Meeting Abstract

P3-101   -   The establishment of social structure in shoals of eastern mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki Smith, S/L*; Young, T/S; Beck, H/M; Harkins, B; Ligocki, I/Y; Millersville University of Pennsylvania; Millersville University of Pennsylvania; Millersville University of Pennsylvania; Millersville University of Pennsylvania; Millersville University of Pennsylvania isaac.ligocki@millersville.edu http://www.isaacligocki.com

Mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki form shoals in which social connections and dominance relationships form. While these relationships are widespread in social animals, less is known about how these relationships are established. Social structure may be established “top down”, in which socially dominant individuals’ position is established prior to that of less dominant individuals; alternatively, “bottom up” patterns might emerge in which less-dominant individuals’ positions are established first. Additionally, size (and relative size) may influence the emergent social structure and its formation. To test these hypotheses, we established sixteen groups composed of five female G. holbrooki and performed repeated observations over the course of three weeks. During these observations we documented the spatial organization of the shoal, as well as social behaviors such as aggression, avoidance, and following. We evaluated how the behavior and organization of fish in shoals changed over the course of the three week observation period.