally at different rates due to the uneven expected returns, and potential land uses in different regions. This paper provides evidence of the convergence of Italian farmland markets between 1990 and 2019 by using data on average land prices with a geographically detailed resolution that considers both administrative and altitude aspects of territories. The analysis combines traditional economic convergence approaches with spatial data exploration techniques. The results are consistent and show that territorial disparities in Italian farmland markets tend to increase over the study period. This proves that divergence patterns reflect the well-established North-South dualism and disparities in socio-economic characteristics.

NLRP3 deficiency protects against hypobaric hypoxia induced neuroinflammation and cognitive dysfunction

As increasing number of people migrated to high altitude, highland encephalopathy and hypoxia-induced cognitive impairment arouse public attention. Yet, its underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Emerging evidence has implied neuroinflammation and neuronal loss may be involved. In the present study, we investigated the neuroinflammation and neuronal loss in mice after hypoxic insult. Our reports showed hypobaric hypoxia exposure for 3 weeks led to impaired spatial exploration and short-term memory in mice, concomitant with neuron loss. In addition, hypoxia induced neuroinflammation and NLRP3 inflammasome activation. Besides, to explore the role of the inflammasome in hypoxia-induced cognitive dysfunction, NLRP3 knockout mice were applied and the results showed that NLRP3 could negatively regulate GPX4 to modify antioxidant capacity. In summary, our work demonstrated that hypoxia exposure led to neuroinflammation and neuronal-deletion, which may be the key events in the process of hypoxia induced cognitive impairment. NLRP3 inflammasome promoted antioxidant deficiency by negatively regulating GPX4.

Improvements and challenges of tissue preparation for spatial transcriptome analysis of skull base tumors

BackgroundSpatial transcriptome (ST) provides molecular profiles of tumor cells at the spatial level, which brings new progress to the research of tumors and the tumor microenvironment. This study summarizes the experiences and lessons learned in the spatial section preparation of two different pathological types of nose and skull base tumors at our institution, with the aim of offering guidelines to researchers to avoid wasting precious samples and provide a basis for the application of ST in clinical practice. MethodsFrozen tissue blocks from patients with squamous cell carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the nose and skull base diagnosed at our institution were prepared. The effects of different procedures and pathological tissue types on slide quality were explored and evaluated using RNA integrity number (RIN) and HE scores as criteria. The effects of different RIN values on ST sequencing data were explored. ResultsA total of 43 samples were obtained from 26 patients, including 22 with squamous carcinomas and 21 with adenocarcinomas. Thirteen samples with satisfactory RNA quality control and good histological morphology were sequenced for ST. Sample isolation time <15 min and abandonment of snap-frozen isopentane significantly improved RNA quality (p = 0.004, p < 0.0001) and histomorphological integrity (p = 0.02, p = 0.02). Selection of a suitable tissue RNA extraction kit was critical for RNA quality (p < 0.0001). No difference between 6 ≤ RIN <7 and RIN >7 in ST sequencing results was found, indicating that RIN ≥6 can be used as a criterion for qualified RNA quality control. Therefore, fresh tissues washed as soon as possible with cold PBS and then dried using OCT for snap freezing are currently the best method for preparing spatial sections of nose and skull base tumor tissues of different pathological types. ConclusionThis study is the first to investigate the feasibility of applying ST to different pathological types of nose and skull base tumors and to demonstrate the widespread application of ST in tumors. Rational optimization of spatial slide preparation procedures and exploration of individualized pre-sequencing protocols are used as the first stage to ensure the quality of spatial sequencing and lay the foundation for subsequent spatial analysis.

How do sensory features of places impact on spatial exploration of people with autism? A user study

Autism is characterized by peculiar sensory processing. The sensory features of a place may have a crucial impact on the decision a person with autism makes when choosing what to visit in a tourist experience. We present a map-based mobile app, conceived for people with mid to high-functioning autism, which exploits sensory features of places to filter the information displayed and suggest locations that may be suitable for their idiosyncratic needs. The mobile app also exploits the crowdmapping paradigm in order to gather these features from the community of users, since they are not publicly available. We describe the results of a composite user evaluation of the app, made up of a task experiment, a field study, and an online questionnaire, which aims to understand (i) whether the explicit presentation of sensory information impacts the decision of going to a specific place, (ii) if the crowdmapping functionality is used and how and (iii) how people with autism navigate the mobile app. The results confirm the importance of the sensory features for people with autism in the decision to go to a specific place. Moreover, they show that crowdmapping may be a good solution to collect such features, but should be integrated with other methods. Finally, the results show that the preferred modality of exploring information about places is by using the map.

The Role of Spatial Exploration and Territoriality in Establishing Gilthead Seabream (Sparus aurata) Hierarchies, and Their Effects upon Underlying Stress Physiology

Territoriality, spatial exploration and social hierarchy are strictly related behaviors in gregarious fishes, and are often under-appreciated in farms where the individuals are confined within crowded spaces. In this study, we investigated the role of spatial exploration, elucidating the importance of time upon forming the social organization, and the role of the territoriality in gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), using two experimental approaches. In the first approach, three fish were placed sequentially in the aquarium with an interval of two days (sequential model), while in the second (simultaneous model), two fish were simultaneously placed in an aquarium divided by a barrier which was removed after a certain period of time. To study the effect of social stress and spatial perception in the two models, we monitored behavior (aggressive acts and feeding priority), integrated with the evaluation of physiological and cellular stress parameters, such as phagocytosis, cortisol, glucose, and blood osmolarity levels. After the establishment of the social hierarchy in the “sequential model”, we observed that the levels of cortisol and an immunological cell-mediated marker were higher in subordinate individuals than in the dominant ones. We observed a different modulation of phagocytic activity in peritoneal cavity cells between dominant and subordinates, demonstrating that social stress acts upon immune response. Differently from the first model, no behavioral, physiological, or phagocytic differences were found between the two fish involved in the simultaneous model, where both fish acted as co-dominants, defending their territory. The study achieved a deeper understanding of the role of spatial exploration, territorial dominance and intraspecific interaction in gilthead seabream, and elucidated the link between them and physiological stress indicators. The results highlight aspects of interest to the aquaculture industry, showing the importance of a greater focus on rearing conditions, finding solutions to mitigate crowding effects and promoting the quality of aquacultural products.