Collective decision-making under predator threat is faster in guppy shoals selected for larger telencephalon size.

ABSTRACT: Avoiding predation is essential for most animals. For group-living species, effective predator avoidance relies on making fast and accurate collective decisions. However, the mechanisms underlying the ability to make adaptive collective decisions and to coordinate movements under predation threat remains unclear. Here, we used guppies artificially selected for divergence in the size of the telencephalon, the main brain region for advanced decision-making in vertebrates, to test the influence of telencephalon size on collective decision-making under predation threat. We measured the latency and accuracy of collective decision-making to avoid a model predator in guppy shoals. In addition, we used high-resolution tracking analysis to assess shoaling dynamics under predator threat between the

SUBMITTER: Boussard A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12540551 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature