Behavioural Biology Research Group, Institute for Behaviour and Neuroscience, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
Physiol Behav. 2012 Jan 18;105(2):489-92. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2011.08.029. Epub 2011 Sep 14.
Previous winning experience increases the probability of winning a subsequent contest. However, it is not clear whether winning probability is affected only by the outcome of the contest (winning or losing) or whether fighting experience itself is also sufficient to induce this effect. We investigated this question in the East African cichlid fish Pundamilia spec. To create an unresolved conflict we allowed males to fight their own mirror image prior to a real fight against a size-matched non-mirror-stimulated control male. When males fight their own mirror image, the image's response corresponds to the action of the focal animal, creating symmetrical fighting conditions without the experience of losing or winning. We found that mirror-stimulated males were more likely to win an ensuing contest than control males. Interestingly, in this species mirror stimulation also induced an increase in circulating androgens, which is consistent with the hypothesis that stimulation of these sex steroids during aggressive encounters may prepare the animal for subsequent encounters. Our results suggest that fighting experience alone coupled with an androgen response, increases the likelihood of winning, even in the absence of a winning experience.
先前的胜利经验会增加后续比赛获胜的概率。然而，目前尚不清楚获胜概率是否仅受比赛结果（获胜或失败）影响，还是战斗经验本身也足以产生这种效果。我们在东非慈鲷鱼 Pundamilia spec 中研究了这个问题。为了制造一个悬而未决的冲突，我们让雄性在与大小匹配的非镜像刺激对照雄性进行真正的战斗之前，先与自己的镜像战斗。当雄性与自己的镜像战斗时，镜像的反应与焦点动物的动作相对应，在没有失败或胜利经验的情况下创造出对称的战斗条件。我们发现，镜像刺激的雄性比对照雄性更有可能赢得随后的比赛。有趣的是，在这种物种中，镜像刺激也会引起循环雄激素的增加，这与以下假设一致，即在攻击性相遇期间刺激这些性激素可能会使动物为随后的相遇做好准备。我们的结果表明，仅战斗经验加上雄激素反应，即使在没有胜利经验的情况下，也会增加获胜的可能性。
