PSL Research University: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, 66860 Perpignan, France
PSL Research University: EPHE-UPVD-CNRS, USR 3278 CRIOBE, 66860 Perpignan, France.
Proc Biol Sci. 2018 Mar 28;285(1875). doi: 10.1098/rspb.2018.0006.
To adapt to their environment, organisms can either directly interact with their surroundings or use social information (i.e. information provided by neighbouring individuals). Social information relates to the external features of surrounding peers, and little is known about its use by solitary species. Here, we investigated the use of social cues in a solitary marine predator by creating artificial aggregations of free-ranging sicklefin lemon sharks (). Using a novel monitoring protocol, we analysed both dominance interactions and tolerance associations between sharks competing for food in relation with the number, the morphology and the behaviour of rivals. Sharks produced more agonistic displays and spent more time around the bait as competitors were more abundant. Moreover, the morphological attributes of competitors had very limited influence on the structure of shark social interactions. Instead, sharks appeared to establish tolerance relationships with competitors according to their individual behaviour. Furthermore, the more two sharks were observed together at a given study site, the fewer agonistic interactions they exchanged. We discuss these findings as evidence of the use of social cues in a non-gregarious predatory species and suggest directions for future research.
为了适应环境，生物可以直接与周围环境相互作用，也可以利用社会信息（即来自邻近个体的信息）。社会信息与周围同伴的外部特征有关，而对于独居物种如何利用社会信息则知之甚少。在这里，我们通过创建自由游动的镰状鳍柠檬鲨（）的人工聚集来研究独居海洋捕食者对社会线索的利用。利用一种新颖的监测方案，我们分析了在争夺食物的鲨鱼之间的支配相互作用和容忍关系，与竞争对手的数量、形态和行为有关。随着竞争者的增多，鲨鱼表现出更多的攻击行为，在诱饵周围停留的时间也更多。此外，竞争对手的形态特征对鲨鱼社会互动的结构几乎没有影响。相反，鲨鱼似乎根据竞争对手的个体行为与他们建立容忍关系。此外，在给定的研究地点，观察到的两条鲨鱼在一起的次数越多，它们相互交换的攻击行为就越少。我们将这些发现视为在非群居捕食物种中使用社会线索的证据，并为未来的研究提供了方向。
