Abstract

We tested the predictions that an increase in the structural complexity of a habitat causes both a decrease in aggression and the monopolization of resources. Groups of three zebra fish (Danio rerio) were allowed to compete for food in a complex habitat with simulated vegetation and in a simple habitat with no vegetation. As predicted, both the levels of aggression by the dominant fish (P = 0.050) and the coefficient of variation of the amount of food eaten within a group (P = 0.020), a measure of food monopolization, were lower in the complex habitat than in the simple one. Fish that chased competitors more frequently ate more food in both habitats, but the relationship was stronger in the simple than in the complex habitat. Our results suggest that aggression is less useful as a mode of competition in habitats with greater structural complexity. Manipulating the structural complexity of the habitat may be a practical way of controlling the intensity of aggression and resource monopolization in groups of animals.