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Rapid and socially induced change of a badge of status
Author(s) -
Rhodes S. B.,
Schlupp I.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2011.03212.x
Subject(s) - biology , aggression , xiphophorus , preference , subdominant , zoology , population , nest (protein structural motif) , ecology , demography , fish <actinopterygii> , social psychology , fishery , statistics , genetics , psychology , biochemistry , mathematics , cytotoxic t cell , sociology , in vitro
This paper reports a new aspect of male signalling in the green swordtail Xiphophorus hellerii . Males are highly ornamented and possess a sword (an extension of the caudal fin), as well as a lateral stripe that has been shown to be a badge of status. Males of one natural population, however, were found to quickly change the colour of their lateral stripe to red when socially dominant over other males and black when subdominant, thereby exploiting the female preference for red stripes while dominant, and avoiding the costs of male aggression while subdominant.