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Patterns in swimming by a scyphomedusa: a novel approach to quantifying behavior in individuals

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Abstract

Behavior is commonly studied at the group level using several individuals, but there is increasing evidence that the behavior of a few individuals often has a disproportionate effect on the response of a population to its environment. The present study used a suite of statistical techniques, random series analysis, analysis of variance, spectral analysis, and goodness-of-fit tests of frequency histograms, to quantitatively describe the time-dependent changes in individual behavior. Each technique reveals a different facet of the behavior and, when simultaneously applied to the data, distinguishes significant differences among the behaviors of several individuals. The approach was developed and tested on the swimming behavior of four specimens of the scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758), which were observed for 19 days, beginning 16 January 1998, and videotaped under identical environmental conditions during that period. The analyses showed that each medusa swam in a unique pattern, varying swimming at characteristic frequencies. Application of the approach to individual-based numerical modeling, to the role of endogenous stimuli in the behavioral repertoire, and to in situ studies of animal behavior is discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This project was funded by NSF grant OCE 9628888 to R.R.H. and a grant to J.C.M. from Horn Point Laboratory. We thank W.F. Van Heukelem for use of digitizing equipment and software, and L.P. Sanford and L.J. Walstad for video equipment. An earlier draft of this paper benefited greatly from suggestions made by M. Christman. The authors particularly wish to express their gratitude to D. Allen of the National Aquarium at Baltimore for the donation of experimental medusae. All experiments were conducted in the USA, and were in compliance with current law. UMCES contribution no. 3713.

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Author notes

  1. R. L. Owens

    Present address: University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI 02881, USA

  2. J. E. Purcell

    Present address: Shannon Point Marine Center, 1900 Shannon Point Rd., Anacortes, WA 98221, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Environmental Science, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland, P.O. Box 775, Cambridge, MD 21613, USA

    J. C. Matanoski, R. R. Hood, R. L. Owens & J. E. Purcell

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  1. J. C. Matanoski
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  2. R. R. Hood
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  3. R. L. Owens
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Correspondence to J. C. Matanoski.

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Communicated by J.P. Grassle, New Brunswick

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Matanoski, J.C., Hood, R.R., Owens, R.L. et al. Patterns in swimming by a scyphomedusa: a novel approach to quantifying behavior in individuals. Marine Biology 145, 303–313 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-004-1313-y

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