1
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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2
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Scherer U, Ehlman SM, Bierbach D, Krause J, Wolf M. Reproductive individuality of clonal fish raised in near-identical environments and its link to early-life behavioral individuality. Nat Commun 2023; 14:7652. [PMID: 38001119 PMCID: PMC10673926 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-43069-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/31/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Recent studies have documented among-individual phenotypic variation that emerges in the absence of apparent genetic and environmental differences, but it remains an open question whether such seemingly stochastic variation has fitness consequences. We perform a life-history experiment with naturally clonal fish, separated directly after birth into near-identical (i.e., highly standardized) environments, quantifying 2522 offspring from 152 broods over 280 days. We find that (i) individuals differ consistently in the size of offspring and broods produced over consecutive broods, (ii) these differences are observed even when controlling for trade-offs between brood size, offspring size and reproductive onset, indicating individual differences in life-history productivity and (iii) early-life behavioral individuality in activity and feeding patterns, with among-individual differences in feeding being predictive of growth, and consequently offspring size. Thus, our study provides experimental evidence that even when minimizing genetic and environmental differences, systematic individual differences in life-history measures and ultimately fitness can emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Scherer
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587, Berlin, Germany.
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany.
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Sean M Ehlman
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10117, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587, Berlin, Germany
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3
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Maxeiner M, Hocke M, Moenck HJ, Gebhardt GHW, Weimar N, Musiolek L, Krause J, Bierbach D, Landgraf T. Social competence improves the performance of biomimetic robots leading live fish. Bioinspir Biomim 2023; 18. [PMID: 37015241 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/acca59] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Collective motion is commonly modeled with static interaction rules between agents. Substantial empirical evidence indicates, however, that animals may adapt their interaction rules depending on a variety of factors and social contexts. Here, we hypothesized that leadership performance is linked to the leader's responsiveness to the follower's actions and we predicted that a leader is followed longer if it adapts to the follower's avoidance movements. We tested this prediction with live guppies that interacted with a biomimetic robotic fish programmed to act as a 'socially competent' leader. Fish that were avoiding the robot were approached more carefully in future approaches. In two separate experiments we then asked how the leadership performance of the socially competent robot leader differed to that of a robot leader that either approached all fish in the same, non-responsive, way or one that did change its approach behavior randomly, irrespective of the fish's actions. We found that (1) behavioral variability itself appears attractive and that socially competent robots are better leaders which (2) require fewer approach attempts to (3) elicit longer average following behavior than non-competent agents. This work provides evidence that social responsiveness to avoidance reactions plays a role in the social dynamics of guppies. We showcase how social responsiveness can be modeled and tested directly embedded in a living animal model using adaptive, interactive robots.
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Affiliation(s)
- Moritz Maxeiner
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mathis Hocke
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hauke J Moenck
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Gregor H W Gebhardt
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Computational Systems Neuroscience, Institute of Zoology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
| | - Nils Weimar
- Institute of Zoology, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Lea Musiolek
- Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Science of Intelligence', Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Science of Intelligence', Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Science of Intelligence', Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence 'Science of Intelligence', Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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4
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Lukas J, Krause J, Träger AS, Piotrowski JM, Romanczuk P, Sprekeler H, Arias-Rodriguez L, Krause S, Schutz C, Bierbach D. Multispecies collective waving behaviour in fish. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220069. [PMID: 36802783 PMCID: PMC9939262 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 02/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Collective behaviour is widely accepted to provide a variety of antipredator benefits. Acting collectively requires not only strong coordination among group members, but also the integration of among-individual phenotypic variation. Therefore, groups composed of more than one species offer a unique opportunity to look into the evolution of both mechanistic and functional aspects of collective behaviour. Here, we present data on mixed-species fish shoals that perform collective dives. These repeated dives produce water waves capable of delaying and/or reducing the success of piscivorous bird attacks. The large majority of the fish in these shoals consist of the sulphur molly, Poecilia sulphuraria, but we regularly also found a second species, the widemouth gambusia, Gambusia eurystoma, making these shoals mixed-species aggregations. In a set of laboratory experiments, we found that gambusia were much less inclined to dive after an attack as compared with mollies, which almost always dive, though mollies dived less deep when paired with gambusia that did not dive. By contrast, the behaviour of gambusia was not influenced by the presence of diving mollies. The dampening effect of less responsive gambusia on molly diving behaviour can have strong evolutionary consequences on the overall collective waving behaviour as we expect shoals with a high proportion of unresponsive gambusia to be less effective at producing repeated waves. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Collective behaviour through time'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Lukas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Arabella Sophie Träger
