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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on February 2, 2005
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/ari022
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© The Author 2005. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oupjournals.org
Received April 28, 2004
Revised October 28, 2004
Accepted November 15, 2004

Article

Group stability and homing behavior but no kin group structures in a coral reef fish

N. Kolm 1*, E.A. Hoffman 2, J. Olsson 3, A. Berglund 4, and A.G. Jones 2

1 Centre for Ecology, Evolution & Conservation, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, UK; Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
2 School of Biology, Georgia Institute of Technology, 310 Ferst Drive, Atlanta, GA 30332, USA
3 Department of Limnology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 20, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden
4 Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18 D, 75236 Uppsala, Sweden

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
N. Kolm, E-mail: n.kolm{at}uea.ac.uk


  Abstract

Understanding the reasons behind stable group formations has received considerable theoretical and empirical attention. Stable groups displaying homing behavior have been suggested to form as a result of, for instance, benefits from knowledge of the social or physical environment or through kin selection and the forming of kin groups. However, no one has disentangled preference for grouping in a familiar location from preference for grouping with familiar or related individuals. To investigate this, we conducted a series of field experiments and a group genetic analysis on the group-living Banggai cardinalfish (Pterapogon kauderni). We found homing behavior but no evidence for recognition of familiar group members. Instead, homing was based on the original location of their group rather than the individuals in that group. Moreover, we found no evidence for kin structures within these groups. We suggest that benefits from living in a known social environment drive homing behavior in this species and that homing behavior is not enough for the formation of kin group structures. Instead, our results suggest that kin recognition may be a prerequisite for the forming of kin groups.

Keywords: dispersal; group stability; kin selection; microsatellites; territory.
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