Hi there! My name is Burt. I’m an African cichlid fish – Astatotilapia burtoni. It’s nice to meet you! You may not know this, but fish are kinda awesome. I decided to start a blog to talk about how great we are and tell you some cool biology facts about us. My friend Toni may occasionally help out too! Here’s a picture of us at the recent #SwimForScience event.
First, let me tell you a little about myself. Although I was raised in the Maruska lab in good ole Baton Rouge, LA, my ancestors are originally from Lake Tanganyika in eastern Africa. Back in the 1970s a group of researchers realized how awesome we were and decided to study us. Gradually my family spread out around the world. Now, some of us live in
Austin, TX,
Palo Alto, CA,
Portland, OR,
Baton Rouge, LA,
College Park, MD,
New York, NY, and even Europe! Using my family, researchers over the past 40 years have discovered some pretty cool stuff about fish sensory systems and how fish brains function during behaviors. Keep checking my blog to learn more about some of this awesome research.
Notice my bright colors? Not to brag or anything, but I’m colorful because I’m a dominant male. You see, I live in a social hierarchy. At any given time, only about 10% of the males are dominant and hold territories. Here’s a picture of me after I got my new home. This home is really important to me – it’s where I eat, hide from those crazy people with nets, and even where I bring the ladies (Toni loves my new home). But other males are constantly trying to take it away from me. Some people think I’m mean, but I’m just defending my home (more on that later).
Anyways, I gotta swim! Some jerk keeps swimming a little too close to my territory for comfort. Be sure to come back!
Comments
Post a Comment