Conditions Influencing Aggression

Animals commonly alter their behavior in thepresence of other animals. This is particularly truein the context of aggressive exchanges whereindividuals alter behavior to influence and formsocial relationships. Hierarchical relationshipsare widespread across taxa yet the dynamic processesthat produce them remain poorly understood. Inparticular the exchange of information during fightinteractions and how such information exchangesinfluences hierarchies remains elusive. In crayfishas in many other animals dominance is thought to beprimarily determined by physical superiority wherebehavior and fight outcomes become predictable.However recent evidence has shown that aggressiveencounters are dependent upon a myriad of factorsoutside of physical superiority and makes fightoutcomes less predictable. This book provides ananalysis of various extrinsic and intrinsic factorsthat influence fighting. Some of the variablesexamined include habitat preference fluid flowchemical signal use previous social history andneurochemical alterations. It also discusses howextrinsic and intrinsic factors are used to modifyand maintain social hierarchies.