Neolamprologus pulcher
Our primary study organism is the lyre-tail cichlid or Neolamprologus pulcher, from Lake Tanganyika. Fieldwork is conducted in Lake Tanganyika, the second deepest lake in the world and the oldest of the African Great Lakes. It is the only place in the world where these cooperatively breeding fish exist in the wild. In Lake Tanganyika, groups of N. pulcher co-defend rocky territories with each social group consisting of a dominant breeding pair and from 1-20 subordinate helpers. Subordinates in the group help by 1) defending the territory, 2) maintaining the territory and its shelters, and 3) caring for young (cleaning, fanning and defending eggs/young). We study how factors such as relatedness, ecological conditions, gene expression, neurons or hormones might influence the degree of cooperation as well as conflict in these fish social groups. Members of our research group work on this species in both the laboratory and the field. We have established and maintain a dedicated behavioural facility at McMaster University for up to 50 social groups. To complement the laboratory experiments, we conduct field research on the southern shores of Lake Tanganyika, in Northern Zambia, where we conduct fieldwork together with Zambians as well as collaborate with other international scientists.
See our N. pulcher Photo gallery
Here are a few representative papers of our research on this species:
-
Wong, M and Balshine, S, 2011. "The evolution of cooperative breeding in the African cichlid fish, Neolamprologus pulcher". Biological Reviews, 86(2), 511-530
-
Reddon, AR, Balk, D, and Balshine, S, 2011. "Sex differences in group-joining decisions in social fish". Animal Behaviour, 82(2), 229-234
-
Jordan, LA, Wong, MYL, and Balshine, SS, 2010. "The effects of familiarity and social hierarchy on group membership decisions in a social fish". Biology Letters, 6(3), 301-303
-
Mileva, VR, Fitzpatrick, JL, Marsh-Rollo, S, Gilmour, KM, Wood, CM, and Balshine, S, 2009. "The Stress Response of the Highly Social African Cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher". Physiological and Biochemical Zoology, 82(6), 720-729
-
Fitzpatrick, JL, Desjardins, JK, Milligan, N, Stiver, KA, Montgomerie, R, and Balshine, S, 2008. "Female-mediated causes and consequences of status change in a social fish". Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 275(1637), 929-936
-
Desjardins, JK, Stiver, KA, Fitzpatrick, JL, Milligan, N, Van Der Kraak, GJ, and Balshine, S, 2008. "Sex and status in a cooperative breeding fish: behavior and androgens". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 62(5), 785-794
-
Aubin-Horth, N, Desjardins, JK, Martei, YM, Balshine, S, and Hofmann, HA, 2007. "Masculinized dominant females in a cooperatively breeding species". Molecular Ecology, 16(7), 1349-1358
-
Stiver, KA, Dierkes, P, Taborsky, M, Gibbs, HL, and Balshine, S, 2005. "Relatedness and helping in fish: examining the theoretical predictions". Proceedings of the Royal Society B-Biological Sciences, 272(1572), 1593-1599