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Tiedemann R, Riesch R, Tomowski M, Havenstein K, Schlupp J, Berbel-Filho WM, Schlupp I. Genetic and phenotypic diversification in a widespread fish, the Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna). BMC Ecol Evol 2024; 24:87. [PMID: 38951779 PMCID: PMC11218414 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-024-02270-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2024] [Accepted: 06/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/03/2024] Open
Abstract
Widespread species often experience significant environmental clines over the area they naturally occupy. We investigated a widespread livebearing fish, the Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) combining genetic, life-history, and environmental data, asking how structured populations are. Sailfin mollies can be found in coastal freshwater and brackish habitats from roughly Tampico, Veracruz in Mexico to Wilmington, North Carolina, in the USA. In addition, they are found inland on the Florida peninsula. Using microsatellite DNA, we genotyped 168 individuals from 18 populations covering most of the natural range of the Sailfin molly. We further determined standard life-history parameters for both males and females for these populations. Finally, we measured biotic and abiotic parameters in the field. We found six distinct genetic clusters based on microsatellite data, with very strong indication of isolation by distance. However, we also found significant numbers of migrants between adjacent populations. Despite genetic structuring we did not find evidence of cryptic speciation. The genetic clusters and the migration patterns do not match paleodrainages. Life histories vary between populations but not in a way that is easy to interpret. We suggest a role of humans in migration in the sailfin molly, for example in the form of a ship channel that connects southern Texas with Louisiana which might be a conduit for fish migration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ralph Tiedemann
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
- CEFE, CNRS, Univ Montpellier, EPHE, IRD, Montpellier, France
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
| | - Maxi Tomowski
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Katja Havenstein
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Jan Schlupp
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- Amazon, amazon.com, Arlington, VA, 22202, USA
| | - Waldir Miron Berbel-Filho
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- International Stock Center for Livebearing Fishes, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA
- Department of Biology, University of West Florida, Pensacola, FL, 32514, USA
| | - Ingo Schlupp
- Unit of Evolutionary Biology/Systematic Zoology Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany.
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
- International Stock Center for Livebearing Fishes, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, 73019, USA.
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Pacher K, Hernández-Román N, Juarez-Lopez A, Jiménez-Jiménez JE, Lukas J, Sevinchan Y, Krause J, Arias-Rodríguez L, Bierbach D. Thermal tolerance in an extremophile fish from Mexico is not affected by environmental hypoxia. Biol Open 2024; 13:bio060223. [PMID: 38314873 PMCID: PMC10868586 DOI: 10.1242/bio.060223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2023] [Accepted: 11/27/2023] [Indexed: 02/07/2024] Open
Abstract
The thermal ecology of ectotherm animals has gained considerable attention in the face of human-induced climate change. Particularly in aquatic species, the experimental assessment of critical thermal limits (CTmin and CTmax) may help to predict possible effects of global warming on habitat suitability and ultimately species survival. Here we present data on the thermal limits of two endemic and endangered extremophile fish species, inhabiting a geothermally heated and sulfur-rich spring system in southern Mexico: The sulfur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria) and the widemouth gambusia (Gambusia eurystoma). Besides physiological challenges induced by toxic hydrogen sulfide and related severe hypoxia during the day, water temperatures have been previously reported to exceed those of nearby clearwater streams. We now present temperature data for various locations and years in the sulfur spring complex and conducted laboratory thermal tolerance tests (CTmin and CTmax) both under normoxic and severe hypoxic conditions in both species. Average CTmax limits did not differ between species when dissolved oxygen was present. However, critical temperature (CTmax=43.2°C) in P. sulphuraria did not change when tested under hypoxic conditions, while G. eurystoma on average had a lower CTmax when oxygen was absent. Based on this data we calculated both species' thermal safety margins and used a TDT (thermal death time) model framework to relate our experimental data to observed temperatures in the natural habitat. Our findings suggest that both species live near their thermal limits during the annual dry season and are locally already exposed to temperatures above their critical thermal limits. We discuss these findings in the light of possible physiological adaptions of the sulfur-adapted fish species and the anthropogenic threats for this unique system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Korbinian Pacher
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Natalia Hernández-Román
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Alejandro Juarez-Lopez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | | | - Juliane Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Yunus Sevinchan
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodríguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12487 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Science of intelligence cluster has the state of a department at TU Berlin, Excellence Cluster Science of Intelligence, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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Zhou L, Ouyang X, Zhao Y, Gomes-Silva G, Segura-Muñoz SI, Jourdan J, Riesch R, Plath M. Invasive fish retain plasticity of naturally selected, but diverge in sexually selected traits. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 811:152386. [PMID: 34915006 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152386] [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: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 12/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Invasive alien species (IAS) have become a major threat to ecosystems worldwide. From an evolutionary ecological perspective, they allow teasing apart the relative contributions of plasticity and evolutionary divergence in driving rapid phenotypic diversification. When IAS spread across extensive geographic ranges, climatic variation may represent a source of strong natural selection through overwinter mortality and summer heat stress. This could favour local adaptation, i.e., evolutionary divergence of certain traits. IAS, however, are likely to show plasticity in survival-related traits, and environmental fluctuation in their new distribution range could favour the maintenance of this pre-existing phenotypic plasticity. By contrast, sexually selected traits are more likely to undergo evolutionary divergence when components of sexual selection differ geographically. Here, using data from a common-garden rearing experiment of Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis Baird and Girard, 1853) from five populations across the species' invasive range in China, we show that invasive mosquitofish have retained plasticity in key physiological (thermal tolerances), morphological and life-history traits even 100 years after their introduction to China, but exhibit heritable population differences in several sexually selected traits, including the shape of the male copulatory organ. Adaptive plasticity of traits linked to immediate survival in different thermal environments-while likely responsible for the species' extraordinary invasion success-could slow down genetic evolution. Several sexually selected traits could diverge geographically and show rapid evolutionary change, e.g., because climate alters selective landscapes arising from mate competition as an indirect consequence of variation in overwinter mortality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Linjun Zhou
