Synopsis
The ecological and evolutionary forces maintaining genetic polymorphism within populations is of continuing interest to evolutionary biologists. Male pygmy swordtails,Xiphophorus pygmaeus, are polymorphic at a Y-linked locus controlling body color. Fish with the + and cp alleles have blue bodies; those with the con allele have bright gold bodies. Male and female fish were tested in the laboratory to determine if there were any preferences for association with groups of male fish based on color. Single test fish were presented with two groups of males of different phenotypes, and times in which the test fish spent in proximity to each group were recorded. Males of different phenotypes showed no differences in preference, nor did phenotype of the males in the groups affect the behavior of the test fish. Females also showed no preference for males of a particular phenotype. Finally, female test fish showed no preference for groups containing a male with the ‘rare’ phenotype compared to a group containing all males of the same phenotype.
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Baer, C.F., Dantzker, M. & Ryan, M.J. A test for preference of association in a color polymorphic poeciliid fish: laboratory study. Environ Biol Fish 43, 207–212 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002493
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00002493