National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Photo: Fight-Watching Fish Can Figure Out Local Pecking Order, Study Shows


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A male cichlid fish eavesdrops on two rivals fighting. New research suggests that some cichlids can determine the entire local hierarchy by watching a limited number of fights.

The ability helps the fish—which battle fiercely for the best areas to feed and mate—to know when to fight and when to flee.

Photograph by Logan Grosenick