The virtual lover： variable and easily guided 3D fish animations as an innovative tool inmate-choice experiments with sailfinmollies-II. Validation

The use of computer animation in behavioral research is a state-of-the-art method for designing andpresenting animated animals to live test animals. The major advantages of computer animations are：（1） the creation of animated animal stimuli with high variability of morphology and even behavior; （2）animated stimuli provide highly standardized, controlled and repeatable testing procedures; and （3）they allow a reduction in the number of live test animals regarding the 3Rs principle. But the use of ani-mated animals should be attended by a thorough validation for each test species to verify that behaviormeasured with live animals toward virtual animals can also be expected with natural stimuli. Here wepresent results on the validation of a custom-made simulation for animated 3D sailfin mollies Poecilialatipinna and show that responses of live test females were as strong to an animated fish as to a videoor a live male fish. Movement of an animated stimulus was important but female response was stron-ger toward a swimming 3D fish stimulus than to a ＂swimming＂ box. Moreover, male test fish wereable to discriminate between animated male and female stimuli; hence, rendering the animated 3D fisha useful tool in mate-choice experiments with sailfin mollies.