The effects of increasing shoal size on handling time in goldfish, Carassius auratus L.
- 1 November 1984
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in Journal of Fish Biology
- Vol. 25 (5) , 561-566
- https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1984.tb04902.x
Abstract
It is a general assumption that handling time is a constant, given an unvarying size relationship between predator and prey, and an unchanging hunger level. These results indicate that handling times for a pellet of food shown by individual members of a shoal of goldfish decrease by some 20% as the number of fish in the shoal increases from two to 15. Two mechanisms for this reduction are suggested, both of which could act simultaneously. First, there is greater competition for available food resources in a larger shoal and, second, the reduced need for vigilance in a larger shoal will enable individuals to devote more effort to the handling of their food.This publication has 17 references indexed in Scilit:
- Foraging, timidity and shoal size in minnows and goldfishBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1983
- Fish in larger shoals find food fasterBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1982
- Sensory information and the organization of behaviour in a shoaling cyprinid fishAnimal Behaviour, 1979
- Optimal Diets under the Energy Maximization Premise: The Effects of Recognition Time and LearningThe American Naturalist, 1979
- Optimal Foraging: A Selective Review of Theory and TestsThe Quarterly Review of Biology, 1977
- Optimal prey selection in the great tit (Parus major)Animal Behaviour, 1977
- Theory of Feeding StrategiesAnnual Review of Ecology and Systematics, 1971
- Models of Optimal Size for Solitary PredatorsThe American Naturalist, 1969
- The Role of Time and Energy in Food PreferenceThe American Naturalist, 1966
- On Optimal Use of a Patchy EnvironmentThe American Naturalist, 1966