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, PR China
| | - Xu Ouyang
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, PR China
| | - Yu Zhao
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, PR China
| | - Guilherme Gomes-Silva
- Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Parasitology, College of Nursing of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Susana Inés Segura-Muñoz
- Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Parasitology, College of Nursing of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- Department Aquatic Ecotoxicology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Martin Plath
- Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Environmental Parasitology, College of Nursing of Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
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Felmy A, Reznick DN, Travis J, Potter T, Coulson T. Life histories as mosaics: plastic and genetic components differ among traits that underpin life-history strategies. Evolution 2022; 76:585-604. [PMID: 35084046 PMCID: PMC9303950 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Life‐history phenotypes emerge from clusters of traits that are the product of genes and phenotypic plasticity. If the impact of the environment differs substantially between traits, then life histories might not evolve as a cohesive whole. We quantified the sensitivity of components of the life history to food availability, a key environmental difference in the habitat occupied by contrasting ecotypes, for 36 traits in fast‐ and slow‐reproducing Trinidadian guppies. Our dataset included six putatively independent origins of the slow‐reproducing, derived ecotype. Traits varied substantially in plastic and genetic control. Twelve traits were influenced only by food availability (body lengths, body weights), five only by genetic differentiation (interbirth intervals, offspring sizes), 10 by both (litter sizes, reproductive timing), and nine by neither (fat contents, reproductive allotment). Ecotype‐by‐food interactions were negligible. The response to low food was aligned with the genetic difference between high‐ and low‐food environments, suggesting that plasticity was adaptive. The heterogeneity among traits in environmental sensitivity and genetic differentiation reveals that the components of the life history may not evolve in concert. Ecotypes may instead represent mosaics of trait groups that differ in their rate of evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anja Felmy
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, United Kingdom
| | - David N Reznick
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Organismal Biology, University of California, Riverside, California, 922521, USA
| | - Joseph Travis
- Department of Biological Science, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, 32306, USA
| | - Tomos Potter
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, United Kingdom
| | - Tim Coulson
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3SZ, United Kingdom
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5
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OUP accepted manuscript. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2022. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blac004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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6
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Torres-Dowdall J, Karagic N, Plath M, Riesch R. Evolution in caves: selection from darkness causes spinal deformities in teleost fishes. Biol Lett 2019; 14:rsbl.2018.0197. [PMID: 29875208 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2018.0197] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2018] [Accepted: 05/08/2018] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Only few fish species have successfully colonized subterranean habitats, but the underlying biological constraints associated with this are still poorly understood. Here, we investigated the influence of permanent darkness on spinal-column development in one species (Midas cichlid, Amphilophus citrinellus) with no known cave form, and one (Atlantic molly, Poecilia mexicana) with two phylogenetically young cave forms. Specifically, fish were reared under a normal light : dark cycle or in permanent darkness (both species). We also surveyed wild-caught cave and surface ecotypes of P. mexicana In both species, permanent darkness was associated with significantly higher rates of spinal deformities (especially in A. citrinellus). This suggests strong developmental (intrinsic) constraints on the successful colonization of subterranean environments in teleost fishes and might help explain the relative paucity of cave-adapted lineages. Our results add depth to our understanding of the aspects of selection driving trait divergence and maintaining reproductive isolation in cave faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julián Torres-Dowdall
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Nidal Karagic
- Lehrstuhl für Zoologie und Evolutionsbiologie, Department of Biology, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
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Brown HN, Gale BH, Johnson JB, Belk MC. Testes mass in the livebearing fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora (Poeciliidae) varies hypoallometrically with body size but not between predation environments. Ecol Evol 2018; 8:11656-11662. [PMID: 30598764 PMCID: PMC6303761 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.4618] [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: 02/22/2018] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we considered potential causes of variation in testis size in the livebearing fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora. We evaluated variation in testes mass among individual males and among populations that occupy different selective environments. First, we predicted that small males should allocate more to testes mass than large males (i.e., hypoallometric pattern) based on a sperm competition argument. Second, based on life history theory and associated differences in mortality rates between populations that coexist with many fish predators and those with few predators, we predicted that males in high-predation environments should allocate more to testes mass than males in habitats with few predators. Our results showed that small males allocated proportionally more to testes mass than larger males (slope of testes mass to body mass was hypoallometric). However, there was no effect of predator environment on testes mass independent of body size differences. In this system, size-specific patterns of reproductive allocation in males (hypoallometry) differ from that seen in females (hyperallometry). Allocation to testes mass may respond to differences in mortality rate through selection on body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haley N. Brown
