Male-limit sexual signals are often thought to impact fitness by increasing his attractiveness or competitive abilities. In a colorful and sexually dimorphic group of fishes called darters (Percidae: Etheostoma), males exhibit bright and colorful body pattern during the mating season, which are known to be attractive to females and function in male-male competition.
For the proposed project, male fitness will be quantified in the rainbow darter (Etheostoma caeruleum), which exhibits bright blue and orange body coloration, by assessing paternity of fertilized eggs. The student will use molecular techniques to assess parentage of eggs collected from male and female rainbow darters, which were allowed to freely mate. Following analysis of parentage, photographs of each individual will be analyzed to quantify body coloration and size to assess whether specific phenotypic traits correlate with higher paternity success.
Contact: Natalie Roberts, natalie.roberts@biol.lu.se