Shy Fish Inspire Boldness In Mate
British researchers studying the behavior of tiny stickleback fish have found that they are much more willing to take risks in search of food in pairs than alone.
In other words, how do you make a fish come out of hiding? Pair it up with a shy mate.
While this is not surprising, given that fish tend to find protection in numbers, the study also found that the fish would slip into the role of leader or follower and that the shier the follower, the bolder the leader would become.
Bold fish paired with the shiest mates became significantly more prone to leave cover and stay there even after the shy fish returned to the reeds, the study published in the peer review journal Current Biology found.
“Our study shows that the process by which leaders and followers emerge is a dynamic one,” said Andrea Manica of the University of Cambridge. “Individuals aren’t simply born leaders or followers, but their role in a pair – and, we could speculate, in a larger group – is the result of social feedback where everyone plays a role.” [Via]
In short, between a follower and a leader, there exists a symbiotic relationship … hmm !!!
