The development of tactile social interactions in Corydoras aeneus larvae

Many social animals acquire social behaviours during development, and social experience during development can be vital for acquiring necessary social behaviours in adulthood. We investigated the development of a distinctive tactile interaction behaviour in Bronze Cory catfish, in which adults interact with one another tactilely during foraging and during group responses to threats. We found that larvae respond to applied tactile stimulation with a flight response significantly less often as larvae matured. This habituation to tactile stimulation is consistent with developing appropriate adult social behaviour. We also found that social exposure affects the larval response to tactile interactions with conspecifics, and that isolation in early life leads to a greater likelihood of responding to tactile interactions with conspecifics with a flight response. This suggests that social exposure is important for developing social tactile interaction behaviour and underscores the particular importance of early experience in social development.