Tiny fish surprise scientists in 'volunteer's dilemma'

Date:
July 12, 2023
Source:
University of Exeter
Summary:
Tiny fish called Trinidadian guppies have surprised scientists
when faced with the so-called 'volunteer's dilemma'.


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FULL STORY ==========================================================================
Tiny fish called Trinidadian guppies have surprised scientists when faced
with the so-called "volunteer's dilemma." The idea of the dilemma is that individuals are less likely to cooperate if they are in a large group.

Various studies have demonstrated this in humans -- but guppies appear
to buck the trend.

In the new study, by the University of Exeter, guppies in larger groups
were more likely to risk approaching a predator to gather information
for the shoal.

"When faced with a possible predator, guppies have to balance risks," said Rebecca Padget, from Exeter's Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour.

"At least one guppy needs to approach, to find out if there is a threat.

"An individual that does this could get eaten. However, if none of the
guppies take this risk, the whole group is in danger.

"In this 'volunteer's dilemma', mathematical models suggest that
individuals in larger groups should be less willing to cooperate.

"In a larger group, there's more chance another guppy will take the risk."
To test this, the researchers placed a clay model of a pike cichlid
(a natural predator of guppies) in a tank containing small (5), medium
(10) and large (20) groups of guppies.

Surprisingly, guppies in the large groups were most likely to approach
and inspect the predator.

Individuals in large groups inspected an average of 14 times in the seven- minute trials.

Guppies in medium groups were least likely to approach -- going an
average of seven times each.

Members of these medium groups also spent the most time in "refuges"
(behind plants or near the gravel at the edge of the tank).

"We can't be sure why guppies in large groups cooperated more," Padget
said.

"We know guppies have different personalities, so it could be that
larger groups are more likely to contain more cooperative individuals
-- and others then follow their lead." After inspecting a predator,
guppies return to the group. Previous research has shown that their
behaviour then signals danger to the others.

In the study, an "inspection" was recorded when a guppy went within 30cm
of the predator. This was usually done either by individuals or small sub-groups of the main shoal.

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Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Exeter. Original
written by Alex Morrison.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Rebecca F. B. Padget, Tim W. Fawcett, Safi K. Darden. Guppies
in large
groups cooperate more frequently in an experimental test of the
group size paradox. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological
Sciences, 2023; 290 (2002) DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0790 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230712011610.htm

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