D. Bierbach

Developmental arcs of plasticity in whole movement repertoires of a clonal fish

This study tracks behavioral plasticity in genetically identical fish clones over four weeks, finding an initial increase in plasticity before it decreases, challenging the expectation of decreasing plasticity in stable environments.

Increased thermal tolerance under anoxic conditions in an extremophile fish from hot sulfur springs in Mexico

This study examines thermal tolerance of two extremophile fish species under normoxic and hypoxic conditions, finding P. sulphuraria has higher CTmax under hypoxia compared to G. eurystoma.

Reproductive individuality of clonal fish raised in near-identical environments and its link to early-life behavioural individuality

This study shows that clonal fish raised in identical environments exhibit consistent reproductive differences and early-life behavioral individuality, which predict growth and offspring size.

Experienced Social Partners Hinder Learning Performance in Naive Clonal Fish

This study shows that experienced social partners can hinder learning performance in naive clonal fish, challenging the assumption that social learning always enhances learning efficiency.

Discovery of a new but established population of the guppy in Germany

The paper describes a newly discovered established population of guppies in a thermally polluted river in Germany, including population size estimates and parasitism observations.

Cascading indirect genetic effects in a clonal vertebrate

The paper investigates how indirect genetic effects (IGE) can cascade through social groups in Amazon mollies, influencing behavior even when no genetic variation exists within the group.

Group-level patterns emerge from individual speed as revealed by an extremely social robotic fish

This study shows individual speed differences in guppies shape collective behavior patterns through robotic fish experiments.

Consistent behavioural syndrome across seasons in an invasive freshwater fish

The paper investigates whether dispersing guppies exhibit different behavioral traits than those remaining in the source population, finding consistent behavioral syndromes across seasons and populations.

Social networks in the presence and absence of visual cues

This study compares social dynamics between cave and surface Atlantic mollies under different densities, finding surface mollies maintain social interactions better at low density.

Familiarity increases aggressiveness among clonal fish.

The paper shows that higher familiarity among clonal fish increases aggression and reduces group cohesion, suggesting familiarity may buffer against perceived risk in novel environments.

Guppies prefer to follow large (robot) leaders irrespective of own size

The study shows that guppies follow larger robotic fish leaders regardless of their own size or risk-taking behavior, indicating leadership preference is based on size rather than behavior.

Using a robotic fish to investigate individual differences in social responsiveness in the guppy

This study uses a robotic fish to examine individual differences in social responsiveness in guppies, finding that responsiveness is an independent trait separate from boldness and activity.