Showing papers by "UTC Aerospace Systems published in 1998"
TL;DR: The small contribution made by agonistic behaviour to the total number of behaviours recorded for each group suggests exploitation competition, as opposed to interference competition, was the dominant competitive mechanism employed by juvenile greenback flounder.
Abstract: This study examined the relationships between food ration, intra- and interindividual variation in food consumption, observed behaviours and the growth of individual juvenile greenback flounder (Rhombosolea tapirina: Teleostei) held singly and in groups. Agonistic, feeding and neutral behavioural units were identified and described using video records and focal sampling. Agonistic behaviour, including nipping and pushing, were infrequent and accounted for 0.05) suggesting food ration had little influence upon the total number of agonistic behaviours performed. Single flounder showed less intra- and less interindividual variation in day-to-day food consumption than in groups of six. Variation in food consumption increased with increasing food ration in single and in groups of flounder. Significant positive correlations between food consumption, intraindividual variation in food consumption and specific growth rate provided indirect evidence for the presence of feeding hierarchies. The small contribution made by agonistic behaviour to the total number of behaviours recorded for each group suggests exploitation competition, as opposed to interference competition, was the dominant competitive mechanism employed by juvenile greenback flounder.
15 citations