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Hankison S, Gangloff EJ, Fry B, Arnold A, Lashway AJ, Betts JM, Otap SD, Walter K, Juergens MY, Crawford A. Effects of reliance on stored sperm on reproduction in the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna. JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY 2022; 101:1628-1633. [PMID: 36134581 PMCID: PMC10091790 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.15228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 09/21/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The impacts of relying on stored sperm were evaluated in the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna. Females reliant on stored sperm had fewer offspring compared to remated females, but offspring size and short-term growth rate did not differ. Thus, females may use stored sperm in cases such as previous mating with a preferred male, lack of access to mating opportunities during a reproductive cycle, or to maximize egg fertilization. Females do not compensate for producing fewer offspring however, by allocating more resources to offspring relative to their size or initial growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shala Hankison
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Eric J. Gangloff
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Breanna Fry
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Alena Arnold
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - A. J. Lashway
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Jenell M. Betts
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Sandra D. Otap
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | - Katherine Walter
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
| | | | - Alax Crawford
- Department of Biological Sciences, Ohio Wesleyan UniversityDelawareOhioUSA
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Spagopoulou F, Vega-Trejo R, Head ML, Jennions MD. Shifts in Reproductive Investment in Response to Competitors Lower Male Reproductive Success. Am Nat 2020; 196:355-368. [PMID: 32813996 DOI: 10.1086/709821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIn many species, males exhibit phenotypic plasticity in sexually selected traits when exposed to social cues about the intensity of sexual competition. To date, however, few studies have tested how this plasticity affects male reproductive success. We initially tested whether male mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki (Poeciliidae), change their investment in traits under pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection depending on the social environment. For a full spermatogenesis cycle, focal males were exposed to visual and chemical cues of rivals that were either present (competitive treatment) or absent (control). Males from the competitive treatment had significantly slower-swimming sperm but did not differ in sperm count from control males. When two males competed for a female, competitive treatment males also made significantly fewer copulation attempts and courtship displays than control males. Further, paternity analysis of 708 offspring from 148 potential sires, testing whether these changes in reproductive traits affected male reproductive success, showed that males previously exposed to cues about the presence of rivals sired significantly fewer offspring when competing with a control male. We discuss several possible explanations for these unusual findings.
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Chung MHJ, Jennions MD, Fox RJ. Novel ablation technique shows no sperm priming response by male eastern mosquitofish to cues of female availability. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-019-2779-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Kim D, Aspbury AS, Zúñiga-Vega JJ, Gabor CR. Smaller rival males do not affect male mate choice or cortisol but do affect 11-ketotestosterone in a unisexual-bisexual mating complex of fish. Behav Processes 2019; 167:103916. [PMID: 31386887 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2019.103916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2019] [Revised: 07/18/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Male mate discrimination may be affected by the social environment (presence or absence of rival males or mates), which can also affect stress and sex hormones (e.g., cortisol and 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT)). The Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa, is an all-female fish species dependent on sperm from mating with male P. latipinna. We investigated male mate choice in P. latipinna between conspecific females and P. formosa with a rival male present and no rival male present. We measured cortisol and 11-KT release rates from all fish. The presence of a rival male had no effect on male mate choice for conspecific females nor overall mating effort. Male 11-KT decreased on the second day after exposure to a rival male on the first day. Focal male 11-KT is positively correlated with the size of the rival male. Both conspecific and heterospecific females released more 11-KT when in the rival male treatment than when not. Neither male nor female cortisol was affected by the presence or absence of the rival male. We did not find an effect of rival males on male mate choice in contrast to our prediction. Instead, our findings may indicate a hormonal response to social competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Kim
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - Andrea S Aspbury
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA
| | - J Jaime Zúñiga-Vega
- Departamento de Ecología y Recursos Naturales, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Cuidad Universitaria 04510, Distrito Federal, Mexico
| | - Caitlin R Gabor
- Department of Biology, Texas State University, 601 University Drive, San Marcos, TX 78666, USA.
