Bramburger AJ, Moir KE, Hickey MBC. Preferential incorporation of dark, coloured materials into nests by a mound-nesting stream cyprinid.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2018;
93:719-722. [PMID:
29962001 DOI:
10.1111/jfb.13741]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/10/2018] [Accepted: 06/26/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
We compared size and colour characteristics of rocks used by male cutlip minnows Exoglossum maxillingua to build nests to those of streambed background materials. We found that materials used to construct conspicuous, mound-shaped nests were uniform in size and darker and more colour-saturated than background materials of the same size. To our knowledge, this phenomenon is the first reported example of fish selecting nest materials based on colour and has important implications for the conservation of mound-nesting stream cyprinid species.
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