Definition[]
Of the same species (noun).
Application[]
- Individuals that are of the same species and can interbreed are conspefic.
- Heterospecifics are individuals that are not of the same species.
- Bees can warn conspecifics of predators or flowers through the use of alarm pheromones. These pheromones can only be detected by the bees of the same species (Llandres et al., 2013). Having a strong sense of communication within a species is an advantage for survival.
- One study showed that within a cichlid fish species, males were readily able to recognize conspecific females by visual cues (Knight and Turner, 1999). This can be an advantage for successful reproduction. Since most species can only breed with conspecifics, recognition of a mate is key to successful reproduction.
As you can see, there is a great variety of cichlids that reside in Lake Malawi.
Resources[]
- www.biology-online.org
- Knight and Turner. (1999). Reproductive Isolation Between Closely Related Lake Milawi Cichlids: Can Males Recognize Conspecific Females By Visual Cues? Animal Behaviour, 58: 761-768. [to Article]
- Llandres et al. (2013). Social but not solitary bees reject dangerous flowers where a conspecific has recently been attacked. Animal Behaviour, 85: 97-102. [to Article]