African fish choose safety over sex

Safety in numbers wins out over an increased chance of sex when it comes to a native African fish, a new study finds.

The results, recently published in the journal Biology Letters, suggest a species of cichlid fish employs a complex decision-making process when joining a social group.

Lead author University of New South Wales biologist Alex Jordan says the strategy employed by the fish is likely to be replicated in other group-joining species.

For the research, Jordan examined the choices made by Neolamprologus pulcher found in Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania.

He says N. pulcher is unusual because it lives in social groups that include both breeders and helpers.