Meeting Abstract

124.1  Monday, Jan. 7  Dietary carotenoids increase non-carotenoid coloration of female convict cichlids (Amantitlania nigrofasciata). BROWN, AC*; MCGRAW, KJ; CLOTFELTER, ED; Univ. of Massachusetts Amherst; Amherst College; Arizona State Univ. acbro0@cns.umass.edu

The carotenoid tradeoff hypothesis states that carotenoids must be traded-off among competing demands, but this is rarely tested in ornamented females. We used the reverse sexually dimorphic convict cichlid (Amantitlania nigrofasciata) to test whether the ornament could contain information about female fitness. Fish were supplemented with 3 levels of carotenoids, and then both spectral and chemical analyses on integument, and chemical analyses on ovaries, were performed. Dietary carotenoid supplementation increased the yellow coloration of the integument, but not actual carotenoid content of the skin. In fact, we found that the yellow patch is produced through a combination of carotenoid pigment and light-reflecting microstructures. Although only behavioral observations can determine the functional significance of the yellow ventral patch, our results indicate that ventral patches contain information about bearers’ carotenoid status. Future research on pigment-based signaling, particularly in fish, should consider the presence and role of structural coloration, in addition to the evolutionary pressures that reinforce honesty in intrasexual signaling.