New
research shows that zebrafish suit up for sex, putting on different colors when
trying to woo a mate.
The
common home aquarium fish normally don't show any sexual dichromatism, or
obvious differences, to human eyes at least, in the color of males and females
of the species. But a group of researchers from the University of Veterinary
Medicine in Vienna picked up subtle changes between the sexes when they studied
zebrafish that were ready to mate.
The
scientists used photography, computer software and human observations to
study the color properties of zebrafish from both a wild and domesticated
strain as they interacted with each other both in the morning, when mating and
spawning occur, and again later in the day.
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