Departments / Biology and Ecology of Fishes


Prof. Dr. Jens Krause

Head of Dept.4 Biology and Ecology of Fishes
12561 Berlin, Mueggelseedamm 310

Research area:

Social networks, Self-organisation and Swarm Intelligence, Social organisation of fish, Mechanisms and function of shoaling behaviour


Tel: (030) 641 81 610
Fax: (030) 641 81 750
email: j.krause@igb-berlin.de

J. Krause

Curriculum vitae Research group
Research topics Editorial Boards
Recent papers Education

Curriculum vitae
born 1965 in Berlin

1985-1990 Diploma, Free University Berlin

1988-1989 M.Phil., Cambridge University, Queens College, UK

1990-1993 PhD Cambridge University, St. John's College, UK

1993-1995 NSERC Postdoc, Mount Allison University, Canada

1995-1996 BASF Postdoc, Princeton University, USA

1996-1997 BASF Postdoc, Leeds University, UK

1996-2002 Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, Leeds University, UK

2002-2004 Senior Lecturer in Behavioural Ecology, Leeds University, UK

2004 Reader in Behavioural Ecology, Leeds University, UK

2004-2009 Professor of Behavioural Ecology, Leeds University, UK

2009 Professor of Fish Ecology, Humboldt University, Germany

Research topics

Mechanisms and functions of group living in animals

Our research interest is focused on the mechanisms and functions of group-living in animals. Group-living has a wide range of potential costs and benefits which we investigate experimentally (both in the field and/or the laboratory) and through modelling.

Collective animal behaviour and self-organisation

A large part of behavioural studies found in the literature are concerned with the behaviour of individual animals whereas ecological studies are usually concerned with an investigation of entire populations or the interactions between different species. Our aim is to combine the two approaches with one another by using different modelling and experimental approaches which allow us to address the larger picture of what happens at the group- or population-level based on an understanding of the behaviour of the individual. In particular we are interested in decision-making processes in groups using both fish shoals and human crowds as our main study organisms. One of our main new developments in this area is our Robofish,– a robotic fish that can be controlled from a computer and used to manipulate the behaviour of live fish.

J. Krause

This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Larissa Conradt (Sussex University), Ass. Prof. Iain Couzin (Princeton University), Prof. Stefan Krause (University of Applied Sciences Lübeck), Prof. David Sumpter (Uppsala University) and Dr. Ashley Ward (Sydney University).

Social networks

We use social network theory to study details of the social structure of free-ranging animal populations. This approach has the potential to go well beyond conventional analysis of social interactions in the behavioural sciences, providing quantitative predictions regarding important issues such as reciprocal altruism and the transmission of information and diseases. Our main study system is the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata, which we found to have a complex and highly structured social network, exhibiting features that fulfil the pre-requisite for the evolution of reciprocal altruism. Current work on social networks also includes killer whales and lemon sharks as study species.

J. Krause

This work is done in collaboration with Dr. Darren Croft (Exeter University), Dr. Dick James (Bath University), Prof. Stefan Krause (Applied University of Lübeck) and Prof. Lutz Mattner (University of Lübeck).

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Recent papers (since 2005)

64) Couzin ID, Krause J, Franks NR & Levin SA 2005. Effective leadership and decision-making in animal groups on the move. Nature 433: 513-516.

65) Ward AJW, Holbrook RI, Krause J & Hart PJB 2005. Social recognition in sticklebacks: The role of direct experience and habitat cues. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 57: 575-583.

66) Ward AJW, Duff AJ, Krause J & Barber I 2005. Shoaling behaviour of sticklebacks infected with the microsporidian parasite, Glugea anomala. Environmental Biology of Fishes 72: 155-160.

67) Botham MS & Krause J 2005. Shoals receive more attacks from the wolf-fish (Hoplias malabaricus Bloch 1794). Ethology 111: 881-890.

68) Croft DP, James R, Ward AJW, Botham MS, Mawdsley D & Krause J 2005. Assortative interactions and social networks in fish. Oecologia 143: 211-219.

69) Krause J, Ward AJW, Jackson AL, Ruxton GD, James R & Currie S 2005. The influence of differential swimming speeds on composition of multi-species fish shoals. Journal of Fish Biology 67: 866-872.

70) Hensor EMA, Couzin ID, James R & Krause J 2005. Modelling density-dependent fish shoal distributions in the laboratory and field. Oikos 110: 344-352.

71) Botham MS & Krause J 2005. The effects of competition on predator choice for grouped prey in blue acara cichlids, Aequidens pulcher (Gill, 1858). Behaviour 142: 441-453.

72) Botham MS, Kerfoot CJ, Louka V & Krause J 2005. Predator choice in the field; grouping guppies, Poecilia reticulata, receive more attacks. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59:181-184.

