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Biomedical subjects

P M Bronstein

Publications and source records attributed to P M Bronstein.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1986

Socially mediated learning in male Betta splendens.

Seven experiments showed that in the absence of social stimulation male Siamese fighting fish would approach any of several visual and spatial cues that had previously been paired with the animals' mirror images. These findings demonstrate that learned modifications of swimming mediated by social stimuli are possible in Bettas. The present results also suggest that territorial defense in some teleosts may, in part, be mediated by the association of social cues with visual and spatial stimuli.

Aggression↗
PubMed1985

Predictors of dominance in male Betta splendens.

The formation of dominance/subordinancy relations in pairs of male Siamese fighting fish was examined in six experiments. Dominant animals typically were those fish that built the largest nests and that attacked an image of a live, displaying male most intensely prior to combat. However, pretest performance on an operant task and reaction to an animal's own mirror image were not useful predictors of subsequent dominance. These findings are consistent with the suggestion that domesticated Bettas have a territorial social strategy that includes both nest-building and fighting behaviors.

Aggression↗
PubMed1985

Prior-residence effect in Betta splendens.

Male Siamese fighting fish were presented with the visual image of an aggressive male conspecific for a 150-min test, with attack behaviors monitored continually. A 10-day period of residency in either the test tank or its exact replica resulted in more persistent attack than 10 min of residency. Testing in water other than that in which subjects had resided for 10 days did not produce a reduction in attack. Finally, the extent of attack behavior occurring early in testing was highly and positively correlated with subsequent attack duration; that is, at the start of an encounter, and before severe physical damage has been caused, Bettas may communicate to opponents their "intention" to engage in persistent, injurious aggression.

Aggression↗
PubMed1984

Agonistic and reproductive interactions in Betta splendens.

Reproductive and agonistic behaviors in Siamese fighting fish were investigated in eight experiments, and some consequences and determinants of these sequences were isolated. First, fights and the formation of dominance-subordinancy relations were studied. Second, it was determined that large body size as well as males' prior residency in a tank produced an agonistic advantage; the magnitude of this advantage was positively related to the duration of residency. Third, the prior-residency effect in Bettas was determined by males' familiarity with visual and/or tactile cues in their home tanks. Fourth, dominant males had greater access to living space and were more likely to display at a mirror, build nests, and approach females than were subordinates. Finally, it was discovered that chemical cues associated with presumedly inert plastic tank dividers influence Bettas' social behavior.

Aggression↗
PubMed1981

Commitments to aggression and nest sites in male Betta splendens.

Male Siamese fighting fish construct nests that are relatively isolated from conspecific males. Following nest construction, the presence of a male opponent elicits (a) nest fixation, (b) further nest building, and (c) Betta's agonistic sequence, i.e., attacks alternating with flight movements, along with gill displays occurring near the opponent. The form of a male-male encounter depends upon the distance between a resident's nest and the opponent as well as upon the individual differences in combatants' tolerance for the presence of a conspecific nearby. Also, the intensity of aggression early in an encounter is positively correlated with the intensity of subsequent fighting. Male Bettas appear to compete for space through the use of aggressive behavior and to coordinate their fighting activities by means of visual signals. An incentive model of visual communication is proposed in which visual cues emanating from a displaying male opponent elicit attack with an intensity that is directly proportional to the persistence of the opponent and inversely proportional to the distance between fish.

Aggression↗
PubMed1976

Chemical modulation of agonistic display in Betta splendens.

Mirror-induced aggressive display of male Siamese fighting fish was reduced by water-borne traces of (a) a pair of male combatants, (b) a nondisplaying fish of either sex, and (c) bits of torn cadual fin. These findings may indicate a mechanism whereby males tolerate the presence of conspecifics to permit nonagressive social interactions.

Aggression↗
PubMed1976

Ontogeny of defensive reactions in Norway rats.

Young rats of several ages were presented with stimuli (a caged domestic cat, a footshock, and a suddenly moving object) known to be aversive to adults and disruptive of behavior in mature animals. Twenty-day-old rats were relatively unaffected by these events, while rats aged 30 days and older tended to reduce their locomotion and freeze upon the presentation of these cues. These data are consistent with Bolles' hypothesis that shock-elicited responses are innate defensive reactions. We also suggest that the inefficient passive avoidance learning in juvenile rats may result from their deficit in shock-induced freezing.

Age Factors↗