Size-assortive shoaling in fish: the effect of oddity on foraging behaviour
Article Abstract:
Fish tend to shoal with those of a similar size and are less likely to forage if they fear a predator. They may stand out and attract predators if they are oddities in a group. A study of three-spined sticklebacks showed that a larger fish as an oddity in a smaller shoal tends to forage less than larger fish with others of a large size. This is not true of fish that are smaller than others in the group, which do not forage in a different way. Food competition as well as fear of attracting a predator mayhelp explain why fish tend to shoal with others of the same size.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1997
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Social segregation is not a consequence of habitat segregation in red deer and feral soay sheep
Article Abstract:
The adults of many sexually dimorphic mammals tend to form single-sex groups outside the mating season but the reasons have been poorly studied. A new study of red deer and soay sheep tests the theory such social segregation is a function of sex differences in habitat use and investigates whether it is linked to weather conditions. The study concludes that social segregation in red deer and soay sheep is not a byproduct of habitat selection and is independent of the weather. The findings are further discussed.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1999
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Producers, scroungers and the price of a free meal
Article Abstract:
Research was conducted to investigate animal producer-scrounger group structures. Producer-scrounger combinations minimized the phenotype-specific predation risk over food-intake ratios. All possible producer-scrounger combinations were analyzed, including predation hazards over food intake for the animals. Results indicated that the phenotype-specific minima for producers and scroungers can be achieved in mixed-phenotype groups.
Publication Name: Animal Behaviour
Subject: Zoology and wildlife conservation
ISSN: 0003-3472
Year: 1998
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