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Preferential incorporation of dark, coloured materials into nests by a mound‐nesting stream cyprinid
Author(s) -
Bramburger Andrew J.,
Moir Katherine E.,
Hickey M. Brian C.
Publication year - 2018
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/jfb.13741
Subject(s) - nesting (process) , nest (protein structural motif) , biology , fish <actinopterygii> , ecology , fishery , biochemistry , materials science , metallurgy
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.