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtah
| | - Brittany Herrod Gale
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtah
| | - Jerald B. Johnson
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtah
- Monte L. Bean Life Science MuseumProvoUtah
| | - Mark C. Belk
- Evolutionary Ecology Laboratories, Department of BiologyBrigham Young UniversityProvoUtah
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8
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Zimmer C, Riesch R, Jourdan J, Bierbach D, Arias-Rodriguez L, Plath M. Female Choice Undermines the Emergence of Strong Sexual Isolation between Locally Adapted Populations of Atlantic Mollies ( Poecilia mexicana). Genes (Basel) 2018; 9:E232. [PMID: 29724050 PMCID: PMC5977172 DOI: 10.3390/genes9050232] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 04/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Divergent selection between ecologically dissimilar habitats promotes local adaptation, which can lead to reproductive isolation (RI). Populations in the Poecilia mexicana species complex have independently adapted to toxic hydrogen sulfide and show varying degrees of RI. Here, we examined the variation in the mate choice component of prezygotic RI. Mate choice tests across drainages (with stimulus males from another drainage) suggest that specific features of the males coupled with a general female preference for yellow color patterns explain the observed variation. Analyses of male body coloration identified the intensity of yellow fin coloration as a strong candidate to explain this pattern, and common-garden rearing suggested heritable population differences. Male sexual ornamentation apparently evolved differently across sulfide-adapted populations, for example because of differences in natural counterselection via predation. The ubiquitous preference for yellow color ornaments in poeciliid females likely undermines the emergence of strong RI, as female discrimination in favor of own males becomes weaker when yellow fin coloration in the respective sulfide ecotype increases. Our study illustrates the complexity of the (partly non-parallel) pathways to divergence among replicated ecological gradients. We suggest that future work should identify the genomic loci involved in the pattern reported here, making use of the increasing genomic and transcriptomic datasets available for our study system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Zimmer
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University of Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, D-60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, D-63571 Gelnhausen, Germany.
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, D-12587 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico.
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science & Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
- Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Molecular Biology for Agriculture, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, China.
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Bierbach D, Arias-Rodriguez L, Plath M. Intrasexual competition enhances reproductive isolation between locally adapted populations. Curr Zool 2017; 64:125-133. [PMID: 29492045 PMCID: PMC5809038 DOI: 10.1093/cz/zox071] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
During adaptation to different habitat types, both morphological and behavioral traits can undergo divergent selection. Males often fight for status in dominance hierarchies and rank positions predict reproductive success. Ecotypes with reduced fighting abilities should have low reproductive success when migrating into habitats that harbor ecotypes with superior fighting abilities. Livebearing fishes in the Poecilia mexicana-species complex inhabit not only regular freshwater environments, but also independently colonized sulfidic (H2S-containing) habitats in three river drainages. In the current study, we found fighting intensities in staged contests to be considerably lower in some but not all sulfidic surface ecotypes and the sulfidic cave ecotype compared with populations from non-sulfidic surface sites. This is perhaps due to selection imposed by H2S, which hampers oxygen uptake and transport, as well as cellular respiration. Furthermore, migrants from sulfidic habitats may lose fights even if they do not show overall reduced aggressiveness, as physiological performance is likely to be challenged in the non-sulfidic environment to which they are not adapted. To test this hypothesis, we simulated migration of H2S-adapted males into H2S-free waters, as well as H2S-adapted cave-dwelling males into sulfidic surface waters. We found that intruders established dominance less often than resident males, independent of whether or not they showed reduced aggressiveness overall. Our study shows that divergent evolution of male aggressive behavior may also contribute to the maintenance of genetic differentiation in this system and we call for more careful evaluation of male fighting abilities in studies on ecological speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco, México
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
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10
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Shared and unique patterns of phenotypic diversification along a stream gradient in two congeneric species. Sci Rep 2016; 6:38971. [PMID: 27982114 PMCID: PMC5159898 DOI: 10.1038/srep38971] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2016] [Accepted: 11/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Stream ecosystems show gradual variation of various selection factors, which can result in a zonation of species distributions and gradient evolution of morphological and life-history traits within species. Identifying the selective agents underlying such phenotypic evolution is challenging as different species could show shared and/or unique (species-specific) responses to components of the river gradient. We studied a stream gradient inhabited by two mosquitofishes (genus Gambusia) in the Río Grijalva basin in southern Mexico and found a patchy distribution pattern of both congeners along a stretch of 100 km, whereby one species was usually dominant at a given site. We uncovered both shared and unique patterns of diversification: some components of the stream gradient, including differences in piscine predation pressure, drove shared patterns of phenotypic divergence, especially in females. Other components of the gradient, particularly abiotic factors (max. annual temperature and temperature range) resulted in unique patterns of divergence, especially in males. Our study highlights the complexity of selective regimes in stream ecosystems. It exemplifies that even closely related, congeneric species can respond in unique ways to the same components of the river gradient and shows how both sexes can exhibit quite different patterns of divergence in multivariate phenotypic character suites.