73) Croft DP, James R, Thomas P, Hathaway C, Mawdsley D, Laland KN & Krause J 2006. Social structure and co-operative interactions in a wild population of guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 59: 644-650.

74) Wright D, Nakamichi R, Krause J & Butlin RK 2006. QTL analysis of behavioural and morphological differentiation between wild and laboratory zebrafish (Danio rerio). Behavior Genetics 36: 271-284.

75) Croft DP, Morrell LJ, Wade AS, Piyapong C, Ioannou CC, Dyer JRG, Chapman B, Wong Y & Krause J 2006. Sex segregation in the guppy: A cross-population comparison. American Naturalist 167: 867-878.

76) Botham MS, Kerfoot CJ, Louca V & Krause J 2006. The effects of different predator species on antipredator behaviour in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Naturwissenschaften 93: 431-439.

77) Wright D & Krause J 2006. Repeated Measures of Shoaling Tendency in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) and other Small Teleost Fishes. Nature Protocols 4: 1828-1831.

78) Morrell LJ, Hunt KL, Croft DP & Krause J 2007. Diet, familiarity and shoaling decisions in guppies. Animal Behaviour 74: 311-319.

79) Krause J, Croft DP & James R 2007. Social network theory in the behavioural sciences: potential applications. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 62: 15-27.

80) Piyapong C, Morrell L, Croft DP, Dyer JRG, Ioannou CC & Krause J 2007. A cost of leadership in human groups. Ethology 113: 821-824.

81) Chapman BB, Morrell LJ, Benton TG & Krause J 2008. Early interactions with adults mediate the development of predator defenses in guppies. Behavioral Ecology 19: 87-93.

82) Thomas POR, Croft DP, Morrell LJ, Davis A, Faria JJ, Dyer JRG, Piyapong C, Ramnarine I, Ruxton GD & Krause J 2008. Does defection during predator inspection affect social structure in wild shoals of guppies? Animal Behaviour 75: 43-53.

83) Ioannou CC, Tosh CR, Neville L & Krause J 2008. The confusion effect - from neural networks to reduced predation risk. Behavioral Ecology 19: 126-130.

84) Ioannou CC & Krause J 2008. Searching for prey – the effect of group size and number. Animal Behaviour 75: 1383-1388.

85) Dyer JRG, Ioannou CC, Morrell LJ, Croft DP, Couzin ID, Waters DA & Krause J 2008. Consensus decision making in human crowds. Animal Behaviour 75: 461-470.

86) Morrell LJ, Croft DP, Dyer JRG, Chapman BB, Kelley JL, Laland KN & Krause J 2008. Association patterns and foraging behaviour in natural and artificial guppy shoals. Animal Behaviour 76: 855-864.

87) Chapman BB, Ward AJW & Krause J 2008. Schooling and learning: early social environment predicts social learning ability in the guppy Poecilia reticulata. Animal Behaviour 76: 923-929.

88) Ioannou CC, Ruxton GD & Krause J 2008. Search rate, attack probability and the relationship between prey density and encounter rate. Behavioral Ecology 19:842-846.

89) Ward AJW, Sumpter DJT, Couzin ID, Hart PJB & Krause J 2008. Quorum decision-making facilitates information transfer in fish shoals. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105: 6948-6953.

90) Ioannou CC, Payne M & Krause J 2008. Ecological consequences of the bold-shy continuum – the effect of predator boldness on prey risk. Oecologia 157:177-182.

91) Dyer JRG, Croft DP, Morrell LJ & Krause J 2008. Shoal composition determines foraging success in the guppy. Behavioral Ecology 20: 165-171.

92) Botham MS, Hayward RK, Morrell LJ, Croft DP, Ward J, Ramnarine IW & Krause J 2008. Population differences in the response to different predators by the Trinidadian guppy. Ecology 89: 3174-3185.

93) Sumpter DJT, Krause J, James R, Couzin ID & Ward AJW 2008. Consensus decision-making by fish. Current Biology 18: 1773-1777.

94) Dyer JRG, Johansson A, Helbing D, Couzin ID & Krause J 2009. Leadership, consensus decision making and collective behaviour in human crowds. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 364: 781-789.

95) Conradt L, Krause J, Couzin ID, Roper TJ 2009. Leading according to need in self-organising groups. American Naturalist 173: 304-312.

96) Tosh CR, Krause J & Ruxton GD 2009. Basic features, conjunctive searches, and the confusion effect in predator-prey interactions. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 473-475.

97) Tosh CR, Krause J & Ruxton GD 2009. Theoretical predictions strongly support decision accuracy as a major driver of ecological specialization. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences106: 5698-5702.

