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Blom EL, Dekhla IK, Bertram MG, Manera JL, Kvarnemo C, Svensson O. Anthropogenic noise disrupts early-life development in a fish with paternal care. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 935:173055. [PMID: 38723952 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2023] [Revised: 05/06/2024] [Accepted: 05/06/2024] [Indexed: 05/26/2024]
Abstract
Anthropogenic noise is a global pollutant but its potential impacts on early life-stages in fishes are largely unknown. Here, using controlled laboratory experiments, we tested for impacts of continuous or intermittent exposure to low-frequency broadband noise on early life-stages of the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), a marine fish with exclusive paternal care. Neither continuous nor intermittent noise exposure had an effect on filial cannibalism, showing that males were capable and willing to care for their broods. However, broods reared in continuous noise covered a smaller area and contained fewer eggs than control broods. Moreover, although developmental rate was the same in all treatments, larvae reared by males in continuous noise had, on average, a smaller yolk sac at hatching than those reared in the intermittent noise and control treatments, while larvae body length did not differ. Thus, it appears that the increased consumption of the yolk sac reserve was not utilised for increased growth. This suggests that exposure to noise in early life-stages affects fitness-related traits of surviving offspring, given the crucial importance of the yolk sac reserve during the early life of pelagic larvae. More broadly, our findings highlight the wide-ranging impacts of anthropogenic noise on aquatic wildlife living in an increasingly noisy world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Lotta Blom
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-907 36, Sweden.
| | - Isabelle K Dekhla
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Michael G Bertram
- Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Environmental Studies, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå SE-907 36, Sweden; Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm 114 18, Sweden; School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
| | - Jack L Manera
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia
| | - Charlotta Kvarnemo
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden; The Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, University of Gothenburg, Box 460, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Ola Svensson
- The Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, University of Gothenburg, Box 460, SE-405 30 Gothenburg, Sweden; Department of Educational Work, University of Borås, SE-501 90 Borås, Sweden
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2
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Butterworth NJ, Benbow ME, Barton PS. The ephemeral resource patch concept. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2022; 98:697-726. [PMID: 36517934 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12926] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Ephemeral resource patches (ERPs) - short lived resources including dung, carrion, temporary pools, rotting vegetation, decaying wood, and fungi - are found throughout every ecosystem. Their short-lived dynamics greatly enhance ecosystem heterogeneity and have shaped the evolutionary trajectories of a wide range of organisms - from bacteria to insects and amphibians. Despite this, there has been no attempt to distinguish ERPs clearly from other resource types, to identify their shared spatiotemporal characteristics, or to articulate their broad ecological and evolutionary influences on biotic communities. Here, we define ERPs as any distinct consumable resources which (i) are homogeneous (genetically, chemically, or structurally) relative to the surrounding matrix, (ii) host a discrete multitrophic community consisting of species that cannot replicate solely in any of the surrounding matrix, and (iii) cannot maintain a balance between depletion and renewal, which in turn, prevents multiple generations of consumers/users or reaching a community equilibrium. We outline the wide range of ERPs that fit these criteria, propose 12 spatiotemporal characteristics along which ERPs can vary, and synthesise a large body of literature that relates ERP dynamics to ecological and evolutionary theory. We draw this knowledge together and present a new unifying conceptual framework that incorporates how ERPs have shaped the adaptive trajectories of organisms, the structure of ecosystems, and how they can be integrated into biodiversity management and conservation. Future research should focus on how inter- and intra-resource variation occurs in nature - with a particular focus on resource × environment × genotype interactions. This will likely reveal novel adaptive strategies, aid the development of new eco-evolutionary theory, and greatly improve our understanding of the form and function of organisms and ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan J. Butterworth
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University Wellington Road Clayton VIC 3800 Australia
- School of Life Sciences, University of Technology Sydney 15 Broadway Ultimo NSW 2007 Australia
| | - M. Eric Benbow
- Department of Entomology, Department of Osteopathic Medical Specialties, and Ecology, Evolution and Behavior Program Michigan State University 220 Trowbridge Rd East Lansing MI 48824 USA
| | - Philip S. Barton
- Future Regions Research Centre, Federation University University Drive, Mount Helen VIC 3350 Australia
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3
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Klug H, Langley C, Reyes E. Resource acquisition and pre-copulatory sexual selection. Ecol Evol 2022; 12:e9137. [PMID: 35898422 PMCID: PMC9309035 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2022] [Revised: 06/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual selection influences the evolution of phenotypic traits and contributes to patterns of biodiversity. In many animals, mating involves sequential steps. Often, individuals must secure resources that are essential for mating (nests, territories, food), and then after securing a resource, individuals engage in competition for access to limited opposite sex mates and gametes. A large body of empirical research and some verbal models have illustrated that resource acquisition can influence sexual selection. In general, though, we lack a priori predictions of when and how resource acquisition will influence sexual selection. Here, we use a mathematical framework to explore the link between resource acquisition and sexual selection on an advantageous mate-acquisition trait across biologically relevant trade-off scenarios. Our findings provide a set of testable predictions of how resource acquisition can influence sexual selection on mating traits. In general, selection on mate-acquisition traits is expected to be heavily influenced by: (1) the episode of selection considered, and in particular, whether one considers selection associated with the mating pool only or selection associated with both the mating pool and pre-mating pool; (2) whether resource-acquisition and mate-acquisition traits are positively associated or whether they trade off; and (3) the proportion of males with the resource- and mate-acquisition traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hope Klug
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental ScienceUniversity of Tennessee at ChattanoogaChattanoogaTennesseeUSA
- SimCenterUniversity of Tennessee at ChattanoogaChattanoogaTennesseeUSA
| | - Chelsea Langley
- Department of Biology, Geology, and Environmental ScienceUniversity of Tennessee at ChattanoogaChattanoogaTennesseeUSA
| | - Elijah Reyes
- Department of Biological SciencesSimon Fraser UniversityBurnabyBritish ColumbiaCanada
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4
