Johnson, Victor R Jr.2008-11-162008-11-161969-01Johnson VR. 1969. Behavior associated with pair formation in the banded shrimp Stenopus hispidus (Olivier). Pac Sci 23(1): 40-50.0030-8870http://hdl.handle.net/10125/3366Field observations of Stenopus hispidus, an incidental cleaning shrimp, indicate that it is normally found on the reef in male-female pairs. Pairs were taken to the laboratory, where they were separated and the individuals subsequently repaired with equally sized "stranger" individuals of both the same and opposite sexes. Stranger shrimps of the same sex were highly aggressive and usually fought to the death. Among shrimp in aquaria there appeared to be no submissive or appeasement behavior. Stranger shrimps of the opposite sex tended to show initial fighting, followed by courtship and the formation of a breeding pair. Experiments were done to determine the major factors involved in mate recognition and hence pair formation. Pairs of shrimp allowed only chemical contact prior to being placed together showed quantitatively more fighting and more courtship than pairs allowed no sensory contact. Pairs of shrimp allowed only visual contact prior to being placed together showed quantitatively less courtship and equal fighting than pairs allowed no sensory contact. The supplement of controlled amounts of tactile contact to vision and olfaction resulted in quantitatively less fighting than occurred in control situations. Transfer to new surroundings seemed to increase the over-all level of aggression. The establishment of pairs and the behavior to other species of shrimps indicate that Stenopus is capable of species as well as individual recognition.en-USArticle