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Marc Piotrowski
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstrasse 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Henning Sprekeler
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Software Engineering and Theoretical Computer Science, Berlin Institute of Technology, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma Tabasco, 86150 Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Stefan Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christopher Schutz
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technical University of Berlin, Marchstrasse 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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5
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Ehlman SM, Scherer U, Bierbach D, Francisco FA, Laskowski KL, Krause J, Wolf M. Leveraging big data to uncover the eco-evolutionary factors shaping behavioural development. Proc Biol Sci 2023; 290:20222115. [PMID: 36722081 PMCID: PMC9890127 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.2115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Mapping the eco-evolutionary factors shaping the development of animals' behavioural phenotypes remains a great challenge. Recent advances in 'big behavioural data' research-the high-resolution tracking of individuals and the harnessing of that data with powerful analytical tools-have vastly improved our ability to measure and model developing behavioural phenotypes. Applied to the study of behavioural ontogeny, the unfolding of whole behavioural repertoires can be mapped in unprecedented detail with relative ease. This overcomes long-standing experimental bottlenecks and heralds a surge of studies that more finely define and explore behavioural-experiential trajectories across development. In this review, we first provide a brief guide to state-of-the-art approaches that allow the collection and analysis of high-resolution behavioural data across development. We then outline how such approaches can be used to address key issues regarding the ecological and evolutionary factors shaping behavioural development: developmental feedbacks between behaviour and underlying states, early life effects and behavioural transitions, and information integration across development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sean M. Ehlman
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Ulrike Scherer
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fritz A. Francisco
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Kate L. Laskowski
- Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California – Davis, Davis, CA 95616, USA
| | - Jens Krause
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, 10117 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- SCIoI Excellence Cluster, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Department of Fish Biology, Fisheries, and Aquaculture, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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6
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Bierbach D, Gómez-Nava L, Francisco FA, Lukas J, Musiolek L, Hafner VV, Landgraf T, Romanczuk P, Krause J. Live fish learn to anticipate the movement of a fish-like robot . Bioinspir Biomim 2022; 17:065007. [PMID: 36044889 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/ac8e3e] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The ability of an individual to predict the outcome of the actions of others and to change their own behavior adaptively is called anticipation. There are many examples from mammalian species-including humans-that show anticipatory abilities in a social context, however, it is not clear to what extent fishes can anticipate the actions of their interaction partners or what the underlying mechanisms are for that anticipation. To answer these questions, we let live guppies (Poecilia reticulata) interact repeatedly with an open-loop (noninteractive) biomimetic robot that has previously been shown to be an accepted conspecific. The robot always performed the same zigzag trajectory in the experimental tank that ended in one of the corners, giving the live fish the opportunity to learn both the location of the final destination as well as the specific turning movement of the robot over three consecutive trials. The live fish's reactions were categorized into a global anticipation, which we defined as relative time to reach the robot's final corner, and a local anticipation which was the relative time and location of the live fish's turns relative to robofish turns. As a proxy for global anticipation, we found that live fish in the last trial reached the robot's destination corner significantly earlier than the robot. Overall, more than 50% of all fish arrived at the destination before the robot. This is more than a random walk model would predict and significantly more compared to all other equidistant, yet unvisited, corners. As a proxy for local anticipation, we found fish change their turning behavior in response to the robot over the course of the trials. Initially, the fish would turn after the robot, which was reversed in the end, as they began to turn slightly before the robot in the final trial. Our results indicate that live fish are able to anticipate predictably behaving social partners both in regard to final movement locations as well as movement dynamics. Given that fish have been found to exhibit consistent behavioral differences, anticipation in fish could have evolved as a mechanism to adapt to different social interaction partners.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Luis Gómez-Nava
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Fritz A Francisco
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Lukas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lea Musiolek
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Adaptive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Verena V Hafner
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Adaptive Systems Group, Department of Computer Science, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster 'Science of Intelligence', Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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7
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Abstract
