The faster they come: How social status is negotiated among fishes
Sunday, June 28, 2009 - 09:07
in Psychology & Sociology
Being the neighbourhood bully has its obvious advantages, but it becomes useless if your authority is continuously being challenged. In many animal species, however, stable hierarchies are routinely formed in which some individuals seem to slip naturally into their dominant role whereas others resign themselves to play the part of lowly subordinates. But why do the latter embrace this fate so readily instead of putting up a fight?