Impact of the addition of a food resource on the aggression levels of Sunburst Platies between different sex combinations

Impact of the addition of a food resource on the aggression levels of Sunburst Platies between different sex combinations

Presenter(s)

Elizabeth Vear, Palmer Lambert, Alyssa Hack, Claire Van Meter

Comments

Presentation: 10:45 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Kennedy Union Ballroom

Description

Interspecies aggression is used by many organisms as a way to win mates, gain food resources, protect offspring, and develop status within social groups. In this study, we assessed the level of conspecific aggressive behavior observed before and after feeding in male and female Sunburst Wag Platies (Xiphophorous maculatus). We hypothesized that when feeding bloodworms, a high value food, to two fish in the same tank, conspecifics will show more aggressive behavior and be more territorial after the addition of the food compared to prior to the feeding event in an effort to protect their food source. We used different sex pairings, (two males, two females, and a male and female together) to get a better understanding of how sex combinations impact aggression levels in response to food territoriality, and hypothesized that males will show more aggressive behavior than females. We found that aggressive behaviors do increase after the addition of a food source, and that one individual was more dominant compared to the other. This resulted in the dominant individual usually consuming more food than the subordinate, however; they were both able to consume the majority of the food without any aggression when the food density was high.

Publication Date

4-19-2023

Project Designation

Course Project 202310 BIO 330L M1

Primary Advisor

Jennifer Hellmann

Primary Advisor's Department

Biology

Keywords

Stander Symposium, College of Arts and Sciences

Impact of the addition of a food resource on the aggression levels of Sunburst Platies between different sex combinations

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