This thesis examines the use of two social behaviors in Poecilia reticulata. In my first study, I observed the effect of female sexual responsiveness on the use of mate-choice copying. When shown two males, each paired with a model female, females found a previously unattractive male more attractive after viewing him with a sexually responsive female. This finding presents a new important social factor to sexual selection. In my second study, I observed aggression around a limited food source. I first manipulated the distribution of female size within a group. In a second experiment, I altered the spatial distribution of the food. Female size distribution was found to have a limited effect in aggression rates. Contrary to previous studies, my results showed no effect of spatial distribution of food on aggression. Further research needs to be performed to accurately determine the factors influencing the use of aggressive behavior in guppies.

"Living in groups has many advantages for individuals, such as access to social information or protection against predators. The function and evolution of sociality and social information use have received abundant attention in the past years. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these processes have not been as widely examined across taxa, which is crucial to understand their evolution in vertebrates. In this thesis, I explored the neuroendocrinal mechanisms of grouping and the neural mechanisms of social information use in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a species with extremely well-studied evolutionary ecology. In Chapter 2, I compared immediate early-gene (IEG) expression across brain areas of the social decision-making network when guppies were exposed to a large or small group of conspecifics, or isolated. I found higher IEG expression in the preoptic area when guppies were exposed to the large group, compared to control (isolated guppies). The preoptic area regulates social behaviour in vertebrates and is also the only region in the teleost brain producing the nonapeptides isotocin and vasotocin. Since nonapeptide homologues modulate grouping behaviour in birds and are neuromodulators of mammalian social behaviour, I hypothesized vasotocin and isotocin would have effects on grouping in fish. Thus, in Chapter 3, I developed a technique to centrally administer nonapeptides in the brain of guppies and investigated their effects on grouping. I found opposing effects of the two nonapeptides, with isotocin increasing and vasotocin reducing grouping, at 90 minutes after administration, consistent with these neuromodulators playing a role in a fundamental social behaviour in fish. An advantage of grouping behaviour is that it may facilitate the transmission of information between conspecifics. Thus, in Chapter 4, I explored the neural mechanisms of social information use by studying the brain areas activated when 'demonstrator' guppies were exposed directly to alarm substance (i.e., a reliable social cue released from damaged skin) and when they observed a conspecific reacting to alarm substance. I found that alarm substance provoked typical antipredator behaviour such as freezing and area avoidance, while visual exposure to alarmed conspecifics induced a preference to use the same area as the alarmed conspecifics. I examined patterns of IEG expression across six areas of the brain, finding that the demonstrators had higher overall expression of egr-1 compared to observers and control fish, and different patterns of correlated expression in demonstrators and observers, suggesting that coordinated activation across regions is involved in processing and modulating responses to social alarm cues in guppies. In summary, my thesis 1) establishes a basis for the study of the neural mechanisms of grouping and social information use in teleosts by highlighting the brain areas activated during these processes, 2) provides evidence of the conserved effects of nonapeptides on grouping in a vertebrate lineage different than birds, and 3) provides novel approaches for studies of behavioural neuroscience in small prey fish amenable to experimental studies of evolution and development." --

This is a special 50th year anniversary volume of Advances in the Study of Behavior with contributions from past and present editors and authors of the serial. Initiated 50 years ago, Advances in the Study of Behavior strives to serve the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior. That number is still expanding. This volume makes another important "contribution to the development of the field" by presenting theoretical ideas and research to those studying animal behavior and to their colleagues in neighboring fields. 50th year anniversary edition, the serial strives to serve the increasing number of scientists engaged in the study of animal behavior Makes another important contribution to the development of the field Presents theoretical ideas and research to those studying animal behavior and to their colleagues in neighboring fields

Advances in underwater exploration, in situ observation of fish populations, as well as the development of cutting-edge technologies, provide modern insights into behaviors and strategies of fish, whose cognitive abilities have long been underestimated and undervalued. Fish Behavior 2 presents current knowledge about fish biology, ecology and ethology. In light of the most recent scientific work, this book examines topics such as their reproductive behavior and the expression of their personalities. It also addresses issues associated with neurophysiological conditioning of behaviors, in relation to the structural and functional complexity of their brains. This book is intended for researchers, teachers, masters and doctoral students in biology and biogeography, engineers and technicians responsible for the development and protection of natural environments and public aquariums, in addition to aquaculturists, fishermen, environmentalists and ecologists.

The chapters in this volume are the edited versions of invited addresses to the XXVI International Congress of Psychology held in Montréal in August 1996. As one major goal of the Congress was to promote communication among specializations in scientific psychology, the speakers were asked to survey their research area and present their own work in a way that would be accessible to their colleagues in other areas. Another purpose of the meeting was to bring researchers together from different parts of the world, reflecting their different approaches to the scientific study of mind, brain, and behavior. Consequently, the eminent researchers who have written the twenty-six chapters included in the present volume were drawn from universities and research institutes in North America, Europe, Japan, Russia, Israel, and New Zealand. The chapters cover a range of topics in human and animal experimental psychology. The first section deals with psychobiological processes - the interplay of body and mind in determining intelligence, stress, and pain. The next five chapters address current issues in neuropsychology and neuroscience, including the neural correlates of attention and vision. A third section looks at learning processes in humans and animals, and a fourth deals with a range of topics in perception and cognition. The final five chapters take a developmental perspective, presenting theoretical and empirical analyses of the acquisition of perceptual and cognitive abilities. Overall, the collection illustrates the growing trend to break down traditional barriers between areas of experimental psychology; there are many instances of profitable interactions between researchers studying aspects of behavior and those studying the biological bases of these behaviors. The twenty-six chapters give an excellent overview of current research in scientific psychology.