Behavioural variations and their ecological correlates among wild zebrafish Danio rerio

Roy, Tamal (2017) Behavioural variations and their ecological correlates among wild zebrafish Danio rerio. PhD thesis, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata.

PDF (PhD thesis of Tamal Roy (11RS006)) 11RS006.pdf - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only Download (9MB)

Abstract

This dissertation deals with investigating behavioural variations across natural populations of zebrafish. Zebrafish is a small shoaling cyprinid native to the Indian subcontinent inhabiting a diverse range of habitats and this feature makes it suitable for comparative studies in behaviour. This thesis broadly addresses inter and intra-population variations in behaviour, behavioural stability, consistency and correlations and occurrences of behavioural strategies among wild zebrafish. Seven populations of zebrafish were collected across India and these populations were employed for various behavioural assays that were conducted in the laboratory and in the field. The physicochemical parameters and ecological variables of the habitats were estimated in order to be able to understand behaviour in the light of native environment. Separate sets of experiments were conducted to investigate a range of questions (broadly outlined in the previous section). Some of the important results of the present work are as follows: High-predation stream fish consistently took greater risks to feed than low- predation, low-flow/stagnant habitat fish. Males were bolder than females. Smaller individuals took greater risks to feed than larger individuals in two low- predation populations; Males that won the competition for food (winners) demonstrated higher levels of aggression than the losers. However, these winner males did not court with a female significantly more than the losers; High-predation stream fish were bolder and more aggressive than low-predation stagnant water fish; In situ studies showed that fish took greater risks to inspect predator and a novel- object and while feeding when in group than when in solitude etc.

Actions (login required)

View Item