Understanding how individual differences arise and how their effects propagate through groups are fundamental issues in biology. Individual differences can arise from indirect genetic effects (IGE): genetically based variation in the conspecifics with which an individual interacts. Using a clonal species, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), we test the hypothesis that IGE can propagate to influence phenotypes of the individuals that do not experience them firsthand. We tested this by exposing genetically identical Amazon mollies to conspecific social partners of different clonal lineages, and then moving these focal individuals to new social groups in which they were the only member to have experienced the IGE. We found that genetically different social environments resulted in the focal animals experiencing different levels of aggression, and that these IGE carried over into new social groups to influence the behaviour of naive individuals. These data reveal that IGE can cascade beyond the individuals that experience them. Opportunity for cascading IGE is ubiquitous, especially in species with long-distance dispersal or fission-fusion group dynamics. Cascades could amplify (or mitigate) the effects of IGE on trait variation and on evolutionary trajectories. Expansion of the IGE framework to include cascading and other types of carry-over effects will therefore improve understanding of individual variation and social evolution and allow more accurate prediction of population response to changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amber M. Makowicz
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany,Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence,’ Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstraße 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany,Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Christian Richardson
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
| | - Kimberly A. Hughes
- Department of Biological Sciences, Florida State University, 319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee, FL 32304, USA
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8
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Lukas J, Romanczuk P, Klenz H, Klamser P, Arias Rodriguez L, Krause J, Bierbach D. Acoustic and visual stimuli combined promote stronger responses to aerial predation in fish. Behav Ecol 2021; 32:1094-1102. [PMID: 34949958 PMCID: PMC8691536 DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arab043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 03/21/2021] [Accepted: 04/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Bird predation poses a strong selection pressure on fish. Since birds must enter the water to catch fish, a combination of visual and mechano-acoustic cues (multimodal) characterize an immediate attack, while single cues (unimodal) may represent less dangerous disturbances. We investigated whether fish could use this information to distinguish between non-threatening and dangerous events and adjust their antipredator response to the perceived level of risk. To do so, we investigated the antipredator behavior of the sulphur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria), a small freshwater fish which is almost exclusively preyed on by piscivorous birds in its endemic sulfide spring habitat. In a field survey, we confirmed that these fish frequently have to distinguish between disturbances stemming from attacking birds (multimodal) and those which pose no (immediate) threat such as bird overflights (unimodal). In a laboratory experiment, we then exposed fish to artificial visual and/or acoustic stimuli presented separately or combined. Sensitivity was high regardless of stimulus type and number (more than 96% of fish initiated diving), but fish dove deeper, faster, and for longer when both stimuli were available simultaneously. Based on the system's high rates of bird activity, we argue that such an unselective dive initiation with subsequent fine-tuning of diving parameters in accordance to cue modality represents an optimal strategy for these fish to save energy necessary to respond to future attacks. Ultimately, our study shows that fish anticipate the imminent risk posed by disturbances linked to bird predation through integrating information from both visual and acoustic cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Haider Klenz
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pascal Klamser
- Institute for Theoretical Biology, Department of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Av. Universidad s/n, 86150 Villahermosa, Tabasco, México
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Thaer-Institute, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, 10115 Berlin
- Cluster of Excellence ‘Science of Intelligence’ (SCIoI), Technische Universität Berlin, Marchstr. 23, 10587 Berlin, Germany
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9
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Laskowski KL, Seebacher F, Habedank M, Meka J, Bierbach D. Two Locomotor Traits Show Different Patterns of Developmental Plasticity Between Closely Related Clonal and Sexual Fish. Front Physiol 2021; 12:740604. [PMID: 34712149 PMCID: PMC8546259 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2021.740604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The capacity to compensate for environmental change determines population persistence and biogeography. In ectothermic organisms, performance at different temperatures can be strongly affected by temperatures experienced during early development. Such developmental plasticity is mediated through epigenetic mechanisms that induce phenotypic changes within the animal's lifetime. However, epigenetic modifiers themselves are encoded by DNA so that developmental plasticity could itself be contingent on genetic diversity. In this study, we test the hypothesis that the capacity for developmental plasticity depends on a species' among-individual genetic diversity. To test this, we exploited a unique species complex that contains both the clonal, genetically identical Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), and the sexual, genetically diverse Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana). We predicted that the greater among-individual genetic diversity in the Atlantic molly may increase their capacity for developmental plasticity. We raised both clonal and sexual mollies at either warm (28°C) or cool (22°C) temperatures and then measured locomotor capacity (critical sustained swimming performance) and unforced movement in an open field across a temperature gradient that simulated environmental conditions often experienced by these species in the wild. In the clonal Amazon molly, differences in the developmental environment led to a shift in the thermal performance curve of unforced movement patterns, but much less so in maximal locomotor capacity. In contrast, the sexual Atlantic mollies exhibited the opposite pattern: developmental plasticity was present in maximal locomotor capacity, but not in unforced movement. Thus our data show that developmental plasticity in clones and their sexual, genetically more diverse sister species is trait dependent. This points toward mechanistic differences in how genetic diversity mediates plastic responses exhibited in different traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Frank Seebacher
