Evidence for the Protective Value of Changeable Coloration in Fishes
1935; University of Chicago Press; Volume: 69; Issue: 722 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1086/280597
ISSN1537-5323
Autores Tópico(s)Fish Biology and Ecology Studies
ResumoSmall fishes (Gambusia patruelis) were kept in black and in white aquaria for some weeks, until their pigmental differences had become sufficiently fixed to be discernible after a sojourn of a day or more upon a common background. Equal numbers of such fishes were placed together in one or another of two large wooden tanks, one black, the other nearly white. Here they were exposed to the attacks of fish-eating birds, including both a diving and a wading species. The number of fishes of each color (shade) which were eaten or injured were counted and tabulated (Tables 1 and 2). The results of these tests are indicated in the italicized passages on pages 257, 260, 262 and 263. It is concluded that the chromatic adjustments of fishes to their backgrounds may be of vital importance in protecting them from predators, despite the circumstantial evidence and theoretical objections which have been offered in disproof of this conclusion.
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