20 documents found, page 1 of 2
Expanding the concept of social behavior to interspecific interactions
Oliveira, Rui F.; Bshary, RedouanIn pretty much any species, an individual's survival and reproduction depends crucially on the outcome of interactions with other individuals. Key interactions may take place between individuals of the same species but also between individuals belonging to different species. However, the most accepted definition of social behavior only considers interactions between conspecifics. Here, we argue that the distinc...
Brain morphology predicts social intelligence in wild cleaner fish
Triki, Zegni; Emery, Yasmin; Teles, Magda C; Oliveira, Rui Filipe; Bshary, RedouanIt is generally agreed that variation in social and/or environmental complexity yields variation in selective pressures on brain anatomy, where more complex brains should yield increased intelligence. While these insights are based on many evolutionary studies, it remains unclear how ecology impacts brain plasticity and subsequently cognitive performance within a species. Here, we show that in wild cleaner fish...
Serotonin blockade delays learning performance in a cooperative fish
Soares, Marta C.; Paula, José Ricardo; Bshary, RedouanAnimals use learning and memorizing to gather information that will help them to make ecologically relevant decisions. Neuro-modulatory adjustments enable them to make associations between stimuli and appropriate behavior. A key candidate for the modulation of cooperative behavior is serotonin. Previous research has shown that modulation of the serotonergic system spontaneously affects the behavior of the clean...
Dopamine disruption increases negotiation for cooperative interactions in a fish
Messias, João P. M.; Paula, José Ricardo; Grutter, Alexandra S.; Bshary, Redouan; Soares, Marta C.Humans and other animals use previous experiences to make behavioural decisions, balancing the probabilities of receiving rewards or punishments with alternative actions. The dopaminergic system plays a key role in this assessment: for instance, a decrease in dopamine transmission, which is signalled by the failure of an expected reward, may elicit a distinct behavioural response. Here, we tested the effect of ...
Arginine vasotocin modulates associative learning in a mutualistic cleaner fish
Cardoso, Sónia C.; Bshary, Redouan; Mazzei, Renata; Paitio, José R.; Oliveira, Rui Filipe; Soares, Marta C.Social environmental complexity induces structural and biochemical changes in animals’ brains, which are linked to the improvement of animals’ learning abilities. The nonapeptides from the arginine vasopressin (AVP) family (arginine vasotocin, AVT, in non-mammals) play a significant role in the regulation of social behavior, particularly in the formation of social memories and individual recognition. Moreover, ...
Arginine vasotocin reduces levels of cooperative behaviour in a cleaner fish
Cardoso, Sónia C.; Paitio, José R.; Oliveira, Rui Filipe; Bshary, Redouan; Soares, Marta C.Cooperation between unrelated individuals usually involves investments that often mean a decrease in immediate payoffs, but ensure future benefits. Here we investigated the potential role of the neuropeptides Arginine-vasotocin (AVT) and Isotocin (IT) as proximate agents affecting individuals' cooperative levels in the Indo-pacific bluestreak cleanerwrasse Labroides dimidiatus. Their ‘client’ reef fish partners...
Cortisol mediates cleaner wrasse switch from cooperation to cheating and tactic...
Soares, Marta C.; Cardoso, Sónia C.; Grutter, Alexandra S.; Oliveira, Rui Filipe; Bshary, RedouanRecent empirical research, mostly done on humans, recognizes that individuals' physiological state affects levels of cooperation. An individual's internal state may affect the payoffs of behavioural alternatives, which in turn could influence the decision to either cooperate or to defect. However, little is known about the physiology underlying condition dependent cooperation. Here, we demonstrate that shifts i...
Indo-Pacific parrotfish exert partner choice in interactions cleanerfish but Ca...
Soares, Marta C.; Cardoso, Sónia C.; Nicolet, Katia J.; Côté, Isabelle M.; Bshary, RedouanCooperation theory puts a strong emphasis on partner control mechanisms that have evolved to stabilize cooperation against the temptation of cheating. The marine cleaning mutualism between the Indo-Pacific bluestreack cleaner wrasse, Labroides dimidiatus, and its reef fish ‘clients’ has been a model system to study partner control mechanisms and counterstrategies. These cleaners cooperate by eating ectoparasite...
Arginine vasotocin regulation of interspecific cooperative behaviour in a clean...
Soares, Marta C.; Bshary, Redouan; Mendonça, Rute; Grutter, Alexandra S.; Oliveira, Rui FilipeIn an interspecific cooperative context, individuals must be prepared to tolerate close interactive proximity to other species but also need to be able to respond to relevant social stimuli in the most appropriate manner. The neuropeptides vasopressin and oxytocin and their non-mammalian homologues have been implicated in the evolution of sociality and in the regulation of social behaviour across vertebrates. H...
Face Your Fears: Cleaning Gobies Inspect Predators despite Being Stressed by Them
Soares, Marta C.; Bshary, Redouan; Cardoso, Sónia C.; Côté, Isabelle M.; Oliveira, Rui FilipeSocial stressors typically elicit two distinct behavioural responses in vertebrates: an active response (i.e., ‘‘fight or flight’’) or behavioural inhibition (i.e., freezing). Here, we report an interesting exception to this dichotomy in a Caribbean cleaner fish, which interacts with a wide variety of reef fish clients, including predatory species. Cleaning gobies appraise predatory clients as potential threat ...