The presence of neighbors influences defense against predators in a cooperatively breeding cichlid

Jennifer K. Hellmann and Ian M. Hamilton

Behavioral Ecology, 2014, vol. 25, issue 2, 386-391

Abstract: Although behavior is often examined in a dyadic or group context, behavioral interactions are also influenced by the broader social context. Interactions with neighboring groups may provide information about the local environment or may offer important reproductive opportunities. Considering the potential fitness consequences of intergroup interactions, particularly for territorial species that have long-term relationships with neighboring groups, we expect individuals will alter their behavior based on access to surrounding groups. We used a cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher to determine if individuals vary their response to a predator when neighbors were present versus absent. We found no difference in dominant behavior between neighbor present and neighbor absent treatments, but subordinates increased their defense against the predator when neighbors were present, particularly when the neighbor was unfamiliar. Subordinates may change their behavior when neighbors are present in order to signal to or cooperate with neighboring individuals but may also be responding to the change in intragroup dynamics that can result from the presence of neighboring conspecifics. This study illustrates the importance of considering the effect of neighboring groups on individual behavior, given that intergroup dynamics can influence behaviors that do not directly involve conspecific interactions.

Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/beheco/aru001 (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:oup:beheco:v:25:y:2014:i:2:p:386-391.

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://academic.oup.com/journals

Access Statistics for this article

Behavioral Ecology is currently edited by Louise Barrett

More articles in Behavioral Ecology from International Society for Behavioral Ecology Oxford University Press, Great Clarendon Street, Oxford OX2 6DP, UK.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Oxford University Press ().