Meeting Abstract
56.2 Thursday, Jan. 6 Color in context: female convict cichlids alter carotenoid-based traits in response to predation risk and changes in breeding status WONG, S. C.*; EARLEY, R. L.; University of Alabama; University of Alabama stephc.wong@gmail.com
laborate male secondary sexual traits, from ornaments to armaments, have long been considered markers of ideal mates and/or superior opponents. Females of the convict cichlid fish, Amatitlania nigrofasciata, are the more ornamented sex. They possess a bright orange ventral patch, which results from the allocation of diet-derived carotenoid pigments to the integument. Cichlids reside in the volcanic lakes of Nicaragua, where they breed all year and are exposed to competition and predation pressures. In March 2010, we conducted field research in Lake Xiloa, Nicaragua and our objective was to evaluate the presence of female orange color, the presence/absence of offspring, and female behaviors directed towards conspecific and heterospecific competitors as well as predators (e.g., the sleeper goby, Gobiomorus dormitor. We spent 68 hours SCUBA diving and observed 153 cichlid pairs at vegetated depths (~6m) and in cobble substrates (~11m). We found that orange color was exhibited by only 7% of paired females with offspring, 63% of paired females without offspring, and in all single females. In paired females, the probability of possessing orange decreased significantly as the number of aggressive encounters with predators increased. Although females directed significantly more aggression towards conspecifics, rates of intraspecific competition and heterospecifics interactions were not strongly associated with orange color. These preliminary field results suggest that carotenoid-based coloration varies with breeding status and can possibly be influenced by predation pressure. Further exploration of convict cichlid behavior in the field is necessary to elucidate what is likely a complex set of social and environmental factors impacting female orange color expression.
