You may not think of these graceful , slick marauder as the most social creatures , but a newstudyhas find that sharks have dissimilar personalities that square up how they interact with other phallus of the same species . Some shark are happy to advert out in groups and have strong societal connections , whereas other , “ lone hand ” sharks prefer to keep to themselves . According to the investigator , this is the first study to demonstrate that individual sharks have social personalities . The work has been published inBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology .
Individual personality are astonishingly widespread in the animal kingdom . difference in personality have been documented in at least60 different speciesto day of the month , from high priest to dogs , birds to octopuses . Much inquiry , however , has focused onindividual traitssuch as curiosity , shyness and aggression , neglecting to inquire sociality .
To address this gap in our cognition , a squad of researchers from theUniversity of Exeterand the Marine Biological Association set out to examine social personality in juvenile small - discern catsharks ( Scyliorhinus canicula ) . These model animals arefoundin Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean waters and have been studied extensively in the past .
As vulnerable juveniles , these animate being must pick astrategyto avoid being munch on by vulture . The two most likely tactic that these animate being could embrace are “ safety in routine , ” i.e. stick by together in groups , or going solo and relying on disguise to blend in with the surroundings . The team therefore desire to see preferences for these different strategies and whether this change in new environments .
For thestudy , the team investigated the demeanor of ten different groups of fauna , each containing ten shark , by placing them in three unlike armoured combat vehicle . Some were complex habitats with mountain of unlike structures inside , such as rocks and other features , whereas others were more round-eyed , mainly consisting of crushed rock .
Theyfoundthat although the shark changed group size in the different surroundings , those that were socially well - tie and formed groups always stayed in groups , no matter the habitat . likewise , those that opt to stay on their own would do so in each dissimilar armoured combat vehicle .
“ These results were driven by different societal preferences ( i.e. social / antisocial individuals ) that appeared to reflect different strategies for staying safe , ” leading source Dr. David Jacoby said in anews exit . “ Well - connect individuals forge conspicuous groups , while less societal someone tended to camouflage alone , matching their peel semblance with the color of the crushed rock substrate in the bottom of the armoured combat vehicle . ”
While this study focused on one species in incarceration , the investigator are interested in compare their employment with report by other labs . One group in the Bahamas , for example , is already looking at lemon yellow shark in the state of nature and has somepreliminary evidenceto suggest that this specie also exhibit personality differences .
[ ViaUniversity of Exeter , Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology , BBC NewsandThe Independent ]
