Navigation Links
Ecologists get fish eye view of sexual signals
Date:11/9/2010

Carotenoid pigments are the source of many of the animal kingdom's most vivid colours; flamingos' pink feathers come from eating carotenoid-containing shrimps and algae, and carotenoid colours can be seen among garden birds in blackbirds' orange beaks and blue tits' yellow breast feathers.

These pigments play a crucial role in sexual signals. According to the study's lead author Dr Tom Pike of the University of Exeter: "Females typically use carotenoid colours to assess the quality of a potential mate, with more colourful males generally being regarded as the most attractive."

This long-held assumption is, however, hard to study because we see colour very differently to fish and previous studies have not taken such differences into account, instead comparing only the colours perceived by humans.

"The major difference between stickleback vision and our own is that they can see ultraviolet light, which is invisible to humans. This may be important because carotenoids reflect ultraviolet light as well as the red, oranges and yellows that we can see," Dr Pike explains.

The model developed by Dr Pike and colleagues from the University of Glasgow and Nofima Marine in Norway mimics the stickleback's visual system, allowing the researchers to determine what 'colours' the fish see. "The model tells us how much of the light reflected from a carotenoid signal is actually detected by a female and how this information might be processed by her brain, and so gives us exciting new insights into how females may use colour to choose the best mates," says Dr Pike.

Male sticklebacks can fine tune the colours they display to females by varying both the overall amount of carotenoids and the relative amount of the two constituent carotenoids, the red-coloured astaxanthin and the yellow tunaxanthin. The model reveals that sticklebacks' visual system and coloration are extremely well co-adapted, and that females are surprisingly good at ass
'/>"/>

Contact: Dr. Tom Pike
T.Pike@exeter.ac.uk
44-132-637-0446
Wiley-Blackwell
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Ecologists find new clues on climate change in 150-year-old pressed plants
2. Ecologists to discuss impacts of mountaintop mining at special ESA symposium
3. Ecologists receive mixed news from fossil record
4. Nations largest organization of ecologists offers expert database
5. Ecologists discover forests are growing faster
6. Ecologists sound out new solution for monitoring cryptic species
7. The value of variation: Ecologists consider the causes and consequences
8. Ecologists question effects of climate change on infectious diseases
9. Ecologists report quantifiable measures of natures services to humans
10. Ecologists use oceanographic data to predict future climate change
11. Ecologists say metabolism accounts for why natural selection favors only some species
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/21/2013)... path of insulin action in cells in precise detail ... understanding what goes wrong in diabetes. , The ... James from Sydney,s Garvan Institute of Medical Research, is ... prestigious journal Cell Metabolism . , First discovered ... role in the body because it helps us lower ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... 2013) University of Minnesota Medical School researchers from ... with the University,s Brain Tumor Program, have developed a ... (MPNST) that allow them to discover new genes and ... research was published this week in the journal ... method, researchers in the lab of David Largaespada, Ph.D., ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... planning grant will help establish the Center for Advanced ... University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Worcester Polytechnic Institute ... to research in drying moist, porous materials such as ... chemical products; textiles; and biopharmaceuticals," said Hao Feng, a ... nutrition and the Illinois site director. , According to ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells 2Insight into the dazzling impact of insulin in cells 3U of M researchers develop model for better testing, targeting of MPNST 2NSF approves planning grant for Center for Advanced Research in Drying 2
... are two of the most invasive species on the planet yet ... Queen Mary, University of London. The study, published in the ... crayfish and carp in Kenya,s Lake Naivasha between 2001 and 2008. ... and have adopted a central role in the food web for ...
... research discovery by a team of Stanford and European scientists ... be able to avoid limb amputation related to ischemia. A ... Journal suggests that the delivery of genes for ... "VEGF" may successfully cause the body to grow new blood ...
... in the US, researchers at the University of Gothenburg have found ... to film how proteins work at molecular level. Mapping ... could be the key to cures for everything from cancer to ... of Gothenburg, and his research group were among the first in ...
Cached Biology News:Carp dominate crayfish in invasive species battleground 2Stanford scientists develop gene therapy approach to grow blood vessels in ischemic limbs 2More effective method of imaging proteins 2
(Date:5/21/2013)... Fla. , May 21, 2013  On ... FCN ), the global business advisory firm ... enterprise value (the "Company"), announced that it has ... that were formerly included within the Corporate Finance/Restructuring ... Consulting segment to form a single integrated practice ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... 21, 2013 Custom Learning Designs, ... eLearning solution using Tin Can API combined with ... CLD is a leading developer of training content ... companies worldwide. , Tin Can API is ... learners and trainers more accurately measure the Return ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... The results of a new study led by ... computational evidence that nucleation of ice in small ... understanding water,s behavior at the nanoscale. The formation ... basic scientific research question whose answer also has ... , The crystallization of ice from supercooled ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... , May 21, 2013 The ... and Transplant Association) is the biggest congress in ... therapy. Nearly 10,000 participants are in Istanbul ... latest research findings. New pioneering studies have been presented: ... FERRIC PYROPHOSPHATE (SFP) ADMINISTERED VIA HEMODIALYSATE REDUCES ESA USE" ...
Breaking Biology Technology:FTI Consulting Releases Realigned Segment Information Reflecting Newly Combined Health Solutions Practice 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 3Study led by GW professor provides better understanding of water's freezing behavior at nanoscale 2ERA-EDTA CONGRESS 2013: Late Breaking Clinical Trials 2ERA-EDTA CONGRESS 2013: Late Breaking Clinical Trials 3
... Madison Internet service provider SupraNet plans to ... the Aidmatrix Foundation, a global disaster-relief firm run by ... CEO Bryan Chan said in a press release that ... number of recent disasters the charity is responding to, ...
... of Wisconsin-Madison MBA program was ranked 51st in ... U.S. public university programs by the London Financial Times ... , ,These rankings are based on alumni careers and ... data provided by the schools and a survey of ...
... development assessment group for its high quality of life and ... States, released last week by the non-profit Corporation for Enterprise ... in business vitality and development capacity, based on 2004 data. ... subcategories that made up those three overall marks. , ,Perhaps ...
Cached Biology Technology:
... W x H): 17 3/4" x ... 12 slidesTime: Programmable 0 - 100 hoursControl: ... hybridization steps 40 user programmable protocols 3 ... temperature) Rapid temperature ramp-up from 37 - ...
Defender against cell death 1...
Human Osteocalcin (1-22) mature form. Also reacts with Osteocalcin (1-44) and Osteocalcin (1-49). No reactivity with Bone sialoprotein....
HSV-1 gE Envelope Protein (9H3)...
Biology Products: