Meeting Abstract

71.3  Monday, Jan. 6 08:30  Mate preference based on visual and chemical cues in colorful freshwater fishes GUMM, J. M.*; BURNS, H.; CHERRIER, E.; Stephen F. Austin State University; Stephen F. Austin State University; Stephen F. Austin State University gummj@sfasu.edu

Understanding how females identify mates is fundamental to understanding the evolution of mating preferences and reproductive isolation among species. In colorful freshwater fishes, known as darters (genus Etheostoma), visual signals play a role in preferences for conspecifics over heterospecifics and are used by females to prefer males within species. Darters respond to both chemical and visual stimuli for appropriate predatory avoidance behavior. The role of chemical cues for mate preference, however, remains unclear. We tested the hypothesis that female Etheostoma stigmaeum use chemical cues to choose mates between conspecific males and heterospecific male E. swaini. These two species are sympatric, and males express similar breeding colors, but hybridization is not known to occur. Female E. stigmaeum were tested in standard dichotomous mate choice trials with a choice to associate with chemical cues derived from conspecific males or those from heterospecific males. We found that females had significant preferences for conspecific male chemical cues. Our results establish the use of chemical cues for mate choice in darters and highlight the potential for multimodal signaling to contribute to reproductive isolation between these species.