Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus

Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Stamey, Kamela De
Language:English
Published: Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK 2014
Subjects:
Biology
aggression
cichlids
decision-making
Melanochromis auratus
Online Access:http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1402774541
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spelling ndltd-OhioLink-oai-etd.ohiolink.edu-bgsu14027745412021-08-03T06:25:18Z Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus Stamey, Kamela De Biology aggression cichlids decision-making Melanochromis auratus Effective fighting strategies are essential to successfully navigate competitive social interactions. Probing the fighting ability of opponents requires that individuals employ assessment behaviors so that appropriate decisions about fighting strategies can be made. Inherent properties, such as sex and body size, have the potential to influence tactical fighting choices. African cichlids are well known for their hyper-aggressive nature and make ideal models for probing the underlying factors that impact decision-making during aggressive encounters. Here, an ethogram was constructed comprising seventeen behaviors to probe the sex- and size-related differences in the fighting decisions of same-sex pairs of Melanochromis auratus, a highly territorial Malawian cichlid. A modified Mirror Image Stimulation (MMIS) test was developed that utilized mirrors with curved surfaces to query sex-dependent strategies based on altered apparent opponent size. Differential behavior based on the sex of the fish was also observed in staged encounters of size-matched dyads. Males showed little progressive assessment behavior and instead engaged in immediate and intense fighting, whereas females exhibit longer latencies to engage opponents and prolonged assessment phases. The sexes also exhibited distinct, but different, size-dependent strategies. During MMIS, males bit and displayed at higher rates towards larger mirror-image opponents, while female responses were more circumspect. Comparisons of MMIS and size-matched encounters indicate that live opponents elicit more aggression from larger males than do flat mirror images. We conclude that male M. auratus do not conform to expectations based on typical progressive opponent assessment, but rather escalate to full-contact, high-intensity attacking very rapidly. 2014-08-04 English text Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1402774541 http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1402774541 unrestricted This thesis or dissertation is protected by copyright: some rights reserved. It is licensed for use under a Creative Commons license. Specific terms and permissions are available from this document's record in the OhioLINK ETD Center.
collection NDLTD
language English
sources NDLTD
topic Biology
aggression
cichlids
decision-making
Melanochromis auratus
spellingShingle Biology
aggression
cichlids
decision-making
Melanochromis auratus
Stamey, Kamela De
Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
author Stamey, Kamela De
author_facet Stamey, Kamela De
author_sort Stamey, Kamela De
title Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
title_short Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
title_full Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
title_fullStr Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
title_full_unstemmed Sex-Specific Aggressive Decision-Making In The African Cichlid Melanochromis Auratus
title_sort sex-specific aggressive decision-making in the african cichlid melanochromis auratus
publisher Bowling Green State University / OhioLINK
publishDate 2014
url http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1402774541
work_keys_str_mv AT stameykamelade sexspecificaggressivedecisionmakingintheafricancichlidmelanochromisauratus
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