Getting into trouble after succumbing to peer pressure isn’t just a human experience.
New research co-led by Brock University shows that a particular species of tropical, air-breathing fish that can survive for weeks on land will delay escaping from hot water if it thinks one of its peers is nearby.
Brock biologist Glenn Tattersall and Acadia University biologist Suzanne Currie studied the mangrove rivulus, a fish living in swamps from the southern U.S. to Brazil.
In previous research, Tattersall and fellow researchers found that the mangrove rivulus, which look like miniature sardines, jump out of water at around 35°C as a way of cooling down quickly or else risk dying. They can survive for up to 20 days out of water.
Continue reading at Brock University.
Image via Brock University.