Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice

Mate Choice

Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.

Testing a Claim about Population Proportion

Testing a Claim about Population Proportion

A complete procedure for testing a claim about a population proportion is provided here.
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Publisher Correction: Sex-specific evolution during the diversification of live-bearing fishes.

Nature ecology & evolution·2018

Same author

GxG epistasis in growth and condition and the maintenance of genetic polymorphism in Gambusia holbrooki.

Evolution; international journal of organic evolution·2018

Same author

Correlated evolution of thermal niches and functional physiology in tropical freshwater fishes.

Journal of evolutionary biology·2018

Same author

Sex-specific evolution during the diversification of live-bearing fishes.

Nature ecology & evolution·2017

Same author

Swimming in polluted waters.

Science (New York, N.Y.)·2016

Same author

Ecological divergence and conservatism: spatiotemporal patterns of niche evolution in a genus of livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae: Xiphophorus).

BMC evolutionary biology·2016

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Detour-task performance in color polymorphic male mosquitofish.

Zachary W Culumber¹, Katelyn A Giltner¹

¹University of Alabama in Huntsville, Department of Biological Sciences, 301 Sparkman Drive, Huntsville, Alabama 35899, United States.

Behavioural Processes

|July 4, 2026

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Melanic male eastern mosquitofish performed better on a cognitive detour task than silver males. This suggests cognitive differences may help maintain genetic variation in this color-polymorphic species.

Keywords:

Behavioral polymorphism Melanocortin Pleiotropy Poeciliidae Rare morph advantage

More Related Videos

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

Published on: April 14, 2021

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 6, 2026

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Manipulation of Color Patterns in Jumping Spiders for Use in Behavioral Experiments

Published on: May 21, 2019

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Assays to Detect UV-reflecting Structures and Determine their Importance in Mate Preference using the Sailfin Molly Poecilia latipinna

Published on: September 14, 2016

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

The Three-Chamber Choice Behavioral Task using Zebrafish as a Model System

Published on: April 14, 2021

Area of Science:

Behavioral Ecology
Evolutionary Genetics
Animal Cognition

Background:

Color polymorphisms are valuable for studying genetic variation maintenance.
Cognitive aspects of color polymorphism are understudied.
Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) exhibit melanin-based color polymorphism.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if cognitive performance, specifically in a detour task, differs between melanic and silver morphs of eastern mosquitofish.
To explore the role of cognition in maintaining color-based genetic diversity.

Main Methods:

Utilized a melanin-based color polymorphism in eastern mosquitofish.
Assessed performance in a detour task for melanic and silver male morphs.
Compared solution rates between the two morphs.

Main Results:

Melanic males (N=38) were more successful in solving the detour task compared to silver males (N=37).
Melanic males exhibited a 1.59-fold higher estimated solution rate.
Effect sizes were modest, and statistical support was limited.

Conclusions:

Detour-task performance may be an underappreciated factor in morph divergence.
Cognitive differences could play a role in maintaining melanin-based polymorphism in eastern mosquitofish.
Further research is needed to confirm these findings and explore underlying mechanisms.