Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on October 27, 2009
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arp142
Sex matters: a social context to boldness in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
a Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Mahasarakham University, Khamriang Sub-District, Kantarawichai District, Mahasarakham 44150, Thailand b Institute of Integrative and Comparative Biology, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK c Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Forschungsverbund Berlin, Müggelseedamm 310, D-12587 Berlin, Germany d Department of Life Sciences, The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies e School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, Durham DH1 3LE, UK f Centre for Research in Animal Behavior, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Perry Road, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK
Address correspondence to D.P. Croft. E-mail: darren_croft{at}hotmail.com.
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Abstract |
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Boldness is a key element of behavioral variation in animals. Many studies have shown variation between individuals in their propensity to take risks across a wide range of taxa, yet surprisingly few studies have investigated the importance of social context in influencing an animal's boldness. Here, we focus on the role that the sex composition of a social group plays in individual boldness in a sexually dimorphic species, the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata). We predict that after exposure to a simulated aerial predator, male guppies should be bolder in the presence of females compared with males to maximize their mating opportunities. Furthermore, we predict that female guppies will adopt riskier behavior when shoaling with males in an effort to avoid sexual harassment. Using a model avian predator, we tested these hypotheses and found evidence to support our second prediction but not our first. Specifically, we found that male guppies returned to movement more rapidly after a fright response when shoaling with males than with females. Female focal fish in contrast returned to movement significantly quicker when shoaling with males than females. Also, we found a significant correlation in boldness across social contexts (a behavioral syndrome) in male but not female fish. This study highlights the importance of social context for individual boldness and suggests that for risk-averse behavior in social, sexually dimorphic species, sex matters.
Key words: behavioral syndrome, behavioral type, guppy, personality, Poecilia reticulata, predation.
Received 17 March 2009; revised 14 September 2009; accepted 14 September 2009.