Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, Neuchâtel 2000, Switzerland
Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Emile-Argand 11, Neuchâtel 2000, Switzerland.
Proc Biol Sci. 2018 Jan 31;285(1871). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.2488.
Collaborative hunting, the coordination of animal behaviour in space and time to capture prey, is reported in several vertebrate species. However, previous studies are observational, hampering our ability to identify individual decision rules that result in collaboration. We experimentally investigated collaborative hunting in yellow saddle goatfish () by exposing pairs to a mock prey that fled to an artificial shelter with multiple entrances. The first fish to initiate the chase (the 'initiator') was always closest to the prey and pursued it directly in its path. Conversely, the behaviour of the second goatfish (the 'follower') depended on its spatial position relative to the initiator. When the follower was less than one body length behind the initiator, it also accelerated directly towards the prey in over 95% of cases. However, if the two goatfish were separated by a distance of one body length or more, the follower chose a less direct route to reach the prey in 87% of cases. In this scenario, the follower often reached the prey's more distant refuge first, which might increase its hunting success or block the prey's escape path under natural conditions. Our findings suggest that coordinated hunting behaviour can result from simple, self-serving decisions.
协作狩猎，即动物在空间和时间上协调行为以捕获猎物，在几种脊椎动物中都有报道。然而，之前的研究都是观察性的，这限制了我们识别导致协作的个体决策规则的能力。我们通过将成对的黄鞍羊鱼暴露在一个有多个入口的人工掩蔽所中的模拟猎物来实验性地研究协作狩猎。首先开始追逐的鱼（“发起者”）总是离猎物最近，并直接沿着它的路径追逐它。相反，第二只羊鱼（“追随者”）的行为取决于它相对于发起者的空间位置。当追随者在发起者身后不到一个身体长度时，它也会在超过 95%的情况下直接加速冲向猎物。然而，如果两只羊鱼之间的距离相隔一个身体长度或更长，那么追随者在 87%的情况下会选择一条不那么直接的路线来到达猎物。在这种情况下，追随者通常会先到达猎物更远的避难所，这可能会增加它的狩猎成功率或在自然条件下封锁猎物的逃生路径。我们的研究结果表明，协调的狩猎行为可能是由于简单的、利己的决策而产生的。