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11
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Riesch R, Tobler M, Lerp H, Jourdan J, Doumas T, Nosil P, Langerhans RB, Plath M. Extremophile Poeciliidae: multivariate insights into the complexity of speciation along replicated ecological gradients. BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:136. [PMID: 27334284 PMCID: PMC4918007 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0705-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2016] [Accepted: 06/08/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Replicate population pairs that diverge in response to similar selective regimes allow for an investigation of (a) whether phenotypic traits diverge in a similar and predictable fashion, (b) whether there is gradual variation in phenotypic divergence reflecting variation in the strength of natural selection among populations, (c) whether the extent of this divergence is correlated between multiple character suites (i.e., concerted evolution), and (d) whether gradual variation in phenotypic divergence predicts the degree of reproductive isolation, pointing towards a role for adaptation as a driver of (ecological) speciation. Here, we use poeciliid fishes of the genera Gambusia and Poecilia that have repeatedly evolved extremophile lineages able to tolerate high and sustained levels of toxic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to answer these questions. Results We investigated evolutionary divergence in response to H2S in Gambusia spp. (and to a lesser extent Poecilia spp.) using a multivariate approach considering the interplay of life history, body shape, and population genetics (nuclear miscrosatellites to infer population genetic differentiation as a proxy for reproductive isolation). We uncovered both shared and unique patterns of evolution: most extremophile Gambusia predictably evolved larger heads and offspring size, matching a priori predictions for adaptation to sulfidic waters, while variation in adult life histories was idiosyncratic. When investigating patterns for both genera (Gambusia and Poecilia), we found that divergence in offspring-related life histories and body shape were positively correlated across populations, but evidence for individual-level associations between the two character suites was limited, suggesting that genetic linkage, developmental interdependencies, or pleiotropic effects do not explain patterns of concerted evolution. We further found that phenotypic divergence was positively correlated with both environmental H2S-concentration and neutral genetic differentiation (a proxy for gene flow). Conclusions Our results suggest that higher toxicity exerts stronger selection, and that divergent selection appears to constrain gene flow, supporting a scenario of ecological speciation. Nonetheless, progress toward ecological speciation was variable, partially reflecting variation in the strength of divergent selection, highlighting the complexity of selective regimes even in natural systems that are seemingly governed by a single, strong selective agent. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0705-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, TW20 0EX, UK. .,Department of Biological Sciences & W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 127 David Clark Labs, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7617, USA.
| | - Michael Tobler
- Division of Biology, Kansas State University, 116 Ackert Hall, Manhattan, KS, 66506, USA
| | - Hannes Lerp
- Natural History Collections, Museum Wiesbaden, Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 2, 65185, Wiesbaden, Germany
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- J. W. Goethe-University Frankfurt/M., Evolutionary Ecology Group, Max-von-Laue Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt a. M., Germany
| | - Tess Doumas
- Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Houston, 4800 Calhoun Rd., Houston, TX, 77004, USA
| | - Patrik Nosil
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, S10 2TN, UK
| | - R Brian Langerhans
- Department of Biological Sciences & W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, 127 David Clark Labs, Raleigh, NC, 27695-7617, USA
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Xinong Road 22, Yangling, 712100, People's Republic of China
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Sex-specific local life-history adaptation in surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana). Sci Rep 2016; 6:22968. [PMID: 26960566 PMCID: PMC4785371 DOI: 10.1038/srep22968] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Cavefishes have long been used as model organisms showcasing adaptive diversification, but does adaptation to caves also facilitate the evolution of reproductive isolation from surface ancestors? We raised offspring of wild-caught surface- and cave-dwelling ecotypes of the neotropical fish Poecilia mexicana to sexual maturity in a 12-month common garden experiment. Fish were raised under one of two food regimes (high vs. low), and this was crossed with differences in lighting conditions (permanent darkness vs. 12:12 h light:dark cycle) in a 2 × 2 factorial design, allowing us to elucidate potential patterns of local adaptation in life histories. Our results reveal a pattern of sex-specific local life-history adaptation: Surface molly females had the highest fitness in the treatment best resembling their habitat of origin (high food and a light:dark cycle), and suffered from almost complete reproductive failure in darkness, while cave molly females were not similarly affected in any treatment. Males of both ecotypes, on the other hand, showed only weak evidence for local adaptation. Nonetheless, local life-history adaptation in females likely contributes to ecological diversification in this system and other cave animals, further supporting the role of local adaptation due to strong divergent selection as a major force in ecological speciation.
