Behavioural responses of feral and domestic guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to predators and their cues

Abstract

19Predation is an important factor during adaptation to novel environments and the feralisation 20 of introduced domestic species often involves responding appropriately to allopatric 21 predators despite a background of domestication and inbreeding. Twenty years ago domestic 22 guppies were introduced to a semi-natural environment at Burgers' Zoo in the Netherlands, 23where they have since been exposed to avian predation. We compared predation-linked 24 behaviours in this feral population and in domestic guppies akin to the original founders. We 25 found that both populations responded to a novel predator and to conspecific alarm cues. 26However shoaling, an important anti-predator behaviour, was higher among feral guppies 27 both at baseline and when exposed to the novel predator. We did not observe a linked suite of 28 anti-predator behaviours across shoaling, predator inspection, alarm substance sensitivity and 29 boldness, suggesting that these responses may be decoupled from one another depending on 30 local predation regimes. As we compared two populations, we cannot identify the causal 31 factors determining population differences, however, our results do suggest that shoaling is 32 either a particularly consequential anti-predator adaptation or the most labile of the 33 behaviours we tested. Finally, the behavioural adaptability of domestic guppies may help to 34 explain their success as an invasive species.

Sex Differences in Discrimination of Shoal Size in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

“…Hare et al 2005). Males, instead, tend to swim alone, to reduce intrasexual competition when looking for potential mates (Griffiths & Magurran 1998;Croft et al 2003b), and only rely on shoaling to avoid predators (Swaney et al 2015). Males, instead, tend to swim alone, to reduce intrasexual competition when looking for potential mates (Griffiths & Magurran 1998;Croft et al 2003b), and only rely on shoaling to avoid predators (Swaney et al 2015).…”

“…For instance, female guppies are very social and form stable shoals with complex social networks (Griffiths & Magurran 1998;Croft et al 2003bCroft et al , 2004. Males, instead, tend to swim alone, to reduce intrasexual competition when looking for potential mates (Griffiths & Magurran 1998;Croft et al 2003b), and only rely on shoaling to avoid predators (Swaney et al 2015). Therefore, females could be generally more competent at solving sociality-related problems.…”

Parallel and nonparallel behavioural evolution in response to parasitism and predation in Trinidadian guppies

“…Each tank had gravel on the bottom, and its long axis was divided by marks on the side of the tank into consecutive zones, each 5 cm in length. This experimental design has been shown to effectively reveal variation in shoaling preferences and propensities in guppies (Swaney et al ., ).…”

Getting Back to Nature: Feralization in Animals and Plants

“…At the level of behavior, domestication has often reduced fearfulness, agonism, and overall behavioral responsivity [19,91]; these effects can also be modified in ferals. For example, feral roosters, quails, and guppies were found to be more fearful, agonistic, and alert to potential predators compared with domestics [92,93] (C.R. Nichols, PhD thesis, University of British Columbia, 1991).…”