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Ancestral Sperm Ecotypes Reveal Multiple Invasions of a Non-Native Fish in Northern Europe. Cells 2021; 10:cells10071743. [PMID: 34359913 PMCID: PMC8304145 DOI: 10.3390/cells10071743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Revised: 07/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/05/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For externally fertilising organisms in the aquatic environment, the abiotic fertilisation medium can be a strong selecting force. Among bony fishes, sperm are adapted to function in a narrow salinity range. A notable exception is the family Gobiidae, where several species reproduce across a wide salinity range. The family also contains several wide-spread invasive species. To better understand how these fishes tolerate such varying conditions, we measured sperm performance in relation to salinity from a freshwater and a brackish population within their ancestral Ponto-Caspian region of the round goby, Neogobius melanostomus. These two ancestral populations were then compared to nine additional invaded sites across northern Europe, both in terms of their sperm traits and by using genomic SNP markers. Our results show clear patterns of ancestral adaptations to freshwater and brackish salinities in their sperm performance. Population genomic analyses show that the ancestral ecotypes have generally established themselves in environments that fit their sperm adaptations. Sites close to ports with intense shipping show that both outbreeding and admixture can affect the sperm performance of a population in a given salinity. Rapid adaptation to local conditions is also supported at some sites. Historical and contemporary evolution in the traits of the round goby sperm cells is tightly linked to the population and seascape genomics as well as biogeographic processes in these invasive fishes. Since the risk of a population establishing in an area is related to the genotype by environment match, port connectivity and the ancestry of the round goby population can likely be useful for predicting the species spread.
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Muñoz-Arroyo S, Martínez-Rincón RO, Findley LT, Hernández-Olalde L, Balart EF. Reproductive behaviors and sex roles during a diurnal cycle of the goby, Lythrypnus pulchellus (Teleostei: Gobiidae). J ETHOL 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-019-00624-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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7
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García-Berro A, Yliportimo J, Lindström K, Kvarnemo C. Understanding resource driven female-female competition: ovary and liver size in sand gobies. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:190886. [PMID: 31598312 PMCID: PMC6774974 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.190886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Accepted: 07/31/2019] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
The operational sex ratio (OSR, ready-to-mate males to females) is a key factor determining mating competition. A shortage of a resource essential for reproduction of one sex can affect OSR and lead to competition within the opposite sex for resource-holding mates. In the sand goby (Pomatoschistus minutus), a fish with paternal care, male readiness to mate depends on acquiring a nest-site, whereas food abundance primarily impacts female egg production. Comparing body condition and gonadal investment of fish from two populations with different availability in resources (Baltic Sea: few nest-sites, more food; North Sea: many nest-sites, less food), we predicted females carrying more mature eggs in the Baltic Sea than in the North Sea. As predicted, ovaries were larger in Baltic Sea females, and so was the liver (storage of energy reserves and vitellogenic compounds) for both sexes, but particularly for females. More females were judged (based on roundness scores) to be ready to spawn in the Baltic Sea. Together with a nest colonization experiment confirming a previously documented difference between the two areas in nest-site availability, these results indicate a more female-biased OSR in the Baltic Sea population, compared to the North Sea, and generates a prediction that female-female competition for mating opportunities is stronger in the Baltic population. To our knowledge, this is the first time that female reproductive investment is discussed in relation to OSR using field data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aurora García-Berro
- Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenberg, Gothenberg, Sweden
| | - Johanna Yliportimo
- Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Kai Lindström
- Environmental and Marine Biology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
| | - Charlotta Kvarnemo
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenberg, Gothenberg, Sweden
- Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
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8
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Henshaw JM, Fromhage L, Jones AG. Sex roles and the evolution of parental care specialization. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191312. [PMID: 31455191 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1312] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Males and females are defined by the relative size of their gametes (anisogamy), but secondary sexual dimorphism in fertilization, parental investment and mating competition is widespread and often remarkably stable over evolutionary timescales. Recent theory has clarified the causal connections between anisogamy and the most prevalent differences between the sexes, but deviations from these patterns remain poorly understood. Here, we study how sex differences in parental investment and mating competition coevolve with parental care specialization. Parental investment often consists of two or more distinct activities (e.g. provisioning and defence) and parents may care more efficiently by specializing in a subset of these activities. Our model predicts that efficient care specialization broadens the conditions under which biparental investment can evolve in lineages that historically had uniparental care. Major transitions in sex roles (e.g. from female-biased care with strong male mating competition to male-biased care with strong female competition) can arise following ecologically induced changes in the costs or benefits of different care types, or in the sex ratio at maturation. Our model provides a clear evolutionary mechanism for sex-role transitions, but also predicts that such transitions should be rare. It consequently contributes towards explaining widespread phylogenetic inertia in parenting and mating systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Henshaw
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter MS 3051, Moscow, ID, USA.,Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014 Finland
| | - Lutz Fromhage
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014 Finland
| | - Adam G Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter MS 3051, Moscow, ID, USA
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9
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Pärssinen V, Kalb N, Vallon M, Anthes N, Heubel K. Male and female preferences for nest characteristics under paternal care. Ecol Evol 2019; 9:7780-7791. [PMID: 31346440 PMCID: PMC6635949 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.5363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Revised: 05/13/2019] [Accepted: 05/17/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Nests play a critical role for offspring development across the animal kingdom. Nest quality may contribute to the builder's extended phenotype and serve as an ornament during mate choice. We examined male and female nest choice in the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), a benthic fish with male-only parental care where females deposit eggs in male-built nests. Using prebuilt nest models, we independently manipulated two candidate nest quality traits: (a) nest entrance width with a role in oxygen ventilation, and (b) extent of sand cover with a role in camouflage. In simultaneous choice trials, male gobies exhibited no preference for any nest model type. This suggests that initial characteristics of a nesting substrate have minor importance for males, which usually remodel the nest. Females were given a choice between two males occupying either entrance- or cover-manipulated nests. The same pair of males was then exposed to a second female but now with alternated nest types assigned. Most females were consistent in choosing the same, typically the heavier male of the two regardless of nest properties. However, the females that chose the same nest regardless of the male preferred low over high sand coverage and narrow over wide nest entrance. Our results indicate that females base their mating decision on a combination of male phenotype and nest traits. While we found no indication that females are attracted to highly decorated nests, our study is the first in fishes to disentangle a preference for narrow (and thus more protective) nest entrances independent of nest coverage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Varpu Pärssinen
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
- Department of BiologyLund UniversityLundSweden
| | - Nadine Kalb
- Institute for Evolution and EcologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
- Department of BiologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Martin Vallon
- Institute for Evolution and EcologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Nils Anthes
- Institute for Evolution and EcologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
| | - Katja Heubel
- Department of BiosciencesUniversity of HelsinkiHelsinkiFinland
- Tvärminne Zoological StationUniversity of HelsinkiHankoFinland
- Institute for Evolution and EcologyUniversity of TübingenTübingenGermany
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10
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Blom EL, Kvarnemo C, Dekhla I, Schöld S, Andersson MH, Svensson O, Amorim MCP. Continuous but not intermittent noise has a negative impact on mating success in a marine fish with paternal care. Sci Rep 2019; 9:5494. [PMID: 30940841 PMCID: PMC6445290 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-41786-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Anthropogenic underwater noise is a global pollutant of increasing concern but its impact on reproduction in fish is largely unknown. Hence, a better understanding of its consequences for this important link to fitness is crucial. Working in aquaria, we experimentally tested the impact of broadband noise exposure (added either continuously or intermittently), compared to a control, on the behaviour and reproductive success of the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), a vocal fish with exclusive paternal care. Compared to the intermittent noise and control treatments, the continuous noise treatment increased latency to female nest inspection and spawning and decreased spawning probability. In contrast, many other female and male pre-spawning behaviours, and female ventilation rate (proxies for stress levels) did not differ among treatments. Therefore, it is likely that female spawning decisions were delayed by a reduced ability to assess male acoustic signals, rather than due to stress per se and that the silent periods in the intermittent noise treatment provided a respite where the females could assess the males. Taken together, we show that noise (of similar frequency range as anthropogenic boat noise) negatively affects reproductive success, particularly under a continuous noise exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eva-Lotta Blom
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden.
| | - Charlotta Kvarnemo
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- The Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, University of Gothenburg, Box 460, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Isabelle Dekhla
- Department of Marine Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 100, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
| | - Sofie Schöld
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute, Folkborgsvägen 17, SE-603 80, Norrköping, Sweden
| | | | - Ola Svensson
- Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Gothenburg, Box 463, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- The Linnaeus Centre for Marine Evolutionary Biology, University of Gothenburg, Box 460, SE-405 30, Gothenburg, Sweden
- School of Natural Sciences, Technology and Environmental Studies, Södertörn University, Huddinge, Sweden
| | - M Clara P Amorim
- MARE - Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre, ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Rua Jardim do Tabaco, 34, 1149-041, Lisboa, Portugal
- Departamento de Biologia Animal, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
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11
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Hare RM, Simmons LW. Sexual selection and its evolutionary consequences in female animals. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2018; 94:929-956. [DOI: 10.1111/brv.12484] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2018] [Revised: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 11/02/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Robin M. Hare
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences University of Western Australia 35 Stirling Highway, Perth, 6009 Australia
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12
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Villarreal AE, Godin JGJ, Bertram SM. Influence of the operational sex ratio on mutual mate choice in the Jamaican field cricket (Gryllus assimilis): Testing the predictions of the switch point theorem. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Susan M. Bertram
- Department of Biology; Carleton University; Ottawa Ontario Canada
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13
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Heubel K. Female mating competition alters female mating preferences in common gobies. Curr Zool 2018; 64:351-361. [PMID: 30402078 PMCID: PMC6007595 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/16/2017] [Accepted: 03/28/2018] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Mating decisions can be affected by intrasexual competition and sensitive to operational sex-ratio (OSR) changes in the population. Conceptually, it is assumed that both male and female mate-competition may interfere with female reproductive decisions. Experimentally, however, the focus has been on the effect of male competition on mate choice. In many species with paternal care as in the common goby Pomatoschistus microps, the OSR is often female-biased and female mate-competition for access to available nesting males occurs. Using the same protocol for 3 experiments testing the effect of a perceived risk of female mate-competition, I studied female preferences for nest-holding males differing in its nest size (large/small), body size (large/small), and nest status (with/without eggs already in nest) and measured mating decisions, spawning latencies, and clutch size. Regardless of the social context, females preferred males with larger nests. A preference for large males was only expressed in presence of additional females. For nest status, there was a tendency for females to prefer mating with males with an empty nest. Here, female-female competition increased the propensity to mate. The results of this study show that females are sensitive to a female competitive social environment and suggest that in choice situations, females respond to the social context mainly by mating decisions per se rather than by adjusting the clutch size or spawning latency. Females base their mating decisions not only on a male's nest size but also on male size as an additional cue of mate quality in the presence of additional females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Heubel
- Institute for Zoology, Ecological Research Station Rees, Grietherbusch 3a, D-46459 Rees, Germany
- Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, J.A. Palménin tie 260, 10900 Hanko, Finland
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14
