Meeting Abstract
Males of the Kribensis cichlid Pelvicachromis pulcher exist in one of four different morphs, commonly distinguished by differences in the colour of their opercula and belly. The two most common morphs, “red” and “yellow” will both breed monogamously, but red males show preference to haremic breeding, while yellows do not. It has been suggested that yellows may follow a “satellite” strategy, or serve as subordinate helpers to harem holding males. The two morphs show behavioural differences. Red males grow more slowly, but are more active than yellow males; they also tend to use more escalated aggressive behaviours than yellow males. Here we present analyses of male-male contest behaviour between the morphs, and experiments measuring female preference for colour morph and other potentially sexually selected characters. We also examine differences in nonapeptide expression in the preoptic area of the hypothalamus which show differences between morphs, as well as variation within morphs associated with individual variation in social behaviour.
