Individual personality traits influence group exploration in a feral guppy population

Lay summary: Many animal groups, such as flocks or schools seem behave in an entirely coordinated way. But who is in charge of deciding what to do and when? Scientists once thought that group behavior came about by a democratic consensus among members, but recently it has become evident that some in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology 2014-01, Vol.25 (1), p.95-101
Main Authors: Brown, C., Irving, E.
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Lay summary: Many animal groups, such as flocks or schools seem behave in an entirely coordinated way. But who is in charge of deciding what to do and when? Scientists once thought that group behavior came about by a democratic consensus among members, but recently it has become evident that some individuals have greater control than others. Here we show that individual guppies that exhibit certain personality traits exhibit undue influence over the behavior of the school. Lay summary: Many animal groups, such as flocks or schools seem behave in an entirely coordinated way. But who is in charge of deciding what to do and when? Scientists once thought that group behavior came about by a democratic consensus among members, but recently it has become evident that some individuals have greater control than others. Here we show that individual guppies that exhibit certain personality traits exhibit undue influence over the behavior of the school.
ISSN:1045-2249
1465-7279
DOI:10.1093/beheco/art090