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Amundsen T. Sex roles and sexual selection: lessons from a dynamic model system. Curr Zool 2018; 64:363-392. [PMID: 30402079 PMCID: PMC6007278 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2017] [Accepted: 04/24/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Our understanding of sexual selection has greatly improved during the last decades. The focus is no longer solely on males, but also on how female competition and male mate choice shape ornamentation and other sexually selected traits in females. At the same time, the focus has shifted from documenting sexual selection to exploring variation and spatiotemporal dynamics of sexual selection, and their evolutionary consequences. Here, I review insights from a model system with exceptionally dynamic sexual selection, the two-spotted goby fish Gobiusculus flavescens. The species displays a complete reversal of sex roles over a 3-month breeding season. The reversal is driven by a dramatic change in the operational sex ratio, which is heavily male-biased at the start of the season and heavily female-biased late in the season. Early in the season, breeding-ready males outnumber mature females, causing males to be highly competitive, and leading to sexual selection on males. Late in the season, mating-ready females are in excess, engage more in courtship and aggression than males, and rarely reject mating opportunities. With typically many females simultaneously courting available males late in the season, males become selective and prefer more colorful females. This variable sexual selection regime likely explains why both male and female G. flavescens have ornamental colors. The G. flavescens model system reveals that sexual behavior and sexual selection can be astonishingly dynamic in response to short-term fluctuations in mating competition. Future work should explore whether sexual selection is equally dynamic on a spatial scale, and related spatiotemporal dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Trond Amundsen
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO 7491 Trondheim, Norway
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15
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Mück I, Heubel KU. Ecological variation along the salinity gradient in the Baltic Sea Area and its consequences for reproduction in the common goby. Curr Zool 2018; 64:259-270. [PMID: 30402067 PMCID: PMC5905452 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zoy006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Accepted: 01/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it has become clear that sexual selection may shape mating systems and drive speciation, the potential constraints of environmental factors on processes and outcomes of sexual selection are largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the geographic variation of such environmental factors, more precisely the quality and quantity of nest resources (bivalve shells) along a salinity gradient in the Baltic Sea Area (Baltic Sea, Sounds and Belts, and Kattegat). We further test whether we find any salinity-associated morphological differences in body size between populations of common gobies Pomatoschistus microps, a small marine fish with a resource-based mating system. In a geographically expansive field study, we sampled 5 populations of P. microps occurring along the salinity gradient (decreasing from West to East) in the Baltic Sea Area over 3 consecutive years. Nest resource quantity and quality decreased from West to East, and a correlation between mussel size and male body size was detected. Population density, sex ratios, mating- and reproductive success as well as brood characteristics also differed between populations but with a less clear relation to salinity. With this field study we shed light on geographic variation of distinct environmental parameters possibly acting on population differentiation. We provide insights on relevant ecological variation, and draw attention to its importance in the framework of context-dependent plasticity of sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel Mück
- Department of Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Katja U Heubel
- Department of Biology, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 28, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
- Institute for Zoology, Ecological Research Station Rees, University of Cologne, Grietherbusch 3a, D-46459 Rees, Germany
- Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, J.A. Palménin tie 260, 10900 Hanko, Finland
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16
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Wong BBM, Lehtonen TK, Lindström K. Spatial and temporal patterns of nest distribution influence sexual selection in a marine fish. OIKOS 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.05058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Bob B. M. Wong
- School of Biological Sciences Monash Univ. Victoria Australia
- Dept of Biosciences Univ. of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Topi K. Lehtonen
- School of Biological Sciences Monash Univ. Victoria Australia
- Dept of Biosciences Univ. of Helsinki Helsinki Finland
| | - Kai Lindström
- Environmental and Marine Biology Åbo Akademi Univ. FI–20520 Turku Finland
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17
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Krieg CA, Getty T. Female house wrens value the nest cavity more than exclusive access to males during conflicts with female intruders. BEHAVIOUR 2018. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-00003481] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Individuals should fight hardest when they stand to lose the most. Whereas males frequently compete for fertile females, females more often compete for high quality males, male care, or resources required to breed. We asked whether established, territorial female house wrens (Troglodytes aedon) challenged by simulated female intruders fight as if they place more value on retaining (1) their nesting cavity or (2) exclusive access to other benefits offered by males. We randomly assigned house wren pairs to receive one or three nest boxes and then assayed female aggression. The relative costs to losing differed between box treatments. For one-box females, the risk of losing the cavity and territory was higher. For three-box females, the risk of losing the cavity may be lower because intruders may be able to settle as secondary females in the supplemental boxes. In this situation, females would lose exclusive access to males and their territories but would still retain the male’s assistance rearing offspring since male house wrens favour their oldest brood. We found that one-box females were significantly more aggressive. This response may be adaptive, as females that switched territories between broods were significantly more likely to lose their entire nest prior to hatching than females that retained the same territory. We interpret our results to mean that female house wrens value the nest cavity more than other benefits from exclusive access to males and their territories. This work contributes to a body of evidence that females often compete for resources required to breed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cara A. Krieg
- aMichigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- bW.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA
| | - Thomas Getty
- aMichigan State University, Department of Integrative Biology, East Lansing, MI 48824, USA
- bW.K. Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI 49060, USA
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Vallon M, Heubel KU. Egg density and salinity influence filial cannibalism in common gobies. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-017-2390-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Ojaveer H, Gross R, Laur K, Arula T, Klais R. Genetic analysis reveals the diversity of larval Gobiidae in a temperate estuary. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2017; 91:1048-1061. [PMID: 28944466 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2016] [Accepted: 07/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Using molecular tools to examine Gobiidae, the second most abundant taxon in ichthyoplankton samples in the Gulf of Riga (Baltic Sea), the sand goby Pomatoschistus minutus was the most abundant taxon (82% of all individuals analysed), the common goby Pomatoschistus microps constituted 12% and the black goby Gobius niger 6%. The spatiotemporal distribution of P. microps and G. niger indicated a preference for habitats closer to the river inlet and their abundances increased slightly towards the end of the sampling period in summer. The species composition was interpreted in the context of the prevailing habitat conditions, characterized by extremely low water transparency, low salinity, limited spread of vegetated area and dominance of sandy-muddy substrata.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Ojaveer
- Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Lootsi 2a, 80012, Pärnu, Estonia
| | - R Gross
- Department of Aquaculture, Institute of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 48, 51014, Tartu, Estonia
| | - K Laur
- Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Lootsi 2a, 80012, Pärnu, Estonia
| | - T Arula
- Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Lootsi 2a, 80012, Pärnu, Estonia
| | - R Klais
- Estonian Marine Institute, University of Tartu, Lootsi 2a, 80012, Pärnu, Estonia
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20
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Scordato ES. Geographical variation in male territory defence strategies in an avian ring species. Anim Behav 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2017.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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21
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Vallon M, Anthes N, Heubel KU. Water mold infection but not paternity induces selective filial cannibalism in a goby. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:7221-7229. [PMID: 28725393 PMCID: PMC5513269 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2016] [Revised: 08/04/2016] [Accepted: 08/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animals heavily invest in parental care but still reject at least some of their offspring. Although seemingly paradoxical, selection can favor parents to neglect offspring of particularly low reproductive value, for example, because of small survival chances. We here assess whether filial cannibalism (FC), where parents routinely eat some of their own young, is selective in response to individual offspring reproductive value. We performed two independent laboratory experiments in the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps) to test whether caring fathers preferentially cannibalize eggs of a given infection history and paternity. While males did not discriminate kin from nonkin eggs, they consumed significantly more eggs previously exposed to water mold compared to uninfected eggs. Our findings clearly show that parents differentiate between eggs based on differences in egg condition, and thus complement the prevailing view that FC arises for energetic reasons. By preventing the spread of microbial infections, the removal of molded eggs can constitute an important component of parental care and may represent a key driver of selective FC in a wide array of parental fish.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Vallon
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Nils Anthes
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany
| | - Katja U Heubel
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology University of Tübingen Tübingen Germany.,Present address: Institute for Zoology Grietherbusch Ecological Research Station University of Cologne Cologne Germany
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Ah-King M, Gowaty PA. A conceptual review of mate choice: stochastic demography, within-sex phenotypic plasticity, and individual flexibility. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:4607-42. [PMID: 27547301 PMCID: PMC4979695 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2015] [Revised: 03/11/2016] [Accepted: 03/21/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate choice hypotheses usually focus on trait variation of chosen individuals. Recently, mate choice studies have increasingly attended to the environmental circumstances affecting variation in choosers' behavior and choosers' traits. We reviewed the literature on phenotypic plasticity in mate choice with the goal of exploring whether phenotypic plasticity can be interpreted as individual flexibility in the context of the switch point theorem, SPT (Gowaty and Hubbell 2009). We found >3000 studies; 198 were empirical studies of within‐sex phenotypic plasticity, and sixteen showed no evidence of mate choice plasticity. Most studies reported changes from choosy to indiscriminate behavior of subjects. Investigators attributed changes to one or more causes including operational sex ratio, adult sex ratio, potential reproductive rate, predation risk, disease risk, chooser's mating experience, chooser's age, chooser's condition, or chooser's resources. The studies together indicate that “choosiness” of potential mates is environmentally and socially labile, that is, induced – not fixed – in “the choosy sex” with results consistent with choosers' intrinsic characteristics or their ecological circumstances mattering more to mate choice than the traits of potential mates. We show that plasticity‐associated variables factor into the simpler SPT variables. We propose that it is time to complete the move from questions about within‐sex plasticity in the choosy sex to between‐ and within‐individual flexibility in reproductive decision‐making of both sexes simultaneously. Currently, unanswered empirical questions are about the force of alternative constraints and opportunities as inducers of individual flexibility in reproductive decision‐making, and the ecological, social, and developmental sources of similarities and differences between individuals. To make progress, we need studies (1) of simultaneous and symmetric attention to individual mate preferences and subsequent behavior in both sexes, (2) controlled for within‐individual variation in choice behavior as demography changes, and which (3) report effects on fitness from movement of individual's switch points.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin Ah-King
- Centre for Gender Research Uppsala University Box 527 SE-751 20 Uppsala Sweden; Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Dr. S.Los Angeles California 90095; Department of Ethnology History of Religions and Gender Studies Stockholm University Universitetsvägen 10 ESE-106 91 Stockholm Sweden
| | - Patricia Adair Gowaty
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 621 Charles E. Young Dr. S.Los Angeles California 90095; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute Box 0948, DPOAA 34002-9998 Washington, D.C; Institute of the Environment and Sustainability University of California Los Angeles California 90095
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Male personality and female spawning consistency in a goby with exclusive male care. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-016-2089-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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24
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Weigel EG, Tinghitella RM, Boughman JW. No evidence for adjustment of maternal investment under alternative mate availability regimes. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2016; 88:508-522. [PMID: 26508506 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.12793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2015] [Accepted: 09/07/2015] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
Using treatments that mimic high and low availability of reproductive males, it was found that female three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus, previously shown to adjust their mate choices when male mates were rare, did not alter their reproductive investment strategies. These results suggest that plasticity in investment is perhaps limited by physiological requirements or dependent on relatively extreme mate availability regimes. The probability of becoming reproductive, number of clutches per season (per female), initial clutch size and mass and the timing of reproduction were all independent of the experience a female had with mate availability. This suggests that pre-copulatory plasticity in reproductive strategies may contribute more to variation in the strength and direction of sexual selection than reproductive investment in offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- E G Weigel
