Hump size may serve as a measure of a male's condition or quality. Or, the hump may merely serve as a way to distinguish males from females. Future experiments and observations will be needed to sort out the explanations for this intriguing character. Mate choice has also been examined in a few African cichlids. Each C. furcifer male constructs his bower adjacent to other bowers, thus forming a large group of bowers called a lek.
Females visit the lek and examine potential mates.
There are males that hold territories without bowers, but females disregard them. Studies of bowers, in cichlids and other animals, particularly birds, have focussed on which aspects of the bower attract females. In some cases it is the size of the bower, in others, the presence of desirable objects. For example, female bowerbirds of one species have a particular liking for blue objects, while females of another species prefer green. Karino measured many aspects of the bower as well as aspects of the males themselves.