Tactical release of a sexually-selected pheromone in a swordtail fish.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Chemical communication plays a critical role in sexual selection and speciation in fishes; however, it is generally assumed that most fish pheromones are passively released since most fishes lack specialized scent glands or scent-marking behavior. Swordtails (genus Xiphophorus) are widely used in studies of female mate choice, and female response to male chemical cues is important to sexual selection, reproductive isolation, and hybridization. However, it is unclear whether females are attending to passively produced cues, or to pheromones produced in the context of communication.

Methodology/principal findings

We used fluorescein dye injections to visualize pulsed urine release in male sheepshead swordtails, Xiphophorus birchmanni. Simultaneous-choice assays of m

SUBMITTER: Rosenthal GG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3037275 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature