Bioenergetics, Social Behaviour, & Environmental Change

Links between physiological traits and behaviours have been demonstrated in a number of contexts. Interestingly, however, most of this work has been performed using individual animals, while in reality most animals live in groups.

Focusing on fish schooling behaviour, we examine the role that the physiological traits of individuals play in shaping the behaviour of groups, withing- and among-group assortment, dominance hierarchies, and social networks, and how environmental factors such as temperature and oxygen availability may affect these relationships. Conversely, we also study how social interactions affect physiological traits associate with metabolic traits and locomotor performance.

papers:

Liang, W, Shi, H, Killen, SS. In Press. Intraspecific behavioural and environmental contexts influence collective risk of microplastic ingestion in a social fish. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 00:00-00.

Tiddy, IC, Killen, SS, Mills, SC. In Press. Effects of artificial light at night on the diurnal risk-taking behaviour of a gregarious reef fish. Marine Ecology Progress Series. 00:00-00.

Killen, SS, Cortese, D, Cotgrove, L, Chretien, E, Christensen, E, Crespel, A, Jolles, J, Pineda, M, Tiddy, I, Fu, C, Kochhann, D, McKenzie, D, Munson, A. In Press. Further integrating social context into comparative and environmental physiology. Journal of Experimental Biology. 229 (3): jeb251374. PDF

Fu, C, Cortese, D, Ojelade, O, Munson, A, Gao, L, Fu, S, Nadler, LE, Killen, SS. 2025. Not all company is comforting: metabolic consequences of conspecific presence depend on species’ social system in fish. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. 79, 120. PDF

Zhang, Y-L, Zhou, W-Q, Fu, S-J, Nadler, LE, Killen, SS, Zhou, K-Y, Zheng, S-L, Fu, C. 2025. Social conditions alter the growth, metabolic rate, behavioral traits, and food-shelter preferences in the qingbo Spinibarbus sinensis. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. 79:10.1007/s00265-025-03588-2 PDF

Overduin, SL, Killen, SS, Zimmer, A, McCuaig, J, Cotgrove, L, Aragao, I, Rozanitis, K, Alessi, D, Blewett, T. 2025. Social context influences tissue-specific copper distribution and behaviour in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety. 289: 117432. PDF

Tiddy, IC, Cortese, D, Munson, A, Blewett, TA, Killen, SS. 2024. Impacts of anthropogenic pollutants on social group cohesion and individual sociability in fish: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Environmental Pollution. 363: 125017. PDF

Tiddy, IC, Munson, A, Cortese, D, Webster, M, Killen SS. 2024. Impacts of climate-related stressors on social group cohesion and individual sociability in fish. Biological Reviews. 99:2035-2059. PDF

Zeng, L-Q, Ling, H, Fu, S-J, Pu, D-Y, Killen, SS. 2024. Individual and group behavioral responses to nutritional state and context in a social fish. Behavioural Processes. 220: 105059. PDF

Li, W., Yu, C., Fu, S., Killen, S. S., & Zeng, L. 2023. Individuals with spatial learning training experience increased group foraging efficiency in goldfish irrespective of landmark conditions. Integrative Zoology. 00:00-00. PDF

Pilakouta, N, O’Donnell, P, Crespel, A, Levet, M, Claireaux, M, Kristjánsson, BK, Skúlason, S, Lindström, J, Metcalfe, N, Killen, SS, Parsons, K. 2022. Warmer environments can reduce sociability in an ectotherm. Global Change Biology. PDF

Chrétien, E., Boisclair, D., Cooke, S.J. and S.S. Killen. 2021. Social group size and shelter availability influence individual metabolic traits in a social fish. Integrative Organismal Biology. 3: obab032 PDF

Killen, S.S., Cortese, D., Cotgrove, L., Jolles, J.W., Munson, A., Ioannou, C. 2021. The potential for physiological performance curves to shape environmental effects on social behaviour. Frontiers in Physiology. 2:754719

Killen, SS, Nadler, LE, Grazioso, K, Cox, A, McCormick, MI. 2021. The effect of metabolic phenotype on sociability and social group size preference in a coral reef fish. Ecology and Evolution. 11:8585-8594. PDF

Jolles, J.W., King, A.J., Killen. S.S. 2020. The role of individual heterogeneity in collective animal behaviour. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 35: 278-291. PDF

