Higher ultraviolet skin reflectance signals submissiveness in the anemonefish, Amphiprion akindynos.

ABSTRACT: Ultraviolet (UV) vision is widespread among teleost fishes, of which many exhibit UV skin colors for communication. However, aside from its role in mate selection, few studies have examined the information UV signaling conveys in other socio-behavioral contexts. Anemonefishes (subfamily, Amphiprioninae) live in a fascinating dominance hierarchy, in which a large female and male dominate over non-breeding subordinates, and body size is the primary cue for dominance. The iconic orange and white bars of anemonefishes are highly UV-reflective, and their color vision is well tuned to perceive the chromatic contrast of skin, which we show here decreases in the amount of UV reflectance with increasing social rank. To test the function of their UV-skin signals, we compared the outcomes of staged c

SUBMITTER: Mitchell LJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9918861 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jan-Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature