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Vol. 61, 2022
(update: 2022.5.10)
Changes in Red Color
Sensitivity over the Spawning Cycle of Female Three-spined Stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)
Li-Chun Li1, Chrysoula Roufidou2 ,
Bertil Borg2, and Yi Ta Shao1,3,4,*
doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-17
1Institute
of Marine Biology, National Taiwan Ocean University, Keelung 202,
Taiwan.
*Correspondence: E-mail: itshao@mail.ntou.edu.tw (Shao).
E-mail: a159a847@gmail.com (Li)
2Department of Zoology, Stockholm University,
Stockholm 10691, Sweden. E-mail: chrysoula.roufidou@zoologi.su.se
(Roufidou);
bertil.borg@zoologi.su.se (Borg)
3Center of Excellence for the Oceans, National Taiwan
Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan
4Intelligent Maritime Research Center, National Taiwan
Ocean University, Keelung 202, Taiwan
Received 4 November 2021 / Accepted 22
February 2022
Communicated by Hin-Kiu Mok
Male red nuptial coloration is a
primary mating signal for three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus), and the
retinae of both sexes are especially sensitive to red during the
breeding season. Red sensitivity is an important aspect of female mate
choice in this species, but only when they are ready to spawn and not
over the entire breeding period. Here, we aimed to determine if the red
sensitivity of female sticklebacks change over their repeat spawning
cycle. To this end, we assessed retinal opsin mRNA levels and
behavioral red sensitivity in females over this cycle. Both methods
indicated that females were more sensitive to red during spawning than
in the inter-spawning intervals. Relative expression levels of red
color opsin genes (lws) and
optical motor sensitivity were high during spawning, decreased after
the spawning period, and then increased again 72–96 h later when they
were ready to spawn again. Thus, female sticklebacks altered their
color
sensitivity according to need, but the underlying mechanism remains
unclear.
Key words: Red color
sensitivity, Optical motor, Projector, Opsin, lws, Androgen, Stickleback.
Citation: Li LC, Roufidou C, Borg B, Shao
YT. 2022.Changes in red color sensitivity over the spawning cycle of
female three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus
aculeatus). Zool Stud 61:17.
doi:10.6620/ZS.2022.61-17.
Supplementary
materials: Fig. S1丨Fig. S2丨Fig. S3丨Fig. S4
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