| Abstract: | ![]()
Presented male Siamese fighting fish with the visual image of an aggressive male conspecific for a 150-min test, with attack behaviors monitored continually, to examine the hypothesis that a period of residency results in relatively persistent combat. 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 Ss 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. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
