Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (15)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Brunkow, P. E.
Right arrow Articles by Collins, J. P.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Brunkow, P. E.
Right arrow Articles by Collins, J. P.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© 1998 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

research-article

Group size structure affects patterns of aggression in larval salamanders

Paul E. Brunkow and James P. Collins

Department of Zoology, Arizona State University Tempe, AZ 85287-1501, USA

Address correspondence to P. E. Brunkow, who is now at the Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Illinois Univnsity Edwardsvile, IL 62026, USA. E-mail: pbrunko{at}siue.cdu

ABSTRACT

The potential importance of intrapopulation phenotypic variability to population-level ecology has been demonstrated in both theoretical and field studies. One way to connect individuals to the dynamics of populations they compose is to study behavioral response (an individual-level characteristic) to variability in conspecific phenotypes (a population-level characteristic). We examined effects of variation in size of individuals on patterns of aggression in larval tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum nebulosum) by observing aggressive behavior in groups of three larvae in a laboratory experment. We assessed effects of variability in size of conspecifics independently of mean larval size and larval density Overall levels of aggression were generally higher in groups in which all individuals were similprly sized than in groups of variably sized individuals. Medium-sized individuals exhibited significantly higher levels of aggression and were attacked significantly more often when in groups consisting only of similarly sized larvae as compared to groups composed of larvae representing a wider range of body sizes. Activity levels of larvae were also generally lower when all individuals were the same size, resulting in a negative correlation between activity and levels of iggressititi. These results suggest that gioups of similarly sized individuals experience a more aggressive social environment than groups of variably sized individuals, and they suggest a promising avenue of research for connecting individual behavioral and physiological responses to size structure (phenotypic variability) with population dynamics.

Key words: aggression, Ambystoma, individual variation, population ecology, size structure.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
A. Hettyey and P. B. Pearman
Social environment and reproductive interference affect reproductive success in the frog Rana latastei
Behav. Ecol., March 1, 2003; 14(2): 294 - 300.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Behav EcolHome page
F. Dubois, L.-A. Giraldeau, and J. W. A. Grant
Resource defense in a group-foraging context
Behav. Ecol., January 1, 2003; 14(1): 2 - 9.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.