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Eifert C, Farnworth M, Schulz-Mirbach T, Riesch R, Bierbach D, Klaus S, Wurster A, Tobler M, Streit B, Indy JR, Arias-Rodriguez L, Plath M. Brain size variation in extremophile fish: local adaptation versus phenotypic plasticity. J Zool (1987) 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- C. Eifert
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - M. Farnworth
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - T. Schulz-Mirbach
- Department Biology II; Ludwig-Maximilians-University; Planegg Germany
| | - R. Riesch
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences; University of Sheffield; Sheffield UK
- School of Biological Sciences; Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour; Royal Holloway University of London; Egham Surrey UK
| | - D. Bierbach
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries; Berlin Germany
| | - S. Klaus
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - A. Wurster
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - M. Tobler
- Department of Zoology; Oklahoma State University; Stillwater OK USA
| | - B. Streit
- Department of Ecology and Evolution; J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt; Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - J. R. Indy
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas; Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT); Villahermosa Tabasco México
| | - L. Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas; Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT); Villahermosa Tabasco México
| | - M. Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology; Northwest A&F University; Yangling China
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Jourdan J, Bierbach D, Riesch R, Schießl A, Wigh A, Arias-Rodriguez L, Indy JR, Klaus S, Zimmer C, Plath M. Microhabitat use, population densities, and size distributions of sulfur cave-dwelling Poecilia mexicana. PeerJ 2014; 2:e490. [PMID: 25083351 PMCID: PMC4106196 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2014] [Accepted: 06/28/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Cueva del Azufre in Tabasco, Mexico, is a nutrient-rich cave and its inhabitants need to cope with high levels of dissolved hydrogen sulfide and extreme hypoxia. One of the successful colonizers of this cave is the poeciliid fish Poecilia mexicana, which has received considerable attention as a model organism to examine evolutionary adaptations to extreme environmental conditions. Nonetheless, basic ecological data on the endemic cave molly population are still missing; here we aim to provide data on population densities, size class compositions and use of different microhabitats. We found high overall densities in the cave and highest densities at the middle part of the cave with more than 200 individuals per square meter. These sites have lower H2S concentrations compared to the inner parts where most large sulfide sources are located, but they are annually exposed to a religious harvesting ceremony of local Zoque people called La Pesca. We found a marked shift in size/age compositions towards an overabundance of smaller, juvenile fish at those sites. We discuss these findings in relation to several environmental gradients within the cave (i.e., differences in toxicity and lighting conditions), but we also tentatively argue that the annual fish harvest during a religious ceremony (La Pesca) locally diminishes competition (and possibly, cannibalism by large adults), which is followed by a phase of overcompensation of fish densities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Jourdan
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany ; Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiKF) , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries , Berlin , Germany
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield , Sheffield , UK
| | - Angela Schießl
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Adriana Wigh
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT) , Villahermosa, Tabasco , México
| | - Jeane Rimber Indy
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT) , Villahermosa, Tabasco , México
| | - Sebastian Klaus
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Claudia Zimmer
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, Goethe University of Frankfurt , Frankfurt am Main , Germany
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Social network analysis resolves temporal dynamics of male dominance relationships. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1706-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
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Wilson ADM, Krause S, James R, Croft DP, Ramnarine IW, Borner KK, Clement RJG, Krause J. Dynamic social networks in guppies (Poecilia reticulata). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-014-1704-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Persson KJ, Bergström K, Mazur-Marzec H, Legrand C. Differential tolerance to cyanobacterial exposure between geographically distinct populations of Perca fluviatilis. Toxicon 2013; 76:178-86. [DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2013.08.066] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2013] [Revised: 08/27/2013] [Accepted: 08/29/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Gradient evolution of body colouration in surface- and cave-dwelling Poecilia mexicana and the role of phenotype-assortative female mate choice. BIOMED RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2013; 2013:148348. [PMID: 24175282 PMCID: PMC3794506 DOI: 10.1155/2013/148348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2013] [Accepted: 08/16/2013] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Ecological speciation assumes reproductive isolation to be the product of ecologically based divergent selection. Beside natural selection, sexual selection via phenotype-assortative mating is thought to promote reproductive isolation. Using the neotropical fish Poecilia mexicana from a system that has been described to undergo incipient ecological speciation in adjacent, but ecologically divergent habitats characterized by the presence or absence of toxic H2S and darkness in cave habitats, we demonstrate a gradual change in male body colouration along the gradient of light/darkness, including a reduction of ornaments that are under both inter- and intrasexual selection in surface populations. In dichotomous choice tests using video-animated stimuli, we found surface females to prefer males from their own population over the cave phenotype. However, female cave fish, observed on site via infrared techniques, preferred to associate with surface males rather than size-matched cave males, likely reflecting the female preference for better-nourished (in this case: surface) males. Hence, divergent selection on body colouration indeed translates into phenotype-assortative mating in the surface ecotype, by selecting against potential migrant males. Female cave fish, by contrast, do not have a preference for the resident male phenotype, identifying natural selection against migrants imposed by the cave environment as the major driver of the observed reproductive isolation.
