Familiarity preferences in zebrafish (Danio rerio) depend on shoal proximity.

ABSTRACT: Individuals of many species prefer to associate with familiar conspecifics from their established social group over unfamiliar conspecifics. Such familiarity preferences are thought to be adaptive and have been documented widely in many social fishes. Zebrafish (Danio rerio) are extensively studied, highly social fish that form stable shoals in the wild, however there is only mixed evidence for familiarity preferences in this species. Here, we test how a small variation in experimental design can influence preferences for familiar conspecifics in D. rerio by varying the distance between two stimulus shoals of fish in a shoaling choice paradigm. Individual subjects tested for their preference to shoal with familiar or unfamiliar groups of conspecifics showed a preference for familiar fish w

SUBMITTER: Swaney WT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12536045 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature