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Author ORCID Identifier
N/A
AccessType
Open Access Dissertation
Document Type
dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Degree Program
Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Year Degree Awarded
2014
First Advisor
Ethan D. Clotfelter
Second Advisor
Ryan Earley
Third Advisor
Patricia Brennan
Subject Categories
Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Structural Biology | Nutrition
Abstract
The carotenoid tradeoff hypothesis states that diet-derived carotenoids are tradedoff among competing physiological demands, but this statement is rarely tested in ornamented females. The following dissertation tests the carotenoid tradeoff hypothesis in reverse sexually dimorphic convict cichlids (Amantitlania siquia) using carotenoidsupplemented diet treatments and a field-based study of carotenoid intake. Spectral, microscopic, and chemical analysis determined how females allocated the pigments to tissues and how those decisions affected their ventral patch coloration. The results presented in the current study show that carotenoids enhance offspring growth and survival, lower oxidative stress, and reduce the time to clear a parasite. The two final chapters suggest that carotenoid limitation and absorption may not explain carotenoid allocation dynamics in A. siquia. The final chapter proposes an alternative to the carotenoid tradeoff hypothesis as a mechanism to explain the relationship among color, parasites, and oxidative stress.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.7275/5474844.0
Recommended Citation
Brown, Alexandria Christine, "Honesty and Carotenoids in a Pigmented Female Fish" (2014). Doctoral Dissertations. 34.
https://doi.org/10.7275/5474844.0
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/34