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Author |
Earley, R.L.; Druen, M.; Alan Dugatkin, L. |
Title |
Watching fights does not alter a bystander's response towards naive conspecifics in male green swordtail fish, Xiphophorus helleri |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2005 |
Publication |
Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
Volume |
69 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
1139-1145 |
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Abstract |
Bystanders are capable of extracting cues from signalling interactions between others and appear to use information gained via eavesdropping when confronted with the watched individuals. A question that has gained little attention is whether observing fights affects bystander behaviour outside the context of interacting with the watched individuals. Our aim was to determine whether watching fights elicits general changes in bystander aggression levels in Xiphophorus helleri. We manipulated the bystanders' ability to witness encounters using clear, one-way-mirror and opaque partitions. After watching (or not watching) an initial contest, the bystanders were pitted against naive conspecifics instead of the animals they had seen fight. Observing fights did not alter the bystanders' propensity to initiate aggression, escalate, or win against naive individuals, indicating that bystanders do not experience general changes in aggressive behaviour after watching a fight. Earlier work in this species, however, has shown that bystanders respond in predictable ways to individuals they have witnessed winning or losing a fight. Taken together, these data support the notion that bystanders consistently modify their behaviour towards previously watched winners or losers in response to information gained via eavesdropping. We discuss our results in light of some recent work on the behavioural and endocrinological responses triggered by watching fights and suggest that comparative approaches to understanding networking phenomena may be productive. |
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Dugatkin, L.A.; Earley, R.L. |
Title |
Group fusion: the impact of winner, loser, and bystander effects on hierarchy formation in large groups |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Behavioral Ecology |
Abbreviated Journal |
Behav. Ecol. |
Volume |
14 |
Issue |
3 |
Pages |
367-373 |
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We present the results of a series of computer simulations that examined the impact of winner, loser, and bystander effects on hierarchy formation in fused groups. These effects and their implications for hierarchy structure and aggressive interactions were first examined in small four-member groups. Subsequent to this, the two small groups were fused into a single larger group. Further interactions took place in this fused group, generating a new hierarchy. Our models demonstrate clearly that winner, loser, and bystander effects strongly influence both the structure and types of interactions that emerge from the fusion of smaller groups. Four conditions produced results in which the same general patterns were uncovered in pre- and postfusion groups: (1) winner effects alone, (2) bystander loser effects alone, (3) winner and bystander winner effects operating simultaneously, and (4) all four effects in play simultaneously. Outside this parameter space, hierarchy structure and the nature of aggressive interactions differed in pre- and postfusion groups. When only loser effects were in play, one of the two clear alphas from the prefused groups dropped in rank in the eight-member fused group. When bystander winner effects were in play, it was difficult to rank any of the eight individuals in the fused group, and players interacted almost exclusively with those that were not in their original four-member group. When loser and bystander loser effects operated simultaneously, two top-ranking individuals emerged in the fused groups, but the relative rank of the other players was difficult to assign. |
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10.1093/beheco/14.3.367 |
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519 |
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Earley, R.L.; Tinsley, M.; Dugatkin, L.A. |
Title |
To see or not to see: does previewing a future opponent affect the contest behavior of green swordtail males (Xiphophorus helleri)? |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2003 |
Publication |
Naturwissenschaften |
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90 |
Issue |
5 |
Pages |
226-230 |
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Animals assess the fighting ability of conspecifics either by engaging in aggressive interactions or observing contests between others. However, whether individuals assess physical prowess outside the context of aggressive interactions remains unknown. We examined whether male green swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) extract information about the fighting ability of solitary individuals via observation and whether acquiring such information elicits behavioral modifications. Contests preceded by mutual visual assessment were significantly shorter than fights where only one or neither of the two individuals was informed in advance. Focal animals initiated aggressive behavior more often against larger opponents only after previewing their adversary, indicating that swordtails can extract information about relative body size from watching solitary conspecifics. When a fighting disadvantage is perceived, observers adopt tactics that increase their probability of winning the contest. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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2180 |
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Bonnie, K.E.; Earley, R.L. |
Title |
Expanding the scope for social information use |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2007 |
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Animal Behaviour. |
Abbreviated Journal |
Anim. Behav. |
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74 |
Issue |
2 |
Pages |
171-18 |
Keywords |
behavioural cue; eavesdropping; public information; signalling; social information; social learning |
Abstract |
Our understanding of how, why, and the circumstances under which animals use social information has been facilitated by three principal areas of research, social learning, public information use and social eavesdropping. With few exceptions, these related concepts have remained remarkably distinct within the literature, with little discussion or integration among them. Are these distinctions warranted? We tackle the issue by exploring similarities and differences between the concepts with respect to how animals gather and use social information, the type of information gathered, how information is packaged, and the relative payoffs to individuals involved. We contend that none of the currently dominant paradigms, social learning, public information use, or social eavesdropping, provide a unifying theme for studying social information use. Instead, we favour the central characteristic of the three concepts, social information use, as the overarching umbrella, and advocate a broader conceptual framework for understanding more comprehensively how animals behave with their social environments. Our intention is not to revolutionize the fields of social learning, public information use or social eavesdropping, but rather to stimulate discussion among researchers investigating the abilities of animals to extract information from the social environment. |
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Equine Behaviour @ team @ |
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4205 |
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Earley, R.L.; Dugatkin, L.A. |
Title |
Eavesdropping on visual cues in green swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri) fights: a case for networking |
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Journal Article |
Year |
2002 |
Publication |
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society |
Abbreviated Journal |
Proc Biol Sci |
Volume |
269 |
Issue |
1494 |
Pages |
943-952 |
Keywords |
*Aggression; Animals; *Behavior, Animal; *Cyprinodontiformes; Female; Male |
Abstract |
Aggressive contests probably occur in networking environments where information about fighting ability is conveyed both to an opponent and to individuals peripheral to the fight itself, the bystanders. Our primary aim was to investigate the relative influences of eavesdropping and prior social experience on the dynamics of aggressive contests in Xiphophorus helleri. A bystander's ability to witness an encounter was manipulated using clear, one-way mirror, and opaque partitions. After watching (or not watching) the initial contest, the bystander encountered either the winner or loser of the bout. Treatment comparisons of bystander-winner or bystander-loser contest dynamics indicated the presence or absence of winner, loser, or eavesdropping effects. Winner and loser effects had negligible influences on bystander contest dynamics. Eavesdropping significantly reduced the bystander's propensity to initiate aggression, escalate, and win against seen winners regardless of whether the watched bout had escalated or not. Though eavesdropping had relatively little effect on bystander-loser contest dynamics, bystanders were less prone to initiate aggression and win against losers that had escalated in the witnessed bout. Thus, bystanders appear to preferentially retain and utilize information gained about potentially dangerous opponents (winners or persistent losers). Our data lend clear support for the importance of eavesdropping in visually based aggressive signalling systems. |
Address |
Department of Biology, Life Science, Room 139, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292, USA. rlearl01@athena.louisville.edu |
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English |
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0962-8452 |
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PMID:12028778 |
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refbase @ user @ |
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498 |
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