Behavior is predicted to be a primary determinant of the success of the invasion process during the early phases of colonization.Comparing invaders with sympatric native species may provide a good approach to unravel ...Behavior is predicted to be a primary determinant of the success of the invasion process during the early phases of colonization.Comparing invaders with sympatric native species may provide a good approach to unravel behavioral traits involved in an invasion process.In this study,we carried out an experimental simulation of the introduction and the acclimatization phase into a new environment and assessed the expression of activity,alertness,and habituation in an invasive Mediterranean population of the South African nudibranch Godiva quadricolor comparing its profles with those of the sympatric Mediterranean native nudibranchs Cratena peregrina and Caloria quatrefagesi.Individuals of these 3 species were subjected to 3 behavioral tests:spontaneous activity,carried out in the introduction phase(immediately after sampling)and after a week of acclimatization;alert test,in which a potential threat was simulated by means of a tactile stimulus,and habituation test,in which the same alert test stimulus was repeated 5 times at 30-min intervals.The invasive G.quadricolor showed higher levels of exploration activity,thigmotaxis,alertness,and sensitization than the native species.These behavioral traits may represent pivotal drivers of the ongoing invasion process.展开更多
In a number of species,males and females have different ecological roles and therefore might be required to solve different problems.Studies on humans have suggested that the 2 sexes often show different efficiencies ...In a number of species,males and females have different ecological roles and therefore might be required to solve different problems.Studies on humans have suggested that the 2 sexes often show different efficiencies in problem solving tasks;similarly,evidence of sex differences has been found in 2 other mammalian species.Here,we assessed whether a teleost fish species,the guppy.Poecilia reticulata,displays sex differences in the ability to solve problems.In Experiment 1,guppies had to learn to dislodge a disc that occluded a feeder from which they had been previously accustomed to feed.In Experiment 2,guppies had to solve a version of the detour task that required them to learn to enter a transparent cylinder from the open sides to reach a food reward previously freely available.We found evidence of sex differences in both problem-solvingi tasks.In Experiment 1,females clearly outperformed males,and in Experiment 2,guppies showed a reversed but smaller sex difference.This study indicates that sex differences may play an important role in fish's problem-solving similar to what has previously been observed in some mammalian species.展开更多
文摘Behavior is predicted to be a primary determinant of the success of the invasion process during the early phases of colonization.Comparing invaders with sympatric native species may provide a good approach to unravel behavioral traits involved in an invasion process.In this study,we carried out an experimental simulation of the introduction and the acclimatization phase into a new environment and assessed the expression of activity,alertness,and habituation in an invasive Mediterranean population of the South African nudibranch Godiva quadricolor comparing its profles with those of the sympatric Mediterranean native nudibranchs Cratena peregrina and Caloria quatrefagesi.Individuals of these 3 species were subjected to 3 behavioral tests:spontaneous activity,carried out in the introduction phase(immediately after sampling)and after a week of acclimatization;alert test,in which a potential threat was simulated by means of a tactile stimulus,and habituation test,in which the same alert test stimulus was repeated 5 times at 30-min intervals.The invasive G.quadricolor showed higher levels of exploration activity,thigmotaxis,alertness,and sensitization than the native species.These behavioral traits may represent pivotal drivers of the ongoing invasion process.
基金Funding was provided by PRIN 2015 Grant(prot.:2015FFATB7)to A.B.from Ministero dell'Istruzione,Universita e Ricerca(M IUR,Italy)FIR2018 and FAR2018 grants to T.L.X.from University of Ferrara.
文摘In a number of species,males and females have different ecological roles and therefore might be required to solve different problems.Studies on humans have suggested that the 2 sexes often show different efficiencies in problem solving tasks;similarly,evidence of sex differences has been found in 2 other mammalian species.Here,we assessed whether a teleost fish species,the guppy.Poecilia reticulata,displays sex differences in the ability to solve problems.In Experiment 1,guppies had to learn to dislodge a disc that occluded a feeder from which they had been previously accustomed to feed.In Experiment 2,guppies had to solve a version of the detour task that required them to learn to enter a transparent cylinder from the open sides to reach a food reward previously freely available.We found evidence of sex differences in both problem-solvingi tasks.In Experiment 1,females clearly outperformed males,and in Experiment 2,guppies showed a reversed but smaller sex difference.This study indicates that sex differences may play an important role in fish's problem-solving similar to what has previously been observed in some mammalian species.
