1995/01/01 by William J. Rowland · 4 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Animal Behavior and Reproduction #Amphibian and Reptile Biology #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
paper · doi:10.1163/156853995x00388
[Reproductive ♂ and ♀ threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus were presented with a videotaped sequence of a zigzag dancing ♂ played back at normal (T), half (0.5T), one-and-a-half (1.5T), double (2T) and triple (3T) tempo. Playbacks were displayed pairwise (T/0.5T; T/ 1.5T; T/2T; T/3T) on monitors placed at opposite ends of the test tank. Each playback pair was displayed to subjects for 4 min, with display locations switched to opposite ends of the test tank at 2 min to control for position preference. Both ♂ and ♀ subjects responded to playback images much like they do to live ♂♂, ∏demonstrating the potential of video playback for analysing visual communication in stickleback. Male and ♀ subjects contacted 1.5T and 2T images as much as images moving at normal tempo but they contacted 0.5T and 3T images less. Thus, subjects were more attracted to ♂♂ displaying at normal to slightly faster tempo than to ♂♂ displaying outside that range. The stabilizing selection that such effects might impose on animals could contribute to the typical intensity that characterizes much of their display behaviour., Reproductive ♂ and ♀ threespine stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus were presented with a videotaped sequence of a zigzag dancing ♂ played back at normal (T), half (0.5T), one-and-a-half (1.5T), double (2T) and triple (3T) tempo. Playbacks were displayed pairwise (T/0.5T; T/ 1.5T; T/2T; T/3T) on monitors placed at opposite ends of the test tank. Each playback pair was displayed to subjects for 4 min, with display locations switched to opposite ends of the test tank at 2 min to control for position preference. Both ♂ and ♀ subjects responded to playback images much like they do to live ♂♂, ∏demonstrating the potential of video playback for analysing visual communication in stickleback. Male and ♀ subjects contacted 1.5T and 2T images as much as images moving at normal tempo but they contacted 0.5T and 3T images less. Thus, subjects were more attracted to ♂♂ displaying at normal to slightly faster tempo than to ♂♂ displaying outside that range. The stabilizing selection that such effects might impose on animals could contribute to the typical intensity that characterizes much of their display behaviour.]