The heterozygote superiority hypothesis for polymorphic color vision is not supported by long-term fitness data from wild neotropical monkeys.

ABSTRACT: The leading explanatory model for the widespread occurrence of color vision polymorphism in Neotropical primates is the heterozygote superiority hypothesis, which postulates that trichromatic individuals have a fitness advantage over other phenotypes because redgreen chromatic discrimination is useful for foraging, social signaling, or predator detection. Alternative explanatory models predict that dichromatic and trichromatic phenotypes are each suited to distinct tasks. To conclusively evaluate these models, one must determine whether proposed visual advantages translate into differential fitness of trichromatic and dichromatic individuals. We tested whether color vision phenotype is a significant predictor of female fitness in a population of wild capuchins, using longterm 26 years surv

SUBMITTER: Fedigan LM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3880319 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature