Shoal choice in zebrafish, Danio rerio: the influence of shoal size and activity

@article{Pritchard2001ShoalCI,
  title={Shoal choice in zebrafish, Danio rerio: the influence of shoal size and activity},
  author={Victoria L. Pritchard and James Lawrence and Roger K. Butlin and Jens Krause},
  journal={Animal Behaviour},
  year={2001},
  volume={62},
  pages={1085-1088}
}
Shoaling fish are expected, in many cases, to gain fitness benefits from being in a larger shoal and previous experiments have shown that fish are indeed capable of choosing between shoals of different sizes. [] Key Method We gave test fish the choice between shoals of one to four stimulus fish, presented at two different water temperatures, and so differing in their activity levels. Where all stimulus fish were in water of the same temperature, test fish generally preferred the larger shoal. However, this…
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193 Citations

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Citation Type

Daily variation in the shoaling behavior of zebrafish Danio rerio
TLDR
The results demonstrate the existence of daily variations in the shoaling behavior of fish and suggest that environmental cues in the form of light/dark cycles play an important role in regulating these variations.
Sex-Assortative Shoaling in Zebrafish (Danio rerio)
TLDR
Zebrafish (Danio rerio) shoaling was studied in the laboratory using four different experiments utilizing two different methodologies, and there was no consistent result when females were forced to choose between three females and six males, thus the preference for same-sex shoppers may be balanced with a preference for larger shoals.
Group size and aquatic vegetation modulates male preferences for female shoals in wild zebrafish, Danio rerio
TLDR
This work is a first attempt to understand the role of aquatic flora in determining shoaling preferences in zebrafish, using an experimental paradigm consisting of a gradation in female and vegetation densities.
Shoal choice in juvenile angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare): effects of social status and activity
TLDR
Results contrast with those previously found in this species when test fish preferred to aggregate with shoals of familiar subordinate conspecifics placed in small display compartments and indicate that angelfish take shoal activity into account when making a shoaling decision.
Repeated measures of shoaling tendency in zebrafish (Danio rerio) and other small teleost fishes
This protocol details a method for constructing and using both a holding tank and a test tank to assess the shoaling tendency of zebrafish and other teleosts. The test tank consists of a central…
Zebrafish prefer larger to smaller shoals: analysis of quantity estimation in a genetically tractable model organism
TLDR
It is confirmed that zebrafish possess the ability to distinguish larger numbers of items from smaller number of items, in a shoaling context, with a potential limit above 4.
Activity Counts: The Effect of Swimming Activity on Quantity Discrimination in Fish
TLDR
It is demonstrated that angelfish select the larger of two shoals of conspecifics without using inter-fish distance or space occupied by the stimuli as cues, but density appeared to influence the choice between large shoals.
Daily shoaling patterns in the zebrafish Danio rerio
TLDR
This study shows that shoaling behavior changes with light/dark cycles and that fish shoal even during reduced visibility conditions, although mean shoaling times during the light phase were significantly higher than mean shoppers during the dark phase.
Discrimination of the larger shoal in the poeciliid fish Girardinus falcatus
TLDR
This work investigated the spontaneous choice for the larger of two shoals in female goldbelly topminnows and compared two different methods to determine an efficient procedure for studying the numerical competence of fish and found that when groups differed in size by one individual, choice of the larger shoal was significantly above that predicted by chance.
Influence of environmental colors and long-term sex isolation on zebrafish shoaling behavior
TLDR
Significant sex-related differences were found in shoaling partner preference and females showed a tendency to avoid other females and spent more time with males, while there was an obvious difference between males and females in responses and selection of shoaling partners.
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References

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