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane Road RM 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, 567 Wilson Road Room 1441, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
| | - R M Tinghitella
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Denver, F. W. Olin Hall, Room 102, 2190 E. Iliff Ave, Denver, CO 80208-9010, U.S.A
| | - J W Boughman
- Department of Zoology, Michigan State University, 288 Farm Lane Road RM 203, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
- BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action, Michigan State University, Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building, 567 Wilson Road Room 1441, East Lansing, MI 48824, U.S.A
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Vallon M, Grom C, Kalb N, Sprenger D, Anthes N, Lindström K, Heubel KU. You eat what you are: personality-dependent filial cannibalism in a fish with paternal care. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:1340-52. [PMID: 27087921 PMCID: PMC4775538 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2015] [Revised: 12/21/2015] [Accepted: 12/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Many animal parents invest heavily to ensure offspring survival, yet some eventually consume some or all of their very own young. This so‐called filial cannibalism is known from a wide range of taxa, but its adaptive benefit remains largely unclear. The extent to which parents cannibalize their broods varies substantially not only between species, but also between individuals, indicating that intrinsic behavioral differences, or animal personalities, might constitute a relevant proximate trigger for filial cannibalism. Using a marine fish with extensive paternal care, the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), we investigated the influence of animal personality on filial cannibalism by assessing (1) behavioral consistency across a breeding and a nonbreeding context; (2) correlations between different breeding (egg fanning; filial cannibalism) and nonbreeding (activity) behaviors, and, in a separate experiment; (3) whether previously established personality scores affect filial cannibalism levels. We found consistent individual differences in activity across contexts. Partial filial cannibalism was independent of egg fanning but correlated strongly with activity, where active males cannibalized more eggs than less active males. This pattern was strong initially but vanished as the breeding season progressed. The incidence of whole clutch filial cannibalism increased with activity and clutch size. Our findings indicate that filial cannibalism cannot generally be adjusted independently of male personality and is thus phenotypically less plastic than typically assumed. The present work stresses the multidimensional interaction between animal personality, individual plasticity and the environment in shaping filial cannibalism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Vallon
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
| | - Christina Grom
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
| | - Nadine Kalb
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
| | - Dennis Sprenger
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
| | - Nils Anthes
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
| | - Kai Lindström
- Environmental and Marine Biology Åbo Akademi University 20520 Turku Finland
| | - Katja U Heubel
- Animal Evolutionary Ecology group University of Tübingen 72076 Tübingen Germany
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Muniz DG, Machado G. Experimental limitation of oviposition sites affects the mating system of an arachnid with resource defence polygyny. Anim Behav 2015. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.08.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
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27
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Kappus S, Fong P. Sex ratio does not influence sex change despite its effect on reproductive success. Behav Ecol 2014. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/aru039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Wacker S, Amundsen T. Mate competition and resource competition are inter-related in sexual selection. J Evol Biol 2014; 27:466-77. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2013] [Accepted: 11/24/2013] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- S. Wacker
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim Norway
| | - T. Amundsen
- Department of Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim Norway
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de Jong K, Forsgren E, Sandvik H, Amundsen T. Measuring mating competition correctly: available evidence supports operational sex ratio theory. Behav Ecol 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ars094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractCentral to sexual selection theory is the question of when individuals should compete for mates. Theory predicts that the sex ratio of ready-to-mate individuals (operational sex ratio; OSR) affects male and female mating competition. In accordance with this, the strength of mating competition, measured by agonistic behaviors and courtship displays, has been found to co-vary with the OSR in field populations of several species. However, laboratory experiments have often produced results that seemingly contradict OSR theory, especially for courtship behavior. We argue that this may be because experiments typically measure frequencies of competitive behaviors. Frequencies of courtship and agonistic behavior are not only affected by the level of mating competition, but also by the number of potential mates or competitors encountered. In contrast, the propensity to behave competitively at a given encounter represents a behavioral response, and thus directly reflects mating competition. We show in 2 simple models that 1) courtship frequency can be expected to respond differently from courtship propensity to changes in OSR and 2) an increase in frequency of agonistic behaviors could occur even if the propensity is not affected by the OSR. In a meta-analysis of studies on courtship competition, we show that frequency measures produced largely opposite results to propensity measures, as predicted by our model. Moreover, courtship propensity increased when the OSR became more biased toward competitors. This presents strong evidence that the OSR affects competition, in the form of courtship, as predicted by OSR theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karen de Jong
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) 7491 Trondheim, Norwayand
| | - Elisabet Forsgren
- The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) 7485 Trondheim, Norway
| | - Hanno Sandvik
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) 7491 Trondheim, Norwayand
| | - Trond Amundsen
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) 7491 Trondheim, Norwayand
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33
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Wacker S, de Jong K, Forsgren E, Amundsen T. Large males fight and court more across a range of social environments: an experiment on the two spotted goby Gobiusculus flavescens. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2012; 81:21-34. [PMID: 22747802 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2012.03296.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
The present study explored how male size relates to mating competition across a natural range of male and female densities in the two-spotted goby Gobiusculus flavescens. Across this range of social environments, large males were more than twice as likely as small ones to chase other males, to become nest-holders, and to court females, but large males were not significantly more likely to engage in agonistic fin displays. Overall, the study showed that large males court and fight more than small ones across a wide, yet natural, span of social environments. Having a large body size appears to confer competitive advantage for males in any social environment of the study species. Further studies are needed to disentangle whether the benefit of large size is mainly in competition over resources, over matings as such, or both.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Wacker
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
