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Animalia >Chordata >Osteichthyes >Gasterosteiformes >Gasterosteidae >Gasterosteus >

During the reproductive season, male three-spined sticklebacks establish territories around nests. The video shows chasing behavior between males of adjacent territories. The male on the left is intruding into the territory of the male at the right, and the male at the right is chasing the intruder away. As the male at the right goes beyond his territory boundary and intrudes into the territory of the male on the left, the male on the left turns into a chaser. As you can see from the video, who wins a fight within a territory is not determined by the relative physical strength of the contestants; rather, it is determined by the territorial ownership. A territorial owner is always dominant over an intruder.

(This video picture was prepared by ¡ÆFriends of Fukui City Museum of Natural History during a project ¡ÆEducational Videos on the Three-spined Stickleback.¡Ç http://www.nature.museum.city.fukui.fukui.jp/friends/itoyo/)
(translated by Asoh)

(Data No.momo051015ga01b)

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