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Study reveals fish form friendships
stickleback

Fish guide their friends to hidden patches of food

A study led by the University of St Andrews has revealed that stickleback fish recognise familiar fish that they've previously been housed with and spend more time interacting with these fish than with fish that are unfamiliar.

The study also revealed that fish show their friends the best places to eat; guiding them to hidden patches of food.

Researchers from the University of St Andrews, Anglia Ruskin University, and McMaster University in Canada caught 80 three-spined sticklebacks, a common native species found in rivers across the UK, and separated them into two groups for six weeks.

They were then formed into smaller groups of ten fish, including five fish from each of the two holding tanks. Over the following hours they were tagged and filmed as they searched for food.

Using techniques called Social Network Analysis and Network-Based Diffusion Analysis, the scientists observed that the fish interacted more often with familiar than with unfamiliar fish, and that fish were more likely to find hidden food if a familiar fish had recently found it.

The mechanism by which familiarity affects behaviour in fish is not yet clear, although scientists believe it may reflect a bias towards observing and responding to the behaviour of familiar fish.

"Our study has shown that we can use statistical tools to uncover the fine structure of animal groups, to understand how they move and to predict how information" explains Dr Mike Webster of the University of St Andrew's School of Biology.

"This has applications beyond the current project. It could potentially allow us to understand how new behaviours spread through animal populations, allowing them to respond and adapt to changes in the environment. It could also allow us to track or predict the spread of diseases, and to change the ways that we manage populations of livestock or wild animals in order to minimise the damage that these diseases cause"

The study "Familiarity affects social network structure and discovery of prey patch locations in foraging stickleback shoals" is published in the Royal Society journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

The paper is available online via Open Access.  

Image courtesy of Kevin Laland

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Free CPD announced for BVNA members

News Story 1
 Zoetis is to present a CPD event for free to members of the British Veterinary Nursing Association (BVNA).

Led by veterinary consultant Ruth Moxon, the one-hour online session is designed to help veterinary nurses discuss parasiticide options with clients. It will advise on structuring recommendations, factors for product choice and moving away from 'selling'.

'How do you recommend parasite treatments to your clients?' will be presented on Tuesday, 20 May at 7.30pm. It is free for BVNA members, with £15.00 tickets for non-members.

Veterinary nurses can email cpd@bvna.co.uk to book their place. 

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News Shorts
DAERA to reduce BVD 'grace period'

DAERA has reminded herd keepers of an upcoming reduction to the 'grace period' to avoid BVD herd restrictions.

From 1 May 2025, herd keepers will have seven days to cull any BVD positive or inconclusive animals to avoid restrictions being applied to their herd.

It follows legislation introduced on 1 February, as DAERA introduces herd movement restrictions through a phased approach. Herd keepers originally had 28 days to cull BVD positive or inconclusive animals.

DAERA says that, providing herd keepers use the seven-day grace period, no herds should be restricted within the first year of these measures.

Additional measures, which will target herds with animals over 30 days old that haven't been tested for BVD, will be introduced from 1 June 2025.

More information is available on the DAERA website.