Known stressors, such as increased temperature and reduced visibility, when combined, cause this fish to avoid a predator less, and importantly, form looser protective shoals. The findings show guppies’ responses are more affected by the interaction of these stressors than if they acted independently.
Natural habitats are facing mounting environmental challenges due to human activities such as land use changes, exploitation and climate change.
“In this research we wanted to take these common stressors, which are known to be increasing in freshwater habitats globally, and see how visual fish would respond to one another when they are subject to these stressors at the same time.”
“This is important and novel because sometimes, especially when multiple stressors modify similar behaviours in different ways, the overall outcome can be very different from what is shown by studies where only one stressor is tested. That’s because these stressors can interact in unpredictable ways.”
Zanghi C, Munro M & Ioannou CC (2023). Temperature and turbidity interact synergistically to alter anti-predator behaviour in the Trinidadian guppy. Proceedings of the Royal Society B.