98) Ioannou CC, Morell LJ, Ruxton GD & Krause J 2009. The effect of prey density on predators: conspicuousness and attack success are sensitive to spatial scale. American Naturalist 173: 499-506.

99) James R, Croft DP & Krause J 2009. Potential banana skins in animal social network analysis. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 989-997.

100) Krause J & Lusseau D James R 2009. Animal Social Networks: a new way of looking at animal relationships. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63:967-973.

101) Krause S, Mattner L, James R, Guttridge T, Corcoran MJ, Gruber SH & Krause J 2009. Social network analysis and valid Markov chain Monte Carlo tests of null models. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 1089-1096.

102) Ioannou CC & Krause J 2009. Why cryptic animals keep still. Biology Letters 5: 191-193.

103) Ward AJW, Webster MM, Magurran AE, Currie S & Krause J 2009. Species and population differences in social recognition between fishes: a role for ecology? Behavioral Ecology 20: 511-516.

104) Chapman BB, Morrell LJ & Krause J 2009. Plasticity in male courtship behaviour as a function of light intensity in guppies. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 1757-1763.

105) Croft DP, Krause J, Darden SK, Ramnarine IW & James R 2009. Behavioural trait assortment in social networks: patterns and implications. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 63: 1495-1503.

106) Faria JJ, Coddling E, Dyer JRG, Trillmich F & Krause J 2009. Navigation in human crowds; testing the many wrongs principle. Animal Behaviour 78: 587-591.

107) Guttridge TL, Gruber SH, Gledhill KS, Croft DP, Sims DW, Krause J 2009. Social preferences of juvenile lemon sharks, Negaprion brevirostris. Animal Behaviour 78: 543-548.

108) Guttridge TL, Myrberg AA, Porcher I, Sims DW, Krause J 2009. The role of learning in shark behaviour. Fish and Fisheries 10: 450-469.

109) Krause J, Ruxton GD & Krause S 2010. Swarm intelligence in animals and humans. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 25: 28-34.

110) Piyapong C, Krause J, Chapman BB, Ramnarine IW, Louca V & Croft DP 2010. Sex matters: a social context to boldness in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behavioral Ecology 21: 3-8.

111) Chapman BB, Morrell LJ & Krause J 2010. Unpredictability in food supply during early life drives the development of boldness in fish. Behavioral Ecology (in press).

112) Guevara-Fiore P, Stapley J, Krause J, Ramnarine IW & Watt PJ 2010. Male mate-searching strategies and female cues: How do male guppies find receptive females? Animal Behaviour (in press).

113) Faria JJ, Dyer JRG, Tosh CR & Krause J 2010. Leadership and social information use in human crowds. Animal Behaviour 79: 895-901.

114) Chapman BB, Morrell LJ, Tosh CR & Krause J 2010. Behavioural consequences of sensory plasticity in guppies. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences 277: 1395-1401.

115) Guttridge TL, Gruber SH, Krause J & Sims DW 2010. Novel acoustic technology for studying free-ranging shark social behaviour by recording individuals' interactions. PloS One 5: e9324 (1-8).

116) Jordan L, Avolio C, Herbert-Read J, Krause J, Rubenstein DI, Ward AJW 2010. The effects of joiner preference and resident behaviour on the group dynamics of a coral reef fish. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (in press).

117) Faria JJ, Dyer JRG, Holt N, Waters D, Ward AJW, Clement R, Goldthorpe J, Couzin ID & Krause J 2010. A novel method for investigating the collective behaviour of fish: introducing "Robofish". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (in press).

118) Bode NWF, Faria JJ, Franks DW, Krause J & Wood AJ 2010. Perceived threat increases synchronization in collectively moving animal groups. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B-Biological Sciences (in press).

119) Krause J, Croft DP & James R 2011. Personality in the context of social networks. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B - Biological Sciences (in press).

120) Piyapong C, Butlin RK, Faria JJ, Wang J & Krause J 2011. Kin assortment in juvenile shoals in wild guppy populations. Heredity (in press).

121) Faria JJ, Krause S & Krause J 2011. Collective behavior in road crossing pedestrians: the role of social information. Behavioral Ecology (in press).


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Education
Lecture "Fish behavioural ecology", 60 hours

Lecture "Fish behaviour and evolution", 60 hours

Humboldt-University Berlin, Germany

Guest Professor, Leeds University, UK

Research group
Alexander Wilson (Postdoc) IGB and Humboldt-University
Romain Clement (PhD-student) IGB and Humboldt-University
Karoline Borner (PhD-student) IGB and Humboldt-University
Oliver Jauernig (PhD-student) IGB and Humboldt-University
Jolyon Faria (PhD-student) Leeds University
Membership in Editorial Boards of scientific journals
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Associate Editor

Fish and Fisheries

Editorial Board


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