Pineda, M., Aragao, I., McKenzie, D.J., Killen, S.S. 2020. Social dynamics obscure the effect of temperature on air breathing in Corydoras catfish. Journal of Experimental Biology. 223: jeb222133 doi: 10.1242/jeb.222133 PDF

Armstrong, T., Khursigara, A, Killen, S.S., Fearnley, H., Parsons, K., Esbaugh, A. 2019. Oil exposure alters social group cohesion in fish. Scientific Reports. 9:13520. PDF

Hollins, J., Thambithurai, D., Van Leeuwen, T.E., Allan, B., Koeck, B., Bailey, D., Killen, S.S. 2019. Shoal familiarity modulates effects of individual metabolism on vulnerability to capture by trawling. Conservation Physiology. 7: coz043 PDF

Cooper, B., Adriaenssens, B., Killen, S.S. 2018. Individual variation in the compromise between social group membership and exposure to preferred temperatures. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 285: 20180884. 10.1098/rspb.2018.0884. PDF

Nadler, L.E., Killen, S.S., Domenici, P., McCormick, M.I. 2018. Role of water flow regime in the swimming behaviour and escape performance of a schooling fish. Biology Open. 7, bio031997 PDF

McLean, S., Persson, A., Norin, T., Killen, S.S. 2018. Metabolic costs of feeding predicatively alter the spatial distribution of individuals in fish schools. Current Biology. 28: 1144-1149 PDF

Thambithurai, D., Hollins, J., Van Leeuwen, T., Rácz, A., Lindström, J. Parsons, K., Killen, S.S. 2018. Shoal size as a key determinant for vulnerability to capture under a simulated fishery scenario. Ecology and Evolution. 8:6505–6514. DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4107. PDF

Halsey, L.G., Wright, S., Rácz, A. Metcalfe, J.D., Killen, S. S. 2018. How does school size affect tail-beat frequency in turbulent water? Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology A. 218: 63-69. PDF

Killen, S.S., Esbaugh, A.J., Martins, N.D., Rantin, F.T., McKenzie, D.J. 2018. Aggression supersedes individual oxygen demand to drive group air-breathing in a social catfish. Journal of Animal Ecology. 87: 223-234. PDF

Killen, S.S., Marras, S., Nadler, L.E., Domenici, P. 2017. The role of physiological traits in assortment among and within fish shoals. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 372: 20160236. PDF

Nadler, L.E., Killen, S.S., McCormick, M.I., Watson, S.-A., Munday, P.L. 2016. Effect of elevated carbon dioxide on shoal familiarity and metabolism in a coral reef fish. Conservation Physiology. 10.1093/conphys/cow052 PDFNadler, L.E., Killen, S.S., McClure, E.C.,

Munday, P.L., McCormick, M.I. 2016. Shoaling reduces metabolic rate in a gregarious coral reef fish species. Journal of Experimental Biology. 219: 2802-2805 doi: 10.1242/jeb.139493 PDF

Killen, S.S., Fu, C., Wu, Q., Wang, Y.-W., and Fu, S-J. 2016. The relationship between metabolic rate and sociability is altered by food-deprivation. Functional Ecology. DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.12634 PDF

Killen, S.S., Croft, D.P., Salin, K., Darden, S.K. 2015. Male sexually coercive behaviour drives increased swimming efficiency in female guppies. Functional Ecology. doi: 10.1111/1365-2435.12527 PDF

Marras, S.*, Killen, S.S.*, Lindstrom, J., McKenzie, D.J, Steffensen, J.F., Domenici, P. 2015. Fish swimming in schools save energy regardless of their spatial position. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology. 69:219–226. DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1834-4. *these authors contributed equally. PDF

Killen, S.S., Mitchell, M.D., Rummer, J.L., Chivers, D.P., Ferrari, M.C.O., Meekan, M., McCormick, M.I. 2014. Aerobic scope predicts dominance during early life in a tropical damselfish. Functional Ecology. 28: 1367–1376. PDF

Killen, S.S., Marras, S., Steffensen, J.F., McKenzie, D.J. 2012. Aerobic capacity influences the spatial position of individuals within fish schools. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 279: 357-364. Featured as a Research Highlight in Nature. PDF