Davis, Scarlet

Lukeman, Ryan

Schaerf, Timothy

Ward, Ashley J W

2017

The coordinated and synchronized movement of animals in groups often referred to as collective motion emerges through the interactions between individual animals within the group. Factors which affect these interactions have the potential to shape collective movement. One such factor is familiarity, or the tendency to bias behaviour towards individuals as a result of social recognition. We examined the effect of familiarity on the expression of collective motion in small shoals of female guppies ('Poecilia reticulata'). Groups comprising familiar individuals were more strongly polarized than groups of unfamiliar individuals, particularly when in novel surroundings. The ability to form more strongly polarized shoals potentially promotes information transfer and enhances the anti-predator benefits of grouping.

Royal Society Open Science, 4(9), p. 1-7

2054-5703

https://hdl.handle.net/1959.11/22645

The Royal Society Publishing

Familiarity affects collective motion in shoals of guppies ('Poecilia reticulata')

Journal Article

Publication