Aggressive biases towards similarly coloured males in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes

Pauers, Michael J.; Kapfer, Joshua M.; Fendos, Christopher E; Berg, Craig S.

doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0581

Cited by 73 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Mbuna feed and breed in their territories, and male colour patterns, filtered through the visual systems of females, are key to mating success [58,59]. The greatest variations in species' abundances are found in the first 5-10 m at all sites, a result also reported in Ribbink et al [26].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

“…This depth range realizes the steepest gradient of light penetrance and absorption, thereby representing a bottleneck for the full visual spectrum [59 -61]. Positive correlations by depth could be attributed to a facilitation-type effect in which species of different colours coexist more than expected owing to decreased aggression [59,62], while negative correlations might indicate cases of competition for specific light environments (i.e. the shallowest depths).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The macroecology of rapid evolutionary radiation

Parnell

Streelman

2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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A long-standing debate in ecology addresses whether community composition is the result of stochastic factors or assembly rules. Non-random, over-dispersed patterns of species co-occurrence have commonly been attributed to competition-a particularly important force in adaptive radiation. We thus examined the macroecology of the recently radiated cichlid rock-fish assemblage in Lake Malawi, Africa at a spectrum of increasingly fine spatial scales (entire lake to depth within rock-reef sites). Along this range of spatial scales, we observed a signal of community structure (decreased co-occurrence of species) at the largest and smallest scales, but not in between. Evidence suggests that the lakewide signature of structure is driven by extreme endemism and micro-allopatric speciation, while patterns of reduced co-occurrence with depth are indicative of species interactions. We identified a 'core' set of rock-reef species, found in combination throughout the lake, whose depth profiles exhibited replicated positive and negative correlation. Our results provide insight into how ecological communities may be structured differently at distinct spatial scales, re-emphasize the importance of local species interactions in community assembly, and further elucidate the processes shaping speciation in this model adaptive radiation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 70%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The macroecology of rapid evolutionary radiation

Parnell

Streelman

2011

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…In addition, females of at least one cichlid species in Lake Malawi prefer males with colours that are more saturated and therefore often produce greater colour contrast (Pauers et al, 2004). Nuptial colouration is also important in the aggressive interactions of territorial males (Dijkstra et al, 2006;Dijkstra et al, 2005;Pauers et al, 2008;Seehausen and Schluter, 2004). Thus, both forms of sexual selection, female mate choice and male-male competition, may have driven evolution of male nuptial colouration in these fish.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The fish eye view: are cichlids conspicuous?

Dalton

Cronin

Marshall

et al. 2010

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYThe extent of animal colouration is determined by an interplay between natural and sexual selection. Both forces probably shape colouration in the speciose, rock-dwelling cichlids of Lake Malawi. Sexual selection is thought to drive male colouration, overcoming natural selection to create conspicuous colour patterns via female mate choice and male-male competition. However, natural selection should make female cichlids cryptic because they mouthbrood their young. We hypothesize that as a result of both sexual and natural selection, males will have colours that are more conspicuous than female colours. Cichlid spectral sensitivity, especially in the ultraviolet, probably influences how colours appear to them. Here we use simple models of the trichromatic colour space of cichlid visual systems to compare the conspicuousness of male and female nuptial colours of nine species. Conspicuousness of colours was evaluated as their Euclidian distance in colour space from environmental backgrounds and from other colours on the same fish. We find in six of the nine species that breeding males have colours that are statistically more conspicuous than female colours. These colours contrast strongly with each other or with the backgrounds, and they fall within a range of spectra best transmitted in the habitat. Female colour distances were sometimes smaller, suggesting that females of some species are more cryptic than males. Therefore, selection can differentially act to generate male colours that are more conspicuous than those in females. However, in two species, females had colours that were more conspicuous than male colours, suggesting that other selective forces and possibly sexual conflicts are acting in this system. Supplementary material available online at

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“…Several recent investigations show instead that aggression is biased toward similar competitors (e.g., Dijkstra et al 2007; Pauers et al 2008;Lehtonen 2014), presumably because males recognize them as more likely to share Difference in intrasexual competition behaviors directed toward red versus black males is given across male color types and sensory environments. Pictured are LS means ± 1 standard error.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The evolutionary loss of a badge of status alters male competition in three-spine stickleback

Tinghitella¹,

Lehto²,

Minter³

2015

Behavioral Ecology

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The evolutionary loss of sexual signals is taxonomically widespread and quite common. These signals are often important not only in mate choice but also in male competition for territories and females; yet, male competition has rarely been investigated in the context of signal loss. We asked whether the loss of red throat color in three-spine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), an ancestral signal important in both male competition and mate choice, is accompanied by changes to intrasexual selection. Several freshwater stickleback populations have lost the red throat, and instead develop black breeding coloration. Previous work demonstrated that sensory drive is likely responsible. We conducted trials that mimic contact between ancestral (red) and derived (black) types during territory and nest establishment under conditions mimicking the 2 water color environments (clear and red-shifted, respectively) where they are found. We found that the allocation of competition behaviors depends on male breeding color, but not water color or the interaction of the 2. Although the total number of aggressive behaviors did not vary between color types, black males directed more aggression toward red males. Assessing each male competition behavior separately revealed that this pattern was largely driven by black fish biasing "charges" toward opposite type males. Agonistic behavior between types may strengthen divergence in resource or habitat use between populations of males with and without the ancestral sexual signal.

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Aggressive biases towards similarly coloured males in Lake Malawi cichlid fishes

Cited by 73 publications

References 8 publications

The macroecology of rapid evolutionary radiation

The macroecology of rapid evolutionary radiation

The fish eye view: are cichlids conspicuous?

The evolutionary loss of a badge of status alters male competition in three-spine stickleback

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