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Plath M, Pfenninger M, Lerp H, Riesch R, Eschenbrenner C, Slattery PA, Bierbach D, Herrmann N, Schulte M, Arias-Rodriguez L, Rimber Indy J, Passow C, Tobler M. Genetic differentiation and selection against migrants in evolutionarily replicated extreme environments. Evolution 2013; 67:2647-61. [PMID: 24033173 DOI: 10.1111/evo.12133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2012] [Accepted: 04/02/2013] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
We investigated mechanisms of reproductive isolation in livebearing fishes (genus Poecilia) inhabiting sulfidic and nonsulfidic habitats in three replicate river drainages. Although sulfide spring fish convergently evolved divergent phenotypes, it was unclear if mechanisms of reproductive isolation also evolved convergently. Using microsatellites, we found strongly reduced gene flow between adjacent populations from different habitat types, suggesting that local adaptation to sulfidic habitats repeatedly caused the emergence of reproductive isolation. Reciprocal translocation experiments indicate strong selection against immigrants into sulfidic waters, but also variation among drainages in the strength of selection against immigrants into nonsulfidic waters. Mate choice experiments revealed the evolution of assortative mating preferences in females from nonsulfidic but not from sulfidic habitats. The inferred strength of sexual selection against immigrants (RI(s)) was negatively correlated with the strength of natural selection (RI(m)), a pattern that could be attributed to reinforcement, whereby natural selection strengthens behavioral isolation due to reduced hybrid fitness. Overall, reproductive isolation and genetic differentiation appear to be replicated and direct consequences of local adaptation to sulfide spring environments, but the relative contributions of different mechanisms of reproductive isolation vary across these evolutionarily independent replicates, highlighting both convergent and nonconvergent evolutionary trajectories of populations in each drainage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Plath
- J. W. Goethe-University Frankfurt/M., Evolutionary Ecology Group, Max-von-Laue Str. 13, 60438, Frankfurt, a. M., Germany.
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Bierbach D, Schulte M, Herrmann N, Zimmer C, Arias-Rodriguez L, Indy JR, Riesch R, Plath M. Predator avoidance in extremophile fish. Life (Basel) 2013; 3:161-80. [PMID: 25371337 PMCID: PMC4187198 DOI: 10.3390/life3010161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2012] [Revised: 01/28/2013] [Accepted: 01/28/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Extreme habitats are often characterized by reduced predation pressures, thus representing refuges for the inhabiting species. The present study was designed to investigate predator avoidance of extremophile populations of Poecilia mexicana and P. sulphuraria that either live in hydrogen sulfide-rich (sulfidic) springs or cave habitats, both of which are known to have impoverished piscine predator regimes. Focal fishes that inhabited sulfidic springs showed slightly weaker avoidance reactions when presented with several naturally occurring predatory cichlids, but strongest differences to populations from non-sulfidic habitats were found in a decreased shoaling tendency with non-predatory swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii) females. When comparing avoidance reactions between P. mexicana from a sulfidic cave (Cueva del Azufre) and the adjacent sulfidic surface creek (El Azufre), we found only slight differences in predator avoidance, but surface fish reacted much more strongly to the non-predatory cichlid Vieja bifasciata. Our third experiment was designed to disentangle learned from innate effects of predator recognition. We compared laboratory-reared (i.e., predator-naïve) and wild-caught (i.e., predator-experienced) individuals of P. mexicana from a non-sulfidic river and found no differences in their reaction towards the presented predators. Overall, our results indicate (1) that predator avoidance is still functional in extremophile Poecilia spp. and (2) that predator recognition and avoidance reactions have a strong genetic basis.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany; E-Mails: (C.Z.); (M.P.)
| | - Matthias Schulte
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Animal Ecology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 1, Potsdam, 14469, Germany; E-Mails: (M.S.); (N.H.)
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Villahermosa, Tabasco, CP 86150, México; E-Mails: (L.A.-R); (J.R.I.)
| | - Nina Herrmann
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Animal Ecology, University of Potsdam, Maulbeerallee 1, Potsdam, 14469, Germany; E-Mails: (M.S.); (N.H.)
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Villahermosa, Tabasco, CP 86150, México; E-Mails: (L.A.-R); (J.R.I.)
| | - Claudia Zimmer
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany; E-Mails: (C.Z.); (M.P.)
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Villahermosa, Tabasco, CP 86150, México; E-Mails: (L.A.-R); (J.R.I.)
| | - Jeane Rimber Indy
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Villahermosa, Tabasco, CP 86150, México; E-Mails: (L.A.-R); (J.R.I.)
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK; E-Mail:
| | - Martin Plath
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany; E-Mails: (C.Z.); (M.P.)
