The lateral bias in fish behavior and perception affecting their shoaling

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K18574
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Animal physiology/Animal behavior
• Research Institution: Utsunomiya University (2018); National Institute for Basic Biology (2015-2017)
• Principal Investigator: Yasugi Masaki 宇都宮大学, 工学部, 研究員 (50722790)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: 魚類 / 行動 / 左右非対称性 / 生態学

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We investigated the lateral biases in the behaviors and perception of medaka. In the path selection experiment using a double-sided road, 25% of the whole individuals showed strong selectivity biased either to leftward or rightward. On the other hand, in many individuals, no significant difference was seen in the time to induce their escape behavior, which suggests the symmetry of the neural mechanism for this behavior. The result of stomach contents analysis suggested that predator-prey interaction between Japanese amberjack and their prey can be influenced by the lateral biases in their behavior and perception. In addition, in order to facilitate experiments dealing with multiple animals simultaneously, we constructed an experimental system using 3DCG medaka.

Free Research Field

魚類の個体間相互作用を主とした動物行動学、形態計測と胃内容分析による動物生態学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

「利き」と呼ばれる行動や認知の左右非対称性は、我々を含めた脊椎動物で一般的に見られる現象だと考えられつつある。生理学的および遺伝学的な知見の多いメダカでもこれが確認できたことから、この現象の遺伝的な基盤の解明が期待される。また、本研究の結果は、集団の組織化や群れの統一的な移動を可能にする仕組みを理解するにあたり「個体の特性としての左右差」という新たな視点をもたらす。