Va. Sovrano et al., Lateralization of response to social stimuli in fishes: A comparison between different methods and species, PHYSL BEHAV, 74(1-2), 2001, pp. 237-244
We measured the time spent in monocular viewing during inspection of their
own mirror images in females of three species of fish (Xenotoca eiseni, Gam
busia holbrooki and Xenopoecilus sarasinorum) using a rectangular tank in w
hich animals could observe their own reflections in two mirrors positioned
along the major walls, and in females of five species of fish (X. eiseni, G
. holbrooki, X sarasinorum, Danio rerio and Gnatonemus petersii) using a qu
asi-circular tank in which fish could rotate clockwise or anticlockwise and
observe their own reflections in a mirror positioned along the outer wall.
Results revealed a consistent left-eye preference during initial sustained
fixation in all species irrespective of the apparatus. However, in the qua
si-circular tank, fish showed more variability of response. The asymmetry w
as apparent during the first 5 min of observation and tended to fade therea
fter, probably as a result of habituation. These findings add to current ev
idence for a quite invariant pattern in the direction of lateralization in
similar tasks in a variety of vertebrate species, with a preferential invol
vement of structures located to the right side of the brain in response to
the viewing of images of conspecifics. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Inc. All r
ights reserved.