Tendency to inspect predators predicts mortality risk in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Although predator inspection behavior in fishes has become amodel system for examining game theoretical strategies suchas Tit for Tat, the direct costs of inspection behavior havenot been quantified. To begin quantifying such costs, I conductedan experiment that examined mortality due to predation as afunction of predator inspection in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata).Before being subjected to a "survivorship" experiment, guppieswere assayed for their tendency to inspect a predator. Groupswere then composed of six guppies that differed in their tendencyto inspect. These groups were placed into a pool containinga predator, and survivorship of guppies with different inspectiontendencies was noted 36 and 60 h later. Results indicate thatindividuals that display high degrees of inspection behaviorsuffer greater mortality than their noninspecting shoalmates.