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34
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Borg ÅA, Åsmul T, Bolstad GH, Viken Å, Berglund A, Rosenqvist G. Interactions Among Female Guppies (Poecilia reticulata) Affect Growth and Reproduction. Ethology 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1439-0310.2012.02065.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Åsa A. Borg
- Department of Biology; Centre for Conservation Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim; Norway
| | - Tommy Åsmul
- Department of Biology; Centre for Conservation Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim; Norway
| | - Geir H. Bolstad
- Department of Biology; Centre for Conservation Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim; Norway
| | - Åslaug Viken
- The Norwegian Biodiversity Information Centre; Trondheim; Norway
| | - Anders Berglund
- Department of Ecology and Genetics; Uppsala University; Uppsala; Sweden
| | - Gunilla Rosenqvist
- Department of Biology; Centre for Conservation Biology; Norwegian University of Science and Technology; Trondheim; Norway
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Björk JR, Kvarnemo C. Mechanisms behind size-assortative nest choice by sand goby males in the absence of intrasexual competition. Anim Behav 2012. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/15/2022]
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37
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Rosvall KA. Intrasexual competition in females: evidence for sexual selection? Behav Ecol 2011; 22:1131-1140. [PMID: 22479137 PMCID: PMC3199163 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arr106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 268] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2010] [Revised: 11/29/2010] [Accepted: 05/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
In spite of recent interest in sexual selection in females, debate exists over whether traits that influence female-female competition are sexually selected. This review uses female-female aggressive behavior as a model behavioral trait for understanding the evolutionary mechanisms promoting intrasexual competition, focusing especially on sexual selection. I employ a broad definition of sexual selection, whereby traits that influence competition for mates are sexually selected, whereas those that directly influence fecundity or offspring survival are naturally selected. Drawing examples from across animal taxa, including humans, I examine 4 predictions about female intrasexual competition based on the abundance of resources, the availability of males, and the direct or indirect benefits those males provide. These patterns reveal a key sex difference in sexual selection: Although females may compete for the number of mates, they appear to compete more so for access to high-quality mates that provide direct and indirect (genetic) benefits. As is the case in males, intrasexual selection in females also includes competition for essential resources required for access to mates. If mate quality affects the magnitude of mating success, then restricting sexual selection to competition for quantity of mates may ignore important components of fitness in females and underestimate the role of sexual selection in shaping female phenotype. In the future, understanding sex differences in sexual selection will require further exploration of the extent of mutual intrasexual competition and the incorporation of quality of mating success into the study of sexual selection in both sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kimberly A Rosvall
- Department of Biology, Indiana University, Jordan Hall, Rm 142, 1001 E. 3rd Street, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
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38
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Unusual allometry for sexual size dimorphism in a cichlid where males are extremely larger than females. J Biosci 2011; 35:257-65. [PMID: 20689182 DOI: 10.1007/s12038-010-0030-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
When males are the larger sex, a positive allometric relationship between male and female sizes is often found across populations of a single species (i.e. Rensch's rule). This pattern is typically explained by a sexual selection pressure on males. Here, we report that the allometric relationship was negative across populations of a shell-brooding cichlid fish Lamprologus callipterus, although males are extremely larger than females. Male L. callipterus collect and defend empty snail shells in each of which a female breeds. We found that, across six populations, male and female sizes are positively correlated with not only sexual and fecundity selection indices, but also with shell sizes. Given their different reproductive behaviours, these correlations mean that males are required to be more powerful, and thus larger, to transport larger shells, while female bodies are reduced to the shell size to enable them to enter the shells. Among the three size selections (sexual selection, fecundity selection and shell size), shell size explained the allometry, suggesting that females are more strongly subject to size selection associated with shell size availability than males. However, the allometry was violated when considering an additional population where size-selection regimes of males differed from that of other populations. Therefore, sexual size allometry will be violated by body size divergence induced by multiple selection regimes.
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Svensson PA, Blount JD, Forsgren E, Amundsen T. Female ornamentation and egg carotenoids of six sympatric gobies. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2009; 75:2777-2787. [PMID: 20738523 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2009.02478.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
Belly colouration, gonad carotenoid concentration and skin transparency were quantified in gravid Gobiusculus flavescens, as well as in females of five sympatric gobies where belly ornamentation has not been described. Although G. flavescens females did, indeed, have far more colourful bellies than the other species, this could only in part be explained by a high concentration of total gonad carotenoids. Comparable, or occasionally higher, carotenoid levels were found in the gonads of other species. Instead, the unusual ornamentation of G. flavescens arises from a unique combination of carotenoid-rich gonads and a highly transparent abdominal skin.
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Affiliation(s)
- P A Svensson
- Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, NO-7491 Trondheim, Norway.
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40
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de Jong K, Wacker S, Amundsen T, Forsgren E. Do operational sex ratio and density affect mating behaviour? An experiment on the two-spotted goby. Anim Behav 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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41
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Abstract
According to theory, directional female choice for male sexual ornaments is expected to erode underlying genetic variation. Considerable attention, in this regard, has been given to understanding the ubiquity of heritable genetic variation in both female choice and male sexual traits. One intriguing possibility emerging from this work is that persistent genetic variation could be maintained, over time, by variation in female mate preferences. Here, we report the results of a four-year study showing significant year-to-year fluctuations in mate preferences in a small marine fish, the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Although the average size of mature fish varied across years, we were unable to find direct evidence linking this variation to differences in female preferences among years. Our results, nevertheless, underscore the importance of temporal fluctuations in female mate preferences, as these can have important consequences for understanding variation in sexual traits and the intensity of sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Topi K Lehtonen
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia.
