Aggression and Conflict

Aggression is an essential part of life and one of the most important topics in sociobiology. In our department, we deal with aggression on several levels. The most important is intraspecific aggression, which is associated with sexual selection and territorial defence. Our model species include monitor lizards (Frýdlová et al. 2017), eyelid geckos (Kratochvíl & Frynta 2002) and frog-eyed geckos (Suchomelová et al. 2015). Other projects focus on aggression in rodents. Comparing aggressive behaviour in different populations of house mice can provide insights into the social organisation in nature (Frynta et al. 2005). In another model species, the spiny mice, we study social stress as the reaction to a new, unrelated male in the group, the hierarchy in the group and the level of steroid hormones (Fraňková et al. 2012). We offer students the opportunity to participate in projects on aggression, the main advantage of which is working with live animals and solving interesting research questions.

 


Fraňková, M., Palme, R., & Frynta, D. (2012). Family affairs and experimental male replacement affect fecal glucocorticoid metabolites levels in the Egyptian spiny mouse Acomys cahirinus. Zoological Studies, 51(3), 277-287.

Frýdlová, P., Šimková, O., Janovská, V., Velenský, P., & Frynta, D. (2017). Offenders tend to be heavier: experimental encounters in mangrove-dwelling monitor lizards (Varanus indicus). Acta ethologica, 20(1), 37-45.

Frynta, D., Slabova, M., Vachova, H., Volfova, R., & Munclinger, P. (2005). Aggression and commensalism in house mouse: a comparative study across Europe and the Near East. Aggressive Behavior, 31(3), 283-293.

Kratochvíl, L., & Frynta, D. (2002). Body size, male combat and the evolution of sexual dimorphism in eublepharid geckos (Squamata: Eublepharidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 76(2), 303-314.

Suchomelová, P., Jančúchová-Lásková, J., Landová, E., & Frynta, D. (2015). Experimental assessment of social interactions in two species of the genus Teratoscincus (Gekkota). Behavioural processes, 120, 14-24.

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