Commentary on: dominance and subordination in the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis (Allee & Dickenson, 1954)
In: BehaviourSearch for other papers by Ila France Porcher in
Current site
Google Scholar
Abstract
In, 1954, Warder C. Allee and Joshua C. Dickinson decided to establish that “dominance-subordination” hierarchies are present in the Chondrichthyan phylogenetic line. To do so, they confined sixteen fished smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis) in tanks and observed their behaviour. They found neither competition over food, in spite of starving the animals for up to six days at times, nor any clear example of aggression, though it is through aggressive actions that such hierarchies are, by definition, established. They therefore used collision avoidance to support their hypothesis that the sharks had established a rigid size-dependent dominance-subordinate hierarchy, and claimed to have established that such hierarchies are present in Chondrichthyans. However, ethological studies since then have not identified the hierarchies in elasmobranchs that this study claims to be present, but they have found that smaller sharks tend to avoid colliding with larger individuals, which is the simplest explanation for their observations.
Purchase
Buy instant access (PDF download and unlimited online access):
Institutional Login
Log in with Open Athens, Shibboleth, or your institutional credentials
Personal login
Log in with your brill.com account
-
Allee, D.G. & Dickenson, J.C. (1954). Dominance and subordination in the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis (Mitchell). — Physiol. Zool. 27: 356-364.
-
Andreev, P.S., Zhao, W., Wang, N.-Z., Smith, M.M., Li, Q., Cui, X., Zhu, M. & Sansom, I.J. (2020). Early Silurian chondrichthyans from the Tarim Basin (Xinjiang, China). — PLoS ONE 15: e0228589. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0228589.
-
Brena, P.F., Mourier, J., Planes, S. & Clua, E.E. (2015). Shark and ray provisioning: functional insights into behavioral, ecological and physiological responses across multiple scales. — Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 538: 273-283.
-
Brena, P.F., Mourier, J., Planes, S. & Clua, E.E. (2018). Concede or clash? Solitary sharks competing for food assess rivals to decide. — Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B: Biol. Sci. 285: 20180006. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2018.0006.
-
Castro, J.I. (2017). The origins and rise of shark biology in the, 20th century. — Mar. Fish. Rev. 78: 14-33.
-
Chase, I.D. (1982). Dynamics of hierarchy formation: the sequential development of dominance relationships. — Behaviour 80: 218-239. DOI:10.1163/156853982X00364.
-
Coates, M.I., Finarelli, J.A., Sansom, I.J., Andreev, P.S., Criswell, K.E., Tietjen, K., Rivers, M.L. & La Riviere, P.J. (2018). An early chondrichthyan and the evolutionary assembly of a shark body plan. — Proc. Roy. Soc. Lond. B: Biol. Sci. 285: 20172418. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2017.2418.
-
Compagno, L.J.V. (1984). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 4. Sharks of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of shark species known to date. Part 2 - Carcharhiniformes. — FAO Fish. Synop. 125: 251-655.
-
Drews, C. (1993). The concept and definition of dominance in animal behaviour. — Behaviour 125: 283-313.
-
Fallows, C., Gallagher, A.J. & Hammerschlag, N. (2013). White sharks (Carcharodon carcharias) scavenging on whales and its potential role in further shaping the ecology of an apex predator. — PLoS ONE 8: e60797. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0060797.
-
Firth, J.A., Sheldon, B.C. & Brent, L.J.N. (2017). Indirectly connected: simple social differences can explain the causes and apparent consequences of complex social network positions. — P. Roy. Soc. B-Biol. Sci. 284: 20171939. DOI:10.1098/rspb.2017.1939.
-
Frisch, A.J., Ireland, M., Rizzari, J.R., Lönnstedt, O.M., Magnenat, K.A., Mirbach, C.E. & Hobbs, J.-P.A. (2016). Reassessing the trophic role of reef sharks as apex predators on coral reefs. — Coral Reefs 35: 459-472. DOI:10.1007/s00338-016-1415-2.
-
Gauthreaux Jr, S.A. (1978). The ecological significance of behavioral dominance. — In: Social behavior (Patrick, P., Bateson, G. & Klopfer, P.H., eds). Springer, New York, NY, p. 17-54.
-
Guttridge, T., Gruber, S., Franks, B., Kessel, S., Gledhill, K., Uphill, J., Krause, J. & Sims, D. (2012). Deep danger: intra-specific predation risk influences habitat use and aggregation formation of juvenile lemon sharks Negaprion brevirostris. — Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 445: 279-291. DOI:10.3354/meps09423.
