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Growth and social behavior in a cichlid fish are affected by social rearing environment and kinship

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Abstract

Living in groups is a widespread phenomenon in many animal taxa. The reduction of predation risk is thought to be an important cause for the formation of groups. Consequently, grouping behavior is particularly pronounced during vulnerable life stages, i.e., as juveniles. However, group living does not only provide benefits but also imposes costs on group members, e.g., increased competition for food. Thus, benefits of grouping behavior might not be evident when predation risk is absent. The adaptive significance of living and also developing in a group independent from predation risk has received relatively little attention although this might have important implications on the evolution and maintenance of group living. The first aim of the present study was to examine whether the social environment affects juvenile performance in the cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus and, secondly, whether kinship affects social behavior. Kin selection theory predicts benefits from grouping with kin. Here, we demonstrate that juveniles reared in a group grow on average faster compared to juveniles reared in isolation under standardized laboratory conditions without predation risk. Furthermore, we found significant differences in social behavior between juveniles reared in a group and reared in isolation. Fish reared in isolation were significantly more aggressive and less willing to shoal than group-reared fish. As expected, genetic relatedness influenced social behavior in group-reared fish as well: dyads of juveniles consisting of kin showed increased group cohesiveness compared to non-kin dyads. We discuss the potential benefits of group living in general and living with kin in particular.

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Acknowledgement

We would like to thank Theo C. M. Bakker for logistical support and three anonymous referees for their valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (TH 1516/1-1).

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  1. Institute for Evolutionary Biology and Ecology, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121, Bonn, Germany

    Saskia Hesse & Timo Thünken

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  1. Saskia Hesse
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  2. Timo Thünken
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Correspondence to Saskia Hesse.

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Communicated by: Sven Thatje

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Hesse, S., Thünken, T. Growth and social behavior in a cichlid fish are affected by social rearing environment and kinship. Naturwissenschaften 101, 273–283 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1154-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-014-1154-6

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