ANTIPREDATOR BEHAVIOR AND SUPPRESSED AGGRESSION BY CONVICT CICHLIDS IN RESPONSE TO INJURY-RELEASED CHEMICAL CUES OF CONSPECIFICS BUT NOT TOTHOSE OF AN ALLOPATRIC HETEROSPECIFIC

In aquatic environments, chemical cues serve as an important source of information for the detection of predation risk. Here, me investigate the response of convict cichlids, Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum, to injur y-released chemical cues. We exposed pairs of juvenile convict cichlid s first to dechlorinated tap water (control), then later to one of two test stimuli: 1. chemical cues from injured convict cichlids; or 2. c hemical cues from injured mosquito fish, Gambusia affinis. Gambusia ar e allopatric and phylogenetically unrelated to convict cichlids. Gambu sia skin was used to control for a general response to injured fish. I n response to conspecific cues, convict cichlids significantly increas ed time spent near the bottom of test aquaria and time under a shelter object. In response to Gambusia skin, convict cichlids tended to incr ease time spent near the tank bottom but did nor increase use of the s helter object. There was a trade-off between antipredator and agonisti c behaviours. In response to convict cichlid cues, there was a signifi cant reduction in the frequency of approaches and bites. Gambusia skin extract had no significant effect on aggressive behaviour. These data suggest a species-specific antipredator response to conspecific alarm pheromones in a New World cichlid fish and demonstrate a trade-off be tween predator avoidance and intraspecific aggression. Further, the pr esence of an alarm response in this model species sets the stage for t he use of chemical cues as a research tool to manipulate predation ris k in studies of the interaction between predation risk and reproductiv e behaviour.