| Autor: |
Brown, Culum, Irving, Eleanor |
| Předmět: |
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| Zdroj: |
Behavioral Ecology; Jan2014, Vol. 25 Issue 1, p95-101, 7p |
| Abstrakt: |
Many animal groups, such as flocks or schools seem behave in an entirely coordinated way. But who is in charge of deciding what to do and when? Scientists once thought that group behavior came about by a democratic consensus among members, but recently it has become evident that some individuals have greater control than others. Here we show that individual guppies that exhibit certain personality traits exhibit undue influence over the behavior of the school.We examined whether variation in group exploratory behavior was linked with variation in personality traits (boldness, activity, and sociability) in a population of feral guppies (Poecilia reticulata). A huge amount of variation was observed in dispersal tendency between shoals. Surprisingly, no significant correlations were found between group exploratory behavior and average group personality scores, which suggests that the movement of the shoal was not generated by group conformity. However, our analysis revealed correlations between group exploration and the activity score of the least active member of a group and the sociality index of the most social member of a group. These results indicate that a minority of key individuals with certain personality types can have substantial effects on group behavior. These results are discussed in the broader context of group decision making in social animals. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER] |
| Databáze: |
Complementary Index |
| Externí odkaz: |
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