TY - JOUR

T1 - Quantifying Threespine Stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus L. (Perciformes: Gasterosteidae) Coloration for Population Analysis: Method Development and Validation

AU - Надточий, Екатерина Викторовна

AU - Генельт-Яновская, Анна Сергеевна

AU - Генельт-Яновский, Евгений Александрович

AU - Иванов, Михаил Валерьевич

AU - Лайус, Дмитрий Людвигович

PY - 2025/7/31

Y1 - 2025/7/31

N2 - Fish coloration plays an important role in reproduction and camouflage, yet capturing color variation under field conditions remains challenging. We present a standardized, semi-automated protocol for measuring body coloration in the popular model fish threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Individuals are photographed in a controlled light box within minutes of capture, and color is sampled from eight anatomically defined standard sites in human-perception-based CIELAB space. Analyses combine univariate color metrics, multivariate statistics, and the ΔE* perceptual difference index to detect subtle shifts in hue and brightness. Validation on pre-spawning fish shows the method reliably distinguishes males and females well before full breeding colors develop. Although it currently omits ultraviolet signals and fine-scale patterning, the approach scales efficiently to large sample sizes and varying lighting conditions, making it well suited for population-level surveys of camouflage dynamics, sexual dimorphism, and environmental influences on coloration in sticklebacks.

AB - Fish coloration plays an important role in reproduction and camouflage, yet capturing color variation under field conditions remains challenging. We present a standardized, semi-automated protocol for measuring body coloration in the popular model fish threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Individuals are photographed in a controlled light box within minutes of capture, and color is sampled from eight anatomically defined standard sites in human-perception-based CIELAB space. Analyses combine univariate color metrics, multivariate statistics, and the ΔE* perceptual difference index to detect subtle shifts in hue and brightness. Validation on pre-spawning fish shows the method reliably distinguishes males and females well before full breeding colors develop. Although it currently omits ultraviolet signals and fine-scale patterning, the approach scales efficiently to large sample sizes and varying lighting conditions, making it well suited for population-level surveys of camouflage dynamics, sexual dimorphism, and environmental influences on coloration in sticklebacks.

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/3e7763f6-c220-388d-b18a-be7c3990cd7f/

U2 - 10.3390/hydrobiology4030020

DO - 10.3390/hydrobiology4030020

M3 - Article

VL - 4

JO - Hydrobilogy

JF - Hydrobilogy

IS - 3

M1 - 20

ER -