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences A08, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Marie Habedank
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Meka
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht Daniel Thaer-Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Cluster of Excellence "Science of Intelligence," Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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10
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Demandt N, Bierbach D, Kurvers RHJM, Krause J, Kurtz J, Scharsack JP. Parasite infection impairs the shoaling behaviour of uninfected shoal members under predator attack. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03080-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
A key benefit of sociality is a reduction in predation risk. Cohesive group behaviour and rapid collective decision making are essential for reducing predation risk in groups. Parasite infection might reduce an individuals’ grouping behaviours and thereby change the behaviour of the group as a whole. To investigate the relationship between parasite infection and grouping behaviours, we studied groups of three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, varying the number of individuals experimentally infected with the cestode Schistocephalus solidus. We studied groups of six sticklebacks containing 0, 2, 3, 4 or 6 infected individuals before and after a simulated bird attack. We predicted that infected individuals would have reduced shoaling and swimming speed and that the presence of infected individuals within a group would reduce group cohesion and speed. Uninfected fish increased shoaling and reduced swimming speed more than infected fish after the bird attack. In groups containing both infected and uninfected fish, the group behaviours were dominated by the more frequent character (uninfected versus infected). Interestingly, groups with equal numbers of uninfected and infected fish showed the least shoaling and had the lowest swimming speeds, suggesting that these groups failed to generate a majority and therefore displayed signs of indecisiveness by reducing their swimming speed the most. Our results provide evidence for a negative effect of infection on a group’s shoaling behaviour, thereby potentially deteriorating collective decision making. The presence of infected individuals might thus have far-reaching consequences in natural populations under predation risk.
Significance statement
Parasite-infected individuals often show deviating group behaviours. This might reduce the anti-predator benefits of group living. However, it is unknown whether such deviations in group behaviour might influence the shoaling behaviour of uninfected group members and thereby the behaviour of the group as a whole. By experimentally infecting sticklebacks and investigating groups varying in infection rates, we show that infected sticklebacks differ in their shoaling behaviours from uninfected sticklebacks. Additionally, the presence of infected sticklebacks within the group affected the behaviour of uninfected shoal members. We show that shoals of infected fish are less cohesive and move slower compared to shoals of uninfected fish. Furthermore, we show that the infection rate of the shoal is crucial for how the group behaves.
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11
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Lukas J, Auer F, Goldhammer T, Krause J, Romanczuk P, Klamser P, Arias-Rodriguez L, Bierbach D. Diurnal Changes in Hypoxia Shape Predator-Prey Interaction in a Bird-Fish System. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.619193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals often face changing environments, and behavioral flexibility allows them to rapidly and adaptively respond to abiotic factors that vary more or less regularly. However, abiotic factors that affect prey species do not necessarily affect their predators. Still, the prey’s response might affect the predator indirectly, yet evidence from the wild for such a classical bottom-up effect of abiotic factors shaping several trophic levels remains sparse. In many aquatic environments, daily changes in oxygen concentrations occur frequently. When oxygen levels drop to hypoxic levels, many fishes respond with aquatic surface respiration (ASR), during which they obtain oxygen by skimming the upper, oxygenated surface layer. By increasing time at the surface, fish become more vulnerable to fish-eating birds. We explored these cascading effects in a sulfidic spring system that harbors the endemic sulphur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria) as prey species and several fish-eating bird species. Sulfide-rich springs pose harsh conditions as hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is lethal to most metazoans and reduces dissolved oxygen (DO). Field sampling during three daytimes indicated that water temperatures rose from morning to (after)noon, resulting in the already low DO levels to decrease further, while H2S levels showed no diurnal changes. The drop in DO levels was associated with a decrease in time spent diving in sulphur mollies, which corresponded with an increase in ASR. Interestingly, the laboratory-estimated threshold at which the majority of sulphur mollies initiate ASR (ASR50: <1.7 mg/L DO) was independent of temperature and this value was exceeded daily when hypoxic stress became more severe toward noon. As fish performed ASR, large aggregations built up at the water surface over the course of the day. As a possible consequence of fish spending more time at the surface, we found high activity levels of fish-eating birds at noon and in the afternoon. Our study reveals that daily fluctuations in water’s oxygen levels have the potential to alter predator-prey interactions profoundly and thus highlights the joined actions of abiotic and biotic factors shaping the evolution of a prey species.