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5
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Nöbel S, Witte K. Public information influences sperm transfer to females in sailfin molly males. PLoS One 2013; 8:e53865. [PMID: 23342021 PMCID: PMC3547040 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2012] [Accepted: 12/06/2012] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In animals, including humans, the social environment can serve as a public information network in which individuals can gather public information about the quality of potential mates by observing conspecifics during sexual interactions. The observing individual itself is also a part of this information network. When recognized by the observed conspecifics as an audience, his/her presence could influence the sexual interaction between those individuals, because the observer might be considered as a potential mate or competitor. One of the most challenging questions in sexual selection to date is how the use of public information in the context of mate choice is linked to the fitness of individuals. Here, we could show that public information influences mate-choice behaviour in sailfin molly males, Poecilia latipinna, and influences the amount of sperm males transfer to a female partner. In the presence of an audience male, males spent less time with the previously preferred, larger of two females and significantly more time with the previously non-preferred, smaller female. When males could physically interact with a female and were faced with an audience male, three audience females or no audience, males transferred significantly more sperm to a female partner in the presence of an audience male than with female audience or no audience and spent less time courting his female partner. This is the first study showing that public information use turns into fitness investment, which is the crucial factor to understand the role of public information in the dynamic processes in sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sabine Nöbel
- Section of Biology, Research Group of Ecology and Behavioral Biology, University of Siegen, Siegen, Germany.
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RIESCH RÜDIGER, PLATH MARTIN, MAKOWICZ AMBERM, SCHLUPP INGO. Behavioural and life-history regulation in a unisexual/bisexual mating system: does male mate choice affect female reproductive life histories? Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1095-8312.2012.01886.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
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Swanbrow Becker LJ, Aspbury AS, Gabor CR. Body Size Dependent Male Sexual Behavior in a Natural Population of Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna). AMERICAN MIDLAND NATURALIST 2012. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-167.2.366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Shifferman EM. It's all in your head: the role of quantity estimation in sperm competition. Proc Biol Sci 2012; 279:833-40. [PMID: 22171084 PMCID: PMC3259941 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2011.2256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2011] [Accepted: 11/25/2011] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of animal cognition has provided valuable data throughout the years, yet its reliance on laboratory work leaves some open questions. The main question is whether animals employ cognition in daily decision-making. The following discussion uses sperm competition (SC) as a test case for demonstrating the effect of cognition on routine choices, in this case, sexual selection. Cognition is manifested here by males' ability to represent the number of rivals competing with them. I claim that response to SC is driven by quantity estimation and the ability to assess competition magnitude cognitively. Hence, cognition can determine males' response to SC, and consequentially it can be selected within this context. This supports the argument that cognition constitutes an integral part of an individual's toolbox in solving real-life problems, and shows that physical and behavioural phenomena can expose cognition to selection and facilitate its evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eran M Shifferman
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Adolf Lorenz Gasse 2, 3422 Altenberg, Austria.
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Plath M, Bierbach D. Sex and the public: Social eavesdropping, sperm competition risk and male mate choice. Commun Integr Biol 2011; 4:276-80. [PMID: 21980557 DOI: 10.4161/cib.4.3.14916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2011] [Accepted: 01/23/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mate choice can be sensitive to social cues from neighboring individuals, e.g., animals can copy mate choice decisions. Males that are at risk of being copied by others may respond to this with reduced preference expression ("audience effects"). We review the various pathways by which sperm competition risk affects (1) male mate copying behavior and (2) audience effects. For example, a recent study suggests that males gather complex social information on rivals' sexual competitiveness (sexual activity and attractiveness to females) and respond with reduced expression of mating preferences only "when it matters," i.e., when a sexually competitive rival is present.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Plath
- Department of Ecology & Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt, Germany
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Kelly CD, Jennions MD. Sexual selection and sperm quantity: meta-analyses of strategic ejaculation. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2011; 86:863-84. [PMID: 21414127 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-185x.2011.00175.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 214] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Clint D Kelly
- Department of Ecology, Evolution & Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, USA.
