Male zebrafish (Danio rerio) do not preferentially associate with familiar over unfamiliar conspecifics

Abstract

Members of several shoaling species have been shown to prefer to associate with familiar individuals, enhancing the benefits of aggregation. The authors used a series of social preference tasks in the laboratory to evaluate whether prior familiarity with potential partners influences preference of shoaling partner in male zebrafish (Danio rerio), a social species found in shallow, slow-moving waters. The authors found that though male zebrafish exhibited a strong preference for shoaling with a male conspecific as opposed to remaining alone, they exhibited no preference for familiar over unfamiliar conspecifics. This suggests that the benefits of familiarity for shoaling behaviour may not be as important for male zebrafish as has been shown in other social fish species.

Publisher

Wiley

Publication Date

4-1-2022

Publication Title

Journal of Fish Biology

Department

Biology

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jfb.15008

Keywords

Danio rerio, Familiarity, Individual recognition, Shoaling, Social organization, Zebrafish, Social preference, Schooling preferences, Shoal composition, Kin recognition

Language

English

Format

text

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