BREELAND, T. B.**; STRAUSS, R. E.; Texas Tech University, Lubbock; Texas Tech University, Lubbock : School and Shoal Distributions in a Freshwater Catfish Species, Corydoras Paleatus (Callichthyidae)

The South American armored catfish Corydoras paleatus has been observed to occur in nature in large schools, in smaller shoals, and individually or in pairs. These catfishes are advantageous for laboratory study because they are easily bred and raised, they spend large amounts of time resting between bouts of swimming and foraging, and their resting behavior in particular is easily quantified. In these experiments, we explore (1) how individuals allocate their time among foraging/shoaling, schooling, aeration, and resting; (2) how much time individuals spend in available aggregations; (3) distributions of nearest-neighbor distance; (4) numbers of groups as a function of density; (5) activity patterns; and (6) how these factors change with density. We examine the implications of this research.