Vertebrate Zoology 64(2): 199-206, doi:
Genetically determined mate choice can be influenced by learning in Apistogramma cacatuoides Hoedeman, 1951 (Teleostei, Cichlidae)
Uwe Römer‡, Bernd Engelking, Wolfgang Beisenherz‡ Universität Triercom, Triercom, Germany
Corresponding author: Uwe Römer ( eu.roemer@t-online.de ) © Uwe Römer, Bernd Engelking, Wolfgang Beisenherz. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Römer U, Engelking B, Beisenherz W (2014) Genetically determined mate choice can be influenced by learning in Apistogramma cacatuoides Hoedeman, 1951 (Teleostei, Cichlidae). Vertebrate Zoology 64(2): 199-206 |  |
Abstract
Mate choice in female Apistogramma cacatuoides is genetically determined. Females of the aquarium strain studied have a strong preference for red-coloured males of their own strain, although some deviate from this basic sexual preference, and those which choose redcoloured males in a first mate-choice experiment may subsequently choose males of a different strain. Where fry were raised by parents of a different strain in cross-fostering experiments, the mate choice of females raised in this way differed significantly from that of females raised by their own parents. This indicates a clear influence of learning on the basic genetically determined mate preference. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of speciation.
Keywords
Colour preference, evolutionary traits, Neotropics, sexual selection, speciation in sympatry.