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Mobarak YMS, Sharaf MM. Lead Acetate-induced Histopathological Changes in the Gills and Digestive System of Silver Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna). ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2010. [DOI: 10.3923/ijzr.2011.1.18] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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Fedorka KM, Winterhalter WE, Ware B. PERCEIVED SPERM COMPETITION INTENSITY INFLUENCES SEMINAL FLUID PROTEIN PRODUCTION PRIOR TO COURTSHIP AND MATING. Evolution 2010; 65:584-90. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2010.01141.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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Makowicz A, Plath M, Schlupp I. Using video playback to study the effect of an audience on male mating behavior in the Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). Behav Processes 2010; 85:36-41. [DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2010.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2009] [Revised: 05/13/2010] [Accepted: 06/03/2010] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Smith CC, Ryan MJ. Evolution of sperm quality but not quantity in the internally fertilized fish Xiphophorus nigrensis. J Evol Biol 2010; 23:1759-71. [PMID: 20626545 DOI: 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2010.02041.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Species with alternative reproductive strategies are characterized by discrete differences among males in suites of traits related to competition for fertilizations. Models predict sneaker males should allocate more resources to their ejaculates because they experience sperm competition more frequently and often occupy a disfavoured 'role' owing to subordinance in intramale competition and female preferences for larger males. We examined whether sperm number and quality differed between male strategies in the internally fertilized fish Xiphophorus nigrensis and explored the relationship between sperm morphology and performance. We found sneaker males had similar testes sizes compared to courting males but ejaculates with both more viable and longer lived sperm. Sneaker sperm also had longer midpieces, which was positively correlated with both velocity and longevity. Our study suggests that the evolution of sperm quantity and quality can be decoupled and that the sperm morphology is likely to play an important role in mediating sperm competition through its effects on sperm performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- C C Smith
- University of Texas at Austin, Section of Integrative Biology, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
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Plath M, Richter S, Schlupp I, Tiedemann R. Misleading mollies: surface- but not cave-dwelling Poecilia mexicana males deceive competitors about mating preferences. Acta Ethol 2010. [DOI: 10.1007/s10211-010-0074-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Ziege M, Mahlow K, Hennige-Schulz C, Kronmarck C, Tiedemann R, Streit B, Plath M. Audience effects in the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana)-prudent male mate choice in response to perceived sperm competition risk? Front Zool 2009; 6:17. [PMID: 19698098 PMCID: PMC2741447 DOI: 10.1186/1742-9994-6-17] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2009] [Accepted: 08/21/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Multidirectional interactions in social networks can have a profound effect on mate choice behavior; e.g., Poecilia mexicana males show weaker expression of mating preferences when being observed by a rival. This may be an adaptation to reduce sperm competition risk, which arises because commonly preferred female phenotypes will receive attention also from surrounding males, and/or because other males can copy the focal male's mate choice. Do P. mexicana males indeed respond to perceived sperm competition risk? We gave males a choice between two females and repeated the tests under one of the following conditions: (1) an empty transparent cylinder was presented (control); (2) another ("audience") male inside the cylinder observed the focal male throughout the 2nd part, or (3) the audience male was presented only before the tests, but could not eavesdrop during the actual choice tests (non-specific sperm competition risk treatments); (4) the focal male could see a rival male interact sexually with the previously preferred, or (5) with the non-preferred female before the 2nd part of the tests (specific sperm competition risk treatments). Results The strength of individual male preferences declined slightly also during the control treatment (1). However, this decrease was more than two-fold stronger in audience treatment (2), i.e., with non-specific sperm competition risk including the possibility for visual eavesdropping by the audience male. No audience effect was found in treatments (3) and (5), but a weak effect was also observed when the focal male had seen the previously preferred female sexually interact with a rival male (treatment 4; specific sperm competition risk). Conclusion When comparing the two 'non-specific sperm competition risk' treatments, a very strong effect was found only when the audience male could actually observe the focal male during mate choice [treatment (2)]. This suggests that focal males indeed attempt to conceal their mating preferences so as to prevent surrounding males from copying their mate choice. When there is no potential for eavesdropping [treatment (3)], non-specific specific sperm competition risk seems to play a minor or no role. Our results also show that P. mexicana males tend to share their mating effort more equally among females when the resource value of their previously preferred mate decreases after mating with a rival male (perceived specific sperm competition risk), but this effect is comparatively weak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madlen Ziege
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J,W, Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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Evans JP. No evidence for sperm priming responses under varying sperm competition risk or intensity in guppies. Naturwissenschaften 2009; 96:771-9. [DOI: 10.1007/s00114-009-0529-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2009] [Revised: 03/10/2009] [Accepted: 03/10/2009] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Wong BBM, McCarthy M. Prudent male mate choice under perceived sperm competition risk in the eastern mosquito fish. Behav Ecol 2009. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arp010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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Schlupp I. Chapter 5 Behavior of Fishes in the Sexual/Unisexual Mating System of the Amazon Molly (Poecilia formosa). ADVANCES IN THE STUDY OF BEHAVIOR 2009. [DOI: 10.1016/s0065-3454(09)39005-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
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20
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Robinson DM, Aspbury AS, Gabor CR. Differential sperm expenditure by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, in a unisexual–bisexual species complex and the influence of spermiation during mating. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2007. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-007-0495-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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