LE3 .A278 2020

2020

Currie, Suzie

Acadia University

Bachelor of Science

Honours

Biology

Biology

Animals often make decisions to move or stay in their environment because of food availability. At the same time, they are interacting with other individuals of the same or different species; this is an animal’s social context. It is likely that there are trade-offs in feeding when social context changes. To address this possibility, I used the amphibious mangrove rivulus fish as a model to determine if social context influences feeding. My experiment examined feeding ability where an individual fish was tested: 1) in isolation and 2) exposed to a mirror. I predicted that when fish were exposed to their mirror reflection, they would be slower to respond to prey compared to isolated fish because of territoriality and aggression. My data support my prediction in that socially stimulated fish were significantly slower to catch prey than fish in isolation, suggesting that there are trade-offs in feeding and social behaviour. If the presence of other fish is affecting foraging ability, it can be detrimental in are as of low food ability, or limited space.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3450