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Riesch R, Martin RA, Langerhans RB. Predation’s Role in Life-History Evolution of a Livebearing Fish and a Test of the Trexler-DeAngelis Model of Maternal Provisioning. Am Nat 2013; 181:78-93. [DOI: 10.1086/668597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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Postzygotic Isolation Evolves before Prezygotic Isolation between Fresh and Saltwater Populations of the Rainwater Killifish, Lucania parva. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 2012; 2012:523967. [PMID: 22518334 PMCID: PMC3296222 DOI: 10.1155/2012/523967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2011] [Revised: 09/20/2011] [Accepted: 10/05/2011] [Indexed: 01/30/2023]
Abstract
Divergent natural selection has the potential to drive the evolution of reproductive isolation. The euryhaline killifish Lucania parva has stable populations in both fresh water and salt water. Lucania parva and its sister species, the freshwater L. goodei, are isolated by both prezygotic and postzygotic barriers. To further test whether adaptation to salinity has led to the evolution of these isolating barriers, we tested for incipient reproductive isolation within L. parva by crossing freshwater and saltwater populations. We found no evidence for prezygotic isolation, but reduced hybrid survival indicated that postzygotic isolation existed between L. parva populations. Therefore, postzygotic isolation evolved before prezygotic isolation in these ecologically divergent populations. Previous work on these species raised eggs with methylene blue, which acts as a fungicide. We found this fungicide distorts the pattern of postzygotic isolation by increasing fresh water survival in L. parva, masking species/population differences, and underestimating hybrid inviability.
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Schulz-Mirbach T, Riesch R, García de León FJ, Plath M. Effects of extreme habitat conditions on otolith morphology – a case study on extremophile livebearing fishes (Poecilia mexicana, P. sulphuraria). ZOOLOGY 2011; 114:321-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.zool.2011.07.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2011] [Revised: 07/11/2011] [Accepted: 07/13/2011] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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Schulz-Mirbach T, Hess M, Plath M. Inner ear morphology in the Atlantic molly Poecilia mexicana--first detailed microanatomical study of the inner ear of a cyprinodontiform species. PLoS One 2011; 6:e27734. [PMID: 22110746 PMCID: PMC3217005 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027734] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2011] [Accepted: 10/24/2011] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fishes show an amazing diversity in hearing abilities, inner ear structures, and otolith morphology. Inner ear morphology, however, has not yet been investigated in detail in any member of the diverse order Cyprinodontiformes. We, therefore, studied the inner ear of the cyprinodontiform freshwater fish Poecilia mexicana by analyzing the position of otoliths in situ, investigating the 3D structure of sensory epithelia, and examining the orientation patterns of ciliary bundles of the sensory hair cells, while combining μ-CT analyses, scanning electron microscopy, and immunocytochemical methods. P. mexicana occurs in different ecotypes, enabling us to study the intra-specific variability (on a qualitative basis) of fish from regular surface streams, and the Cueva del Azufre, a sulfidic cave in southern Mexico. RESULTS The inner ear of Poecilia mexicana displays a combination of several remarkable features. The utricle is connected rostrally instead of dorso-rostrally to the saccule, and the macula sacculi, therefore, is very close to the utricle. Moreover, the macula sacculi possesses dorsal and ventral bulges. The two studied ecotypes of P. mexicana showed variation mainly in the shape and curvature of the macula lagenae, in the curvature of the macula sacculi, and in the thickness of the otolithic membrane. CONCLUSIONS Our study for the first time provides detailed insights into the auditory periphery of a cyprinodontiform inner ear and thus serves a basis--especially with regard to the application of 3D techniques--for further research on structure-function relationships of inner ears within the species-rich order Cyprinodontiformes. We suggest that other poeciliid taxa, or even other non-poeciliid cyprinodontiforms, may display similar inner ear morphologies as described here.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tanja Schulz-Mirbach
- Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
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Riesch R, Schlupp I, Langerhans RB, Plath M. Shared and unique patterns of embryo development in extremophile poeciliids. PLoS One 2011; 6:e27377. [PMID: 22087302 PMCID: PMC3210165 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0027377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2011] [Accepted: 10/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Closely related lineages of livebearing fishes have independently adapted to two extreme environmental factors: toxic hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S) and perpetual darkness. Previous work has demonstrated in adult specimens that fish from these extreme habitats convergently evolved drastically increased head and offspring size, while cave fish are further characterized by reduced pigmentation and eye size. Here, we traced the development of these (and other) divergent traits in embryos of Poecilia mexicana from benign surface habitats ("surface mollies") and a sulphidic cave ("cave mollies"), as well as in embryos of the sister taxon, Poecilia sulphuraria from a sulphidic surface spring ("sulphur mollies"). We asked at which points during development changes in the timing of the involved processes (i.e., heterochrony) would be detectible. METHODS AND RESULTS Data were extracted from digital photographs taken of representative embryos for each stage of development and each type of molly. Embryo mass decreased in convergent fashion, but we found patterns of embryonic fat content and ovum/embryo diameter to be divergent among all three types of mollies. The intensity of yellow colouration of the yolk (a proxy for carotenoid content) was significantly lower in cave mollies throughout development. Moreover, while relative head size decreased through development in surface mollies, it increased in both types of extremophile mollies, and eye growth was arrested in mid-stage embryos of cave mollies but not in surface or sulphur mollies. CONCLUSION Our results clearly demonstrate that even among sister taxa convergence in phenotypic traits is not always achieved by the same processes during embryo development. Furthermore, teleost development is crucially dependent on sufficient carotenoid stores in the yolk, and so we discuss how the apparent ability of cave mollies to overcome this carotenoid-dependency may represent another potential mechanism explaining the lack of gene flow between surface and cave mollies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Biology & W. M. Keck Center for Behavioral Biology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
