Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish
Many territorial animals reduce aggression toward their neighbors once territorial boundaries are established. This relationship is called the dear enemy phenomenon, hypothetically based on a conditional strategy like tit for tat (TFT). However, studies on territorial animals such as male songbirds...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-05-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00044/full |
| _version_ | 1817999445554364416 |
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| author | Shumpei Sogawa Masanori Kohda |
| author_facet | Shumpei Sogawa Masanori Kohda |
| author_sort | Shumpei Sogawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Many territorial animals reduce aggression toward their neighbors once territorial boundaries are established. This relationship is called the dear enemy phenomenon, hypothetically based on a conditional strategy like tit for tat (TFT). However, studies on territorial animals such as male songbirds do not fully support this hypothesis. We tested the TFT hypothesis in females of the territorial cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher, which exhibits dear enemy relationships, under laboratory conditions. Focal fish attacked invading neighbors as frequently as invading strangers, but they immediately stopped attacking the dear neighbor after the neighbor returned to its own territory, whereas they kept attacking strangers even after they stopped invading. These responses of territory owners are consistent with the predictions of TFT theory. Interestingly, fish were likely to remain vigilant toward the neighbor after its invasion and subsequent return to its own territory. This vigilance, while not a required condition for TFT, is consistent with TFT if a betrayer tends to repeat its intrusion. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:09:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1a5d8c5f336845dab096a5437349e224 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-14T03:09:01Z |
| publishDate | 2018-05-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-1a5d8c5f336845dab096a5437349e2242022-12-22T02:15:39ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2018-05-01610.3389/fevo.2018.00044325317Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid FishShumpei SogawaMasanori KohdaMany territorial animals reduce aggression toward their neighbors once territorial boundaries are established. This relationship is called the dear enemy phenomenon, hypothetically based on a conditional strategy like tit for tat (TFT). However, studies on territorial animals such as male songbirds do not fully support this hypothesis. We tested the TFT hypothesis in females of the territorial cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher, which exhibits dear enemy relationships, under laboratory conditions. Focal fish attacked invading neighbors as frequently as invading strangers, but they immediately stopped attacking the dear neighbor after the neighbor returned to its own territory, whereas they kept attacking strangers even after they stopped invading. These responses of territory owners are consistent with the predictions of TFT theory. Interestingly, fish were likely to remain vigilant toward the neighbor after its invasion and subsequent return to its own territory. This vigilance, while not a required condition for TFT, is consistent with TFT if a betrayer tends to repeat its intrusion.http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00044/fulltit for tatdear enemyNeolamprologus pulcherlaboratory experimentreciprocal altruismcichlids |
| spellingShingle | Shumpei Sogawa Masanori Kohda Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution tit for tat dear enemy Neolamprologus pulcher laboratory experiment reciprocal altruism cichlids |
| title | Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish |
| title_full | Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish |
| title_fullStr | Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish |
| title_full_unstemmed | Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish |
| title_short | Tit for Tat in the Dear Enemy Relationship Between Territorial Females of a Cichlid Fish |
| title_sort | tit for tat in the dear enemy relationship between territorial females of a cichlid fish |
| topic | tit for tat dear enemy Neolamprologus pulcher laboratory experiment reciprocal altruism cichlids |
| url | http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fevo.2018.00044/full |
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