We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
Escalated aggression in interpopulation brook trout dyads: evidence for behavioural divergence.
- Authors
Dunbrack, Robert; Clarke, Lynn
- Abstract
The "communication-failure" hypothesis states that individuals whose agonistic displays deviate from the population norm are selected against because of the greater likelihood of their becoming involved in escalated contests. A corollary of this hypothesis is that the level of aggression in dyadic (pairwise) contests over resources is predicted to be higher the greater the behavioural divergence between the two contestants. Display divergence between two contestants from different populations should exceed that in intrapopulation dyads, consequently this prediction can be tested by comparing levels of aggression in contests between interpopulation dyads with those in contests between intrapopulation dyads. We carried out such a test using brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from two isolated populations in eastern Newfoundland. In initial encounters, the nipping rate (a measure of aggressiveness) of individuals from one of these populations was significantly higher in interpopulation dyads than in intrapopulation dyads. These results are consistent with the communication-failure hypothesis, as well as with the view that behavioural assessment, using low-cost stereotypic displays, reduces the cost of interactions over resources for both contestants.
- Subjects
NEWFOUNDLAND &; Labrador; CANADA; BROOK trout; ANIMAL aggression
- Publication
Canadian Journal of Zoology, 2003, Vol 81, Issue 5, p911
- ISSN
0008-4301
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1139/z03-073