Redder isn’t always better: cost of carotenoids in Chinook salmon eggs

Sarah J. Lehnert, Robert H. Devlin, Trevor E. Pitcher, Christina A.D. Semeniuk and Daniel D. Heath

Behavioral Ecology, 2017, vol. 28, issue 2, 549-555

Abstract: Lay Summary Carotenoids have many benefits to animals but they can also impose costs. Using 2 morphs (red and white) of Chinook salmon that differ in carotenoid content, we show that increased carotenoid content of salmon eggs increases predation by trout. Our results demonstrate, for the first time, a cost of carotenoids in salmon, while also providing a potential evolutionary mechanism acting to maintain this unique salmon color polymorphism in nature.Twitter: @Sarah_salmonid

Keywords: carotenoids; color polymorphism; Chinook salmon; egg predation; rainbow trout; trade-offs. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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