Abstract
Emigration is a widespread phenomenon among fish species in seasonal habitats, but little is known about the factors which trigger individuals to emigrate to new habitats. In controlled experiments using Tilapia guineensis, a species widely occurring in the seasonal floodplains of West Africa, density of fish played a significant role in triggering fish migration, whereas a lack of food available caused an increase in exploratory behaviour but with no impact on successful emigration. The impact of fish density and subsequently interactions between individuals on emigration suggests that this may be an important causal factor of emigration in fish species exhibiting social interactions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 60-64 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Ecology of Freshwater Fish |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 8 Jul 2008 |
Bibliographical note
AcknowledgementsThis work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grant number: 1 VO1 AI058250-01) and by an award of the Freshwater Biological Association Hugh Cary Gilson Memorial Award to V. Louca in 2005. We are grateful to the Medical Research Council’s Laboratories in The Gambia for provision of facilities and support at Farafenni Field Station and the Gambian Fisheries Department for their cooperation.
Keywords
- Density
- Emigration
- Floodplains
- Food availability
- Seasonal movement
- Tilapia guineensis
