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Stickleback Fish

In responding to predation risk, secondhand experience can be as good as new

July 9, 2018

Throughout the living world, parents have many ways of gifting their offspring with information they will need to help them survive. A new study in Nature Ecology and Evolution examining the effects of exposure to predators across two generations of stickleback fish yielded a surprising insight into how such transgenerational information is used.


July 9, 2018


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Male Stickleback Fish Influence Offspring Behavior, Gene Expression

October 1, 2014

Researchers report that some stickleback fish fathers can have long-term effects on the behavior of their offspring: The most attentive fish dads cause their offspring to behave in a way that makes them less susceptible to predators. These behavioral changes are accompanied by changes in gene expression, the researchers report.

The findings appear in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.


October 1, 2014


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Study tracks brain gene response to territorial aggression

November 15, 2012

With a mate and a nest to protect, the male threespined stickleback is a fierce fish, chasing and biting other males until they go away.

Now researchers are mapping the genetic underpinnings of the stickleback’s aggressive behavior. Armed with tools that allow them to see which genes are activated or deactivated in response to social encounters, a team from the University of Illinois has identified broad patterns of gene activity that correspond to aggression in this fish.

A paper describing their work appears in the Proceedings of the Royal Society: Biological Sciences.


November 15, 2012


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