Abstract
Sociality in animals depends on identification and recognition of conspecifics and social interactions can be a key driving force in ecological processes. We capitalized on the environmentally dependent sociality and unique reproductive strategy of the self-fertilizing mangrove rivulus (Kryptolebias marmoratus) to disentangle the influence of relatedness and familiarity on conspecific recognition. We also compared the importance of vision and chemosensation as primary phenotypic sensory cues in distinguishing individual fish and prey. Using lab-reared, isogenic rivulus, we presented a focal fish with the choice between two conspecifics (related and/or familiar). We determined that there was no clear impact of relatedness on short term association preferences in the two isogenic lineages we tested. Rather, rivulus preferentially associated with unrelated, familiar individuals over unrelated, unfamiliar individuals. Next, we used both isogenic lab lineages and wild-caught rivulus to determine the primary sensory modality involved in recognition by measuring aggressive behavior while manipulating the type of sensory information (visual and chemosensory) available during binary association trials. Our data indicate that this mangrove fish uses primarily visual cues and familiarity templates for mediating social interactions, contributing to the growing body of knowledge on recognition systems in fishes.
Significance statement
Social relationships depend on the assessment of potential partners. We know that fishes can discriminate among individuals; however, how they recognize each other is more complex. We capitalized on the unique social behavior and reproductive strategy of a small mangrove fish to determine if they preferentially recognize related individuals, familiar individuals, or a combination of the two. We also asked if they used vision and/or smell as their primary mode of recognition. Here, we show that these fish prefer to associate with familiar yet unrelated individuals, possibly because there are more direct benefits associating with fish they have previously encountered. We also concluded that these fish use vision over smell to recognize other individuals even in murky mangrove water. Social behaviors are likely to change as a result of environmental change. Thus, understanding how fish recognize each other has important implications for their conservation and how they will respond to environmental challenges.
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Data availability
The datasets generated here are available through the Open Science Framework (OSF): https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/WGAVT and at the following link: https://osf.io/wgavt/?view_only=05349c1927eb4e09949d06713395c6e6
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank Julie Belanger for experimental assistance, Dr. AJW Ward for valuable comments on the manuscript prior to submission, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments. We thank the staff of the Itza Lodge, Belize for logistical support.
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This work was supported by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) Discovery Grants to EMS (2014–04324), PAW (120513), and SC (2014–06177) an NSERC graduate scholarship and a Company of Biologists Travelling Fellowship to AJT Company of Biologists Travel Fellowship to TAB, as well as an NSERC postdoctoral fellowship.
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All authors contributed to aspects of the study conception and design. Data collection and analyses were performed by KEM, MB, KCR, LW, JDT, CMW, and SC. The first draft of the manuscript was written by KEM and SC and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Martin, K.E., Blewett, T.A., Burnett, M. et al. The importance of familiarity, relatedness, and vision in social recognition in wild and laboratory populations of a selfing, hermaphroditic mangrove fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 76, 34 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03147-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-022-03147-z