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Saraiva JL, Barata EN, Canário AVM, Oliveira RF. The effect of nest aggregation on the reproductive behaviour of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2009; 74:754-762. [PMID: 20735597 DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2008.02153.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/29/2023]
Abstract
The effect of nest aggregation in courtship behaviour was tested experimentally in an ecologically constrained, sex-role reversed population of the peacock blenny Salaria pavo. Mixed sex groups of eight males and eight females were tested in experimental tanks, containing eight potential nests either aggregated or dispersed. In the aggregated treatment, males spent more time inside their nests and monopolized other potential nests, causing a female-biased operational sex ratio (OSR). In the aggregated treatment, females also expressed more courtship behaviour. The results in general support the prediction that the aggregation of nests promotes male monopolization of potential nests, resulting in fewer nest-holding males and therefore a female-biased OSR that leads to the reversal of sex roles.
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Affiliation(s)
- J L Saraiva
- Unidade de Investigação em Eco-Etologia, Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada, Rua Jardim do Tabaco 34, Lisboa, Portugal.
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Reichard M, Ondračková M, Bryjová A, Smith C, Bryja J. BREEDING RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION AFFECTS SELECTION GRADIENTS ON MALE PHENOTYPIC TRAITS: EXPERIMENTAL STUDY ON LIFETIME REPRODUCTIVE SUCCESS IN THE BITTERLING FISH (RHODEUS AMARUS). Evolution 2009; 63:377-90. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2008.00572.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Heubel KU, Lindström K, Kokko H. Females increase current reproductive effort when future access to males is uncertain. Biol Lett 2008; 4:224-7. [PMID: 18270162 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2007.0630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Trade-offs between current and future reproduction shape life histories of organisms, e.g. increased mortality selects for earlier reproductive effort, and mate limitation has been shown to shape male life histories. Here, we show that female life histories respond adaptively to mate limitation. Female common gobies (Pomatoschistus microps) respond to a female-biased operational sex ratio by strongly increasing the size of their first clutch. The plastic response is predicted by a model that assumes that females use the current competitive situation to predict future difficulties of securing a mating. Because female clutch size decisions are much more closely linked to population dynamics than male life-history traits, plastic responses to mate-finding limitations may be an underappreciated force in population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja U Heubel
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Helsinki, 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
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45
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Lehtonen TK, Lindström K. Density-dependent sexual selection in the monogamous fish Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. OIKOS 2008. [DOI: 10.1111/j.0030-1299.2008.16677.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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46
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Monogamy when there is potential for polygyny: tests of multiple hypotheses in a group-living fish. Behav Ecol 2008. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arm141] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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48
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Singer A, Kvarnemo C, Lindström K, Svensson O. Genetic mating patterns studied in pools with manipulated nest site availability in two populations of Pomatoschistus minutus. J Evol Biol 2006; 19:1641-50. [PMID: 16910993 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2006.01114.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Pomatoschistus minutus show paternal care in a resource defence mating system. We investigated the effect of nest-site availability on parasitic spawning. Each experimental pool contained four potentially nest-building males, four females and nests-sites in shortage (2) or excess (6). Both treatments were conducted in two populations; one with natural nest-sites in excess, one with a nest-site shortage. Microsatellite-DNA revealed that all nest-holders had fertilized most of the eggs they tended. Yet, 35% of the nests contained eggs fertilized by another male and 14.4% of the males had performed parasitic spawning. There was no site or treatment effect. Several females spawned in two nests, which coincided with parasitic spawnings, suggesting a cost to the nest-holder in terms of lost mating success. Nest-holders with and without eggs and non-nesting males all spawned parasitically, generating a significantly lower opportunity for sexual selection compared to if there had been no parasitic spawning.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Singer
- Department of Zoology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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49
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Kokko H, Rankin DJ. Lonely hearts or sex in the city? Density-dependent effects in mating systems. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2006; 361:319-34. [PMID: 16612890 PMCID: PMC1569612 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2005.1784] [Citation(s) in RCA: 440] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Two very basic ideas in sexual selection are heavily influenced by numbers of potential mates: the evolution of anisogamy, leading to sex role differentiation, and the frequency dependence of reproductive success that tends to equalize primary sex ratios. However, being explicit about the numbers of potential mates is not typical to most evolutionary theory of sexual selection. Here, we argue that this may prevent us from finding the appropriate ecological equilibria that determine the evolutionary endpoints of selection. We review both theoretical and empirical advances on how population density may influence aspects of mating systems such as intrasexual competition, female choice or resistance, and parental care. Density can have strong effects on selective pressures, whether or not there is phenotypic plasticity in individual strategies with respect to density. Mating skew may either increase or decrease with density, which may be aided or counteracted by changes in female behaviour. Switchpoints between alternative mating strategies can be density dependent, and mate encounter rates may influence mate choice (including mutual mate choice), multiple mating, female resistance to male mating attempts, mate searching, mate guarding, parental care, and the probability of divorce. Considering density-dependent selection may be essential for understanding how populations can persist at all despite sexual conflict, but simple models seem to fail to predict the diversity of observed responses in nature. This highlights the importance of considering the interaction between mating systems and population dynamics, and we strongly encourage further work in this area.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hanna Kokko
- Laboratory of Ecological and Evolutionary Dynamics, Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Helsinki, PO Box 65 (Vükinkaari 1), 00014 Helsinki, Finland.
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50
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Magnhagen C. Information about an opponent can decrease aggression in male common gobies competing for nest sites. Anim Behav 2006. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2005.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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