Association of color and feeding deterrence by tropical reef fishes |
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Authors: | F Giménez-Casalduero R W Thacker V J Paul |
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Institution: | (1) Departamento de Ecología e Hidrología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Murcia, E-30100 Murcia, Spain, e-mail: fgcasald@gaia.fcu.um.es, ES;(2) Marine Laboratory, University of Guam, UOG Station, Mangilao, GU 96923, Guam, USA, US |
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Abstract: | Summary. While many marine molluscs have been suggested to use aposematic coloration to avoid predation, few studies have tested the
ability of marine predators to learn to associate colors with distasteful prey. In field experiments, we tested the ability
of two populations of reef fishes to discriminate among red, yellow, and black artificial nudibranch models when one color
was paired with a feeding deterrent. We offered fishes (1) the models without any feeding deterrents, (2) the models with
a feeding deterrent coated onto one color, and (3) the models without deterrents again. If reef fishes learn to associate
colors with noxious prey, we expected the color paired with the feeding deterrent to be eaten less frequently in the final
assay than the initial assay. In both populations, fishes formed clear associations between color and feeding deterrence.
However, when the experiment was repeated in one population, changing the color paired with the feeding deterrent, fishes
did not form an association between color and feeding deterrence. In this case, prior learning may have affected subsequent
trials. Our study indicates that common colors of nudibranchs are recognizable by fishes and can be associated with noxious
prey.
Received 24 September 1998; accepted 18 December 1998. |
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Keywords: | , aposematic coloration –, chemical defense –, fish feeding behavior –, learned aversion –, nudibranch |
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