Abstract
The waning of aggressive behavior in two groups of community-housed maleBetta was studied by observing incidences of display and fighting behaviors. In Experiment 1, observations were made during the establishment of a community, while it was maintained at a stable size, and during systematic removal of the dominant (alpha) males. Experiment 2 investigated the aggressive interactions of males in a stable-sized population, maintained for a period of 10 weeks. The results indicate that prolonged periods of constant conspecific exposure do not necessarily result in a significant attenuation of display behaviors. The data further indicate that the social organization (as determined from aggressive interactions) appears to be one in which the top- and bottom-ranking males are clearly defined. It is suggested that the maintenance of aggressive behavior among community-housed maleBetta may well be related to their social position.
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Some of these data were reported by N.W.C. at meetings of the Eastern Psychological Association, 1977 and 1978.
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Cain, N.W., Baenninger, R. Social organization and the maintenance of aggressive behavior in community-housed male Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Animal Learning & Behavior 8, 171–176 (1980). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209746
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03209746