-
Heupel, M.R., Lédée, E.J.I. & Simpfendorfer, C.A. (2018). Telemetry reveals spatial separation of co-occurring reef sharks. — Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 589: 179-192.
-
Klimley, A.P. (1987). The determinants of sexual segregation in the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini. — Environ. Biol. Fish. 18: 27-40. DOI:10.1007/BF00002325.
-
Klimley, A.P. (2023). A historical approach to describing the complex behaviour of a large species of carnivorous shark. Case study no. 1: the scalloped hammerhead, Sphyrna lewini. — Behaviour 160: 1081-1102. DOI:10.1163/1568539X-bja10211.
-
Klimley, A.P. & Nelson, D.R. (1981). Schooling of the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, in the Gulf of California. — Fish Bull. 79: 356-360. DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02230.x.
-
Klimley, A.P., Clua, E.E., Porcher, I.F. & Pratt, H.L. (2023). A review of the behaviours of the Chondrichthyes: a multi-species ethogram for the chimaeras, sharks, and rays. — Behaviour 160: 967-1080. DOI:10.1163/1568539X-bja10214.
-
Lage, C.A., Wolmarans, W. & Mograbi, D.C. (2022). An evolutionary view of self-awareness. — Behav. Process. 194: 104543. DOI:10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104543.
-
Lorenz, K. (1963). Das Sogenannte Böse, Zur Naturgeschichte der Aggression. — Dr Borotha-Schoeler, Vienna.
-
Maljkovic, A. & Côté, I.M. (2011). Effects of tourism-related provisioning on the trophic signatures and movement patterns of an apex predator, the Caribbean reef shark. — Biol. Conserv. 2: 859-865.
-
Martin, R.A. (2007). A review of shark agonistic displays: comparison of display features and implications for shark–human interactions. — Mar. Freshw. Behav. Physiol. 40: 3-34.
-
Mourier, J. & Planes, S. (2015). Les requins et raies des îles Australes, espèces emblématiques de la conservation. — In: Environnement marin des îles Australes, Polynésie française. Institut Récifs Coralliens Pacifique (Salvat, B., Bambridge, T., Tanret, D. & Petit, J., eds). CRIOBE et The Pew Charitable Trusts Polynésie française, Tahiti, p. 113-119.
-
Mourier, J., Vercelloni, J. & Planes, S. (2012). Evidence of social communities in a spatially structured network of a free-ranging shark species. — Anim. Behav. 83: 389-401. DOI:10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.11.008.
-
Mourier, J., Lédée, E., Guttridge, T. & Jacoby, D.M.P. (2019). Network analysis and theory in shark ecology–methods and applications. — In: Shark research: emerging technologies and applications for the field and laboratory (Carrier, J.C., Heithaus, M.R. & Simpfendorfer, C.A., eds). CRC Press, FL, Boca Raton, p. 337-356.
-
Mucientes, G.R., Queiroz, N., Sousa, L.L., Tarroso, P. & Sims, D.W. (2009). Sexual segregation of pelagic sharks and the potential threat from fisheries. — Biol. Lett. 5: 156-159.
-
Murdy, E.O., Birdsong, R.S. & Musick, J.A. (1997). Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. — Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, DC.
-
Myrberg Jr., A.A. & Gruber, S.H. (1974). The behavior of the bonnethead shark, Sphyrna tiburo. — Copeia: 358-374.
-
Papastamatiou, Y.P., Caselle, J.E., Friedlander, A.M. & Lowe, C.G. (2009). Distribution, size frequency, and sex ratios of blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus) at Palmyra atoll: a predator-dominated ecosystem. — J. Fish Biol. 75: 647-654. DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02329.x.
-
Papastamatiou, Y.P., Bodey, T.W., Friedlander, A.M., Lowe, C.G., Bradley, D., Weng, K., Priestley, V. & Caselle, J.E. (2018). Spatial separation without territoriality in shark communities. — Oikos 127: 767-779. DOI:10.1111/oik.04289.
-
Piiper, J., Meyer, M., Worth, H. & Willmer, H. (1977). Respiration and circulation during swimming activity in the dogfish Scyliorhinus stellaris. — Resp. Physiol. 30: 221-239. DOI:10.1016/0034-5687(77)90032-9.
-
Pini-Fitzsimmons, J., Nathan, A., Knott, N.A. & Brown, C. (2021). Heterarchy reveals social organization of a smooth stingray (Bathytoshia brevicaudata) population in a provisioned food context front. — Front. Mar. Sci. 8. DOI:10.3389/fmars.2021.641761.
-
Porcher, I.F. (2010). The shark sessions: my sunset rendezvous. — Strategic Book Publishing, Traverse City, MI.
