We might remember that little Pisces the Fishes living in shoal all act as one without much fluctuation between each mortal . But now research has shown that midget fish actually havetheir own personalities and character trait .
Published in the journalFunctional Ecology , a study has give away that certain Pisces , screw as Trinidadian Lebistes reticulatus , have complex differences between them . This variation could n’t be explained by the simple spectrum of behavioural type normally used when discussing the animals . The researchers now hope to search whether these characteristics have a genetic underpinning .
The squad of scientists examine how the guppies responded to a number of stressful situations . First , they simply placed the fish in an nameless environment to see how they would reply . Some of the Pisces instantly swim for covering and shroud , some freeze hop-skip not to be seen , and others swam up and down the side of the tank trying to escape .
The research worker then simulated one of two different predator approach . Either a terrifying bogus Hero would descend from the sky and strike the pee , or a control panel would be reverse to unveil a very much live predatory cichlid fish , affectionatelyknown as Big Al , on the other side of the methamphetamine hydrochloride . Because the Lebistes reticulatus were marked , the squad was able to see how their responses changed over the period of the experiment .
“ The difference between them were consistent over time and in different situations,”explainedDr Tom Houslay , from the University of Exeter , UK , who co - author the research . “ So , while the behavior of all the Lebistes reticulatus changed depending on the situation – for example , all becoming more cautious in more nerve-racking situation – the comparative differences between mortal remained intact . ”
This , the researchers argue , indicates that there are certain characteristics unique to single fish , and not wholly determined by the environs in which they find themselves . These divergence in “ personality ” have antecedently been shown in other creature , from chickadee birds to prawns , but never in guppy .
What the experiments show is that the little fishies , all go down from the same population in Trinidad , and bred and evoke in the same environment , all went on to develop dissimilar personality trait .
The researchers now want to try out this further by looking at whether or not these seemingly innate differences are heritable . They have commence spawn the fish and will investigate whether female parent pass on their personality to their young , in the promise of finding some form of genetic basis for the variation in behaviors observe .
