For many animals, the ability to distinguish cues indicative of predation risk from cues unrelated to predation risk is not entirely innate, but rather is learned and improved with experience. Two pathways to such learning are possible. First, an animal could initially express antipredator behaviour toward a wide range of cues and subsequently learn which of those cues are non-threatening. Alte...

A taxonomic review of Copella is presented based on the analysis of the type material of all nominal species and extensive material from South American drainages. Six out of ten nominal species are recognized as valid: Copella arnoldi, C. callolepis, C. compta, C. eigenmanni, C. nattereri, and C. vilmae. Copella carsevennensis is a junior synonym of C. arnoldi, C. nigrofasciata and 'Nannostomus...

The bamboo-feeding species of tribe Evacanthini are reviewed. They include 9 genera and 13 species: Angustella leucostriata Li & Wang, 1991, Boundarus nigronotus Zhang, Zhang & Wei, 2010a, Carinata kelloggii (Baker, 1923), C. nigrofasciata Li & Wang, 1994a, Convexana fleura Chen, Yang & Li, 2012, Evacanthus repexus Distant, 1908, Onukia guttata Li & Wang, 1991, O. nigra Li & Wang, 1991, Parapyt...

Mobile young under parental care have a high potential for intermixing with other broods, which potentially increases the costs to the foster parents. Here, we examined for the first time the genetic composition of wild-caught broods of the convict cichlid (Amatitlania siquia), a socially monogamous biparental fish, for evidence of brood mixing and adoption. Our microsatellite genotyping data r...

Gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons in the preoptic area (POA) of the hypothalamus play a key role in regulating reproductive function. These neurons in turn are modulated by environmental influences, including the social environment. In both the Old World cichlid Astatotilapia burtoni and the New World cichlid Amatitlania nigrofasciatus, the size of the soma of GnRH expressing neuron...

The male-polymorphic poeciliid fish, Limia perugiae, a small teleostean endemic to the southeast of the Caribbean island Hispañola, consists of three male size morphs with uniform females. Large males differentiate at a size varying between 25 and 38 mm; intermediate males, between 21 and 25 mm. Under competition, large males exhibit an elaborate courtship display, whereas small males show only...

The carotenoid trade-off hypothesis states that diet-derived carotenoids are traded off among competing physiological demands, but this statement is rarely tested in ornamented females. In this study, reverse sexually dimorphic convict cichlids (Amantitlania nigrofasciata) were fed diets containing carotenoid supplementation at three biologically relevant levels for 12 wk. This treatment was fo...