Loose social organisation of AB strain zebrafish groups in a two-patch environment

Abstract

We explore the collective behaviours of 7 group sizes: 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 20 AB zebrafish (Danio rerio) in a constraint environment composed of two identical squared rooms connected by a corridor. This simple set-up is similar to a natural patchy environment. We track the positions and the identities of the fish and compute the metrics at the group and at the individual levels. First, we show that the size of the population affects the behaviour of each individual in a group, the cohesion of the groups, the preferential interactions and the transition dynamics between the two rooms. Second, during collective departures, we show that the rankings of exit correspond to the topological organisations of the fish prior to their collective departure with no leadership. This spatial organisation emerge in the group a few seconds before a collective departure. These results provide new evidences on the spatial organisation of the groups and the effect of the population size on individual and collective behaviours in a patchy environment.