Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions
Costs of colour change in fish: food intake and behavioural decisions
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DOI：
10.1242/jeb.080879
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发表时间：
2013-07
影响因子：
2.8
通讯作者：
Gwendolen M. Rodgers;N. W. Gladman;Hannah F Corless;L. Morrell
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gwendolen M. Rodgers;N. W. Gladman;Hannah F Corless;L. Morrell
许多动物，特别是爬行动物、两栖动物、鱼类和头足类动物，都有改变身体颜色的能力，以实现体温调节、信号传递和躲避捕食者等功能。许多鱼类可塑性地变暗他们的身体颜色响应黑暗的视觉背景，这功能，以减少捕食风险。在这里，我们测试的假设，鱼的颜色变化（1）携带能量成本和（2）影响随后的浅滩和栖息地的选择决定。我们表明，孔雀鱼（孔雀鱼）改变颜色，在黑暗和光明的视觉背景，这样做进行了积极的成本方面的食物消费。然而，通过增加食物摄入量，孔雀鱼能够保持生长速度，并满足改变颜色的能量成本。在颜色变化之后，鱼类优先选择与其自身体色相匹配的栖息地和浅滩，并最大限度地隐藏，从而避免了进一步颜色变化的需要，但也可能支付与限制特定栖息地和社会伙伴相关的机会成本。因此，与背景相匹配的颜色变化是由行为策略补充的，这些策略应该在可变环境中最大限度地发挥作用。
SUMMARY Many animals, particularly reptiles, amphibians, fish and cephalopods, have the ability to change their body colour, for functions including thermoregulation, signalling and predator avoidance. Many fish plastically darken their body colouration in response to dark visual backgrounds, and this functions to reduce predation risk. Here, we tested the hypotheses that colour change in fish (1) carries with it an energetic cost and (2) affects subsequent shoal and habitat choice decisions. We demonstrate that guppies (Poecilia reticulata) change colour in response to dark and light visual backgrounds, and that doing so carries an energetic cost in terms of food consumption. By increasing food intake, however, guppies are able to maintain growth rates and meet the energetic costs of changing colour. Following colour change, fish preferentially choose habitats and shoals that match their own body colouration, and maximise crypsis, thus avoiding the need for further colour change but also potentially paying an opportunity cost associated with restriction to particular habitats and social associates. Thus, colour change to match the background is complemented by behavioural strategies, which should act to maximise fitness in variable environments.