-
Porcher, I.F. (2020). Outwitted by chickens: the bird who killed the tiger. — Independent publication.
-
Porcher, I.F. (2022a). Commentary on emotion in sharks. — Behaviour 159: 849-866. DOI:10.1163/1568539X-bja10145.
-
Porcher, I.F. (2022b). C. melanopterus behaviour at Session 304. — www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wi7Q0rlYk8.
-
Porcher, I.F. (2023). Ethogram for blacktip reef sharks (Carcharhinus melanopterus). — Behaviour 160: 1167-1204. DOI:10.1163/1568539X-bja10213.
-
Rago, P.J., Sosebee, K.A., Brodziak, J.K., Murawski, S.A. & Anderson, E.D. (1998). Implications of recent increases in catches on the dynamics of Northwest Atlantic spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias). — Fish. Res. 39: 165-181. DOI:10.1016/S0165-7836(98)00181-7.
-
Ritter, E.K. (2001). Food-related dominance between two carcharhinid shark species, the Caribbean reef shark, Carcharhinus perezi, and the blacktip shark, Carcharhinus limbatus. — Mar. Freshw. Behav. Physiol. 34: 125-129.
-
Robbins, R.L. (2007). Environmental variables affecting the sexual segregation of great white sharks Carcharodon carcharias at the Neptune Islands South Australia. — J. Fish Biol. 70: 1350-1364. DOI:10.1111/j.1095-8649.2007.01414.x.
-
Sabando, M.A., Rieucau, G., Bradley, D., Caselle, J.D. & Papastamatiou, Y.P. (2020). Habitat-specific inter and intraspecific behavioral interactions among reef sharks. — Oecologia 193: 371-376. DOI:10.1007/s00442-020-04676-y.
-
Schjelderup-Ebbe, T. & Katz, D. (1921). Beiträge zur Sozialpsychologie des Haushuhns. — Z. Psychol. 88: 225-252.
-
Sperone, E., Micarelli, P., Andreotti, S., Spinetti, S., Andreani, A., et al. (2010). Social interactions among bait-attracted white sharks at Dyer Island (South Africa). — Mar. Biol. Res. 6: 408-414. DOI:10.1080/17451000903078648.
-
Sperone, E., Micarelli, P., Andreotti, S., Brandmayr, P., Bernabò, I., Brunelli, E. & Tripepi, S. (2012). Surface behaviour of bait-attracted white sharks at Dyer Island (South Africa). — Mar. Biol. Res. 8: 982-991. DOI:10.1080/17451000.2012.708043.
-
Springer, S. (1967). Social organization of shark populations. — In: Sharks, skates, and rays (Gilbert, P.W., Mathewson, R.F. & Rail, D.P., eds). Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD, p. 149-174.
-
Thibaut, B., Nicolas, L., Adam, B., Marosi, N.D. & Brunnschweiler, J.M. (2021). Companions and casual acquaintances: the nature of associations among bull sharks at a shark feeding site in Fiji. — Front. Mar. Sci. 8. DOI:10.3389/fmars.2021.678074.
-
Zemah-Shamir, Z., Mourier, J., Ilany, A., Bigal, E., Scheinin, A. & Tchernov, D. (2022). Preliminary insights of a mixed-species shark aggregation: a case study of two carcharhinids from the Mediterranean Sea. — Environ. Biol. Fish 105: 623-634. DOI:10.1007/s10641-022-01280-2.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 388 | 187 | 34 |
| Full Text Views | 30 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 41 | 3 | 0 |
Commentary on: dominance and subordination in the smooth dogfish, Mustelus canis (Allee & Dickenson, 1954)
In: BehaviourSearch for other papers by Ila France Porcher in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
In, 1954, Warder C. Allee and Joshua C. Dickinson decided to establish that “dominance-subordination” hierarchies are present in the Chondrichthyan phylogenetic line. To do so, they confined sixteen fished smooth dogfish (Mustelus canis) in tanks and observed their behaviour. They found neither competition over food, in spite of starving the animals for up to six days at times, nor any clear example of aggression, though it is through aggressive actions that such hierarchies are, by definition, established. They therefore used collision avoidance to support their hypothesis that the sharks had established a rigid size-dependent dominance-subordinate hierarchy, and claimed to have established that such hierarchies are present in Chondrichthyans. However, ethological studies since then have not identified the hierarchies in elasmobranchs that this study claims to be present, but they have found that smaller sharks tend to avoid colliding with larger individuals, which is the simplest explanation for their observations.
| All Time | Past 365 days | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 388 | 187 | 34 |
| Full Text Views | 30 | 3 | 0 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 41 | 3 | 0 |
