Meeting Abstract
P3.131 Tuesday, Jan. 6 One Bad Mother: Maternal Aggression in the African Cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni. CARLETON, JB*; MORGENSTERN, N; PARKER, C; RENN, SCP; Reed College; Reed College; Reed College; Reed College carletoj@reed.edu
Thirty years of research have contributed to our understanding of the molecular, hormonal, and physiological mechanisms of the socially regulated switch between dominant and subordinate phenotypes among males of the African cichlid species Astatotilapia burtoni. Meanwhile, the female phenotypes have been largely ignored by all but a few studies regarding the reproductive cycle and affiliative behavior. Females of a recently collected A. burtoni wild stock from Zambia display a "good mother" phenotype that includes defensive aggression to protect free-swimming fry for up to 15 days post-release, whereas labstock females show similar aggression but eat their fry within 2-3 days post-release. The behavioral difference is likely due to inadvertent artificial selection in the lab, as suggested by good-mother phenotype observed in F1 wildstock that have been reared under standard lab conditions. We describe this behavior in detail through repeated, ten-minute focal observations using Jwatcher and an ethogram adapted from that used for males. Hormone measurements from excreted water samples are used to quantify the hormone profile during and brooding and post-release maternal care. Females have been observed under various social situations, including intruder challenge in order to address the challenge hypothesis as it might apply to female territoriality. Cross-fostering experiments were conducted to determine whether the differing level of maternal care is induced by possible differences in the behavior of the fry. We found that the genotype of the fry did not affect maternal care, however wildstock fry exhibited increased maternal affiliation but similar schooling behavior compared to labstock fry. This work establishes a female model for aggression, which will be explored at the hormonal, molecular and genetic level.