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Divergent evolution of male aggressive behaviour: another reproductive isolation barrier in extremophile poeciliid fishes? INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY 2011; 2012:148745. [PMID: 22315695 PMCID: PMC3270405 DOI: 10.1155/2012/148745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2011] [Revised: 09/20/2011] [Accepted: 10/14/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Reproductive isolation among locally adapted populations may arise when immigrants from foreign habitats are selected against via natural or (inter-)sexual selection (female mate choice). We asked whether also intrasexual selection through male-male competition could promote reproductive isolation among populations of poeciliid fishes that are locally adapted to extreme environmental conditions [i.e., darkness in caves and/or toxic hydrogen sulphide (H(2)S)]. We found strongly reduced aggressiveness in extremophile P. oecilia mexicana, and darkness was the best predictor for the evolutionary reduction of aggressiveness, especially when combined with presence of H(2)S. We demonstrate that reduced aggression directly translates into migrant males being inferior when paired with males from non-sulphidic surface habitats. By contrast, the phylogenetically old sulphur endemic P. sulphuraria from another sulphide spring area showed no overall reduced aggressiveness, possibly indicating evolved mechanisms to better cope with H(2)S.
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Bierbach D, Schulte M, Herrmann N, Tobler M, Stadler S, Jung CT, Kunkel B, Riesch R, Klaus S, Ziege M, Indy JR, Arias-Rodriguez L, Plath M. Predator-induced changes of female mating preferences: innate and experiential effects. BMC Evol Biol 2011; 11:190. [PMID: 21726456 PMCID: PMC3141438 DOI: 10.1186/1471-2148-11-190] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2011] [Accepted: 07/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In many species males face a higher predation risk than females because males display elaborate traits that evolved under sexual selection, which may attract not only females but also predators. Females are, therefore, predicted to avoid such conspicuous males under predation risk. The present study was designed to investigate predator-induced changes of female mating preferences in Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana). Males of this species show a pronounced polymorphism in body size and coloration, and females prefer large, colorful males in the absence of predators. Results In dichotomous choice tests predator-naïve (lab-reared) females altered their initial preference for larger males in the presence of the cichlid Cichlasoma salvini, a natural predator of P. mexicana, and preferred small males instead. This effect was considerably weaker when females were confronted visually with the non-piscivorous cichlid Vieja bifasciata or the introduced non-piscivorous Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus). In contrast, predator experienced (wild-caught) females did not respond to the same extent to the presence of a predator, most likely due to a learned ability to evaluate their predators' motivation to prey. Conclusions Our study highlights that (a) predatory fish can have a profound influence on the expression of mating preferences of their prey (thus potentially affecting the strength of sexual selection), and females may alter their mate choice behavior strategically to reduce their own exposure to predators. (b) Prey species can evolve visual predator recognition mechanisms and alter their mate choice only when a natural predator is present. (c) Finally, experiential effects can play an important role, and prey species may learn to evaluate the motivational state of their predators.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, JW Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
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Riesch R, Plath M, Schlupp I. Speciation in caves: experimental evidence that permanent darkness promotes reproductive isolation. Biol Lett 2011; 7:909-12. [PMID: 21561964 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2011.0237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Divergent selection through biotic factors like predation or parasitism can promote reproductive isolation even in the absence of geographical barriers. On the other hand, evidence for a role of adaptation to abiotic factors during ecological speciation in animals is scant. In particular, the role played by perpetual darkness in establishing reproductive isolation in cave animals (troglobites) remains elusive. We focused on two reproductively isolated ecotypes (surface- and cave-dwelling) of the widespread livebearer Poecilia mexicana, and raised offspring of wild-caught females to sexual maturity in a 12-month common-garden experiment. Fish were reared in light or darkness combined with high- or low-food conditions. Females, but not males, of the surface ecotype suffered from almost complete reproductive failure in darkness, especially in the low-food treatment. Furthermore, surface fish suffered from a significantly higher rate of spontaneous, stress-related infection with bacterial columnaris disease. This experimental evidence for strong selection by permanent darkness on non-adapted surface-dwelling animals adds depth to our understanding of the selective forces establishing and maintaining reproductive isolation in cave faunas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Riesch
- Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA.
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