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12
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Lu Y, Bierbach D, Ormanns J, Warren WC, Walter RB, Schartl M. Fixation of allelic gene expression landscapes and expression bias pattern shape the transcriptome of the clonal Amazon molly. Genome Res 2021; 31:372-379. [PMID: 33547183 PMCID: PMC7919451 DOI: 10.1101/gr.268870.120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The Amazon molly is a unique clonal fish species that originated from an interspecies hybrid between Poecilia species P. mexicana and P. latipinna. It reproduces by gynogenesis, which eliminates paternal genomic contribution to offspring. An earlier study showed that Amazon molly shows biallelic expression for a large portion of the genome, leading to two main questions: (1) Are the allelic expression patterns from the initial hybridization event stabilized or changed during establishment of the asexual species and its further evolution? (2) Is allelic expression biased toward one parental allele a stochastic or adaptive process? To answer these questions, the allelic expression of P. formosa siblings was assessed to investigate intra- and inter-cohort allelic expression variability. For comparison, interspecies hybrids between P. mexicana and P. latipinna were produced in the laboratory to represent the P. formosa ancestor. We have identified inter-cohort and intra-cohort variation in parental allelic expression. The existence of inter-cohort divergence suggests functional P. formosa allelic expression patterns do not simply reflect the atavistic situation of the first interspecies hybrid but potentially result from long-term selection of transcriptional fitness. In addition, clonal fish show a transcriptional trend representing minimal intra-clonal variability in allelic expression patterns compared to the corresponding hybrids. The intra-clonal similarity in gene expression translates to sophisticated genetic functional regulation at the individuum level. These findings suggest the parental alleles inherited by P. formosa form tightly regulated genetic networks that lead to a stable transcriptomic landscape within clonal individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuan Lu
- Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, 10099 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jenny Ormanns
- Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
| | - Wesley C Warren
- Bond Life Science Center, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri 65211, USA
| | - Ronald B Walter
- Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA.,Department of Life Sciences, Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi, Texas 78412, USA
| | - Manfred Schartl
- Xiphophorus Genetic Stock Center, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas 78666, USA.,Developmental Biochemistry, Biozentrum, University of Würzburg, 97074 Würzburg, Germany
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13
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Lukas J, Kalinkat G, Miesen FW, Landgraf T, Krause J, Bierbach D. Consistent Behavioral Syndrome Across Seasons in an Invasive Freshwater Fish. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2020.583670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding the linkage between behavioral types and dispersal tendency has become a pressing issue in light of global change and biological invasions. Here, we explore whether dispersing individuals exhibit behavioral types that differ from those remaining in the source population. We investigated a feral population of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) that undergoes a yearly range shift cycle. Guppies are among the most widespread invasive species in the world, but in temperate regions these tropical fish can only survive in winter-warm freshwaters. Established in a thermally-altered stream in Germany, guppies are confined to a warm-water influx in winter, but can spread to peripheral parts as these become thermally accessible. We sampled fish from the source population and a winter-abandoned site in March, June and August. Fish were tested for boldness, sociability and activity involving open-field tests including interactions with a robotic social partner. Guppies differed consistently among each other in all three traits within each sample. Average trait expression in the source population differed across seasons, however, we could not detect differences between source and downstream population. Instead, all populations exhibited a remarkably stable behavioral syndrome between boldness and activity despite strong seasonal changes in water temperature and associated environmental factors. We conclude that random drift (opposed to personality-biased dispersal) is a more likely dispersal mode for guppies, at least in the investigated stream. In the face of fluctuating environments, guppies seem to be extremely effective in keeping behavioral expressions constant, which could help explain their successful invasion and adaptation to new and disturbed habitats.
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14
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Jolles JW, Weimar N, Landgraf T, Romanczuk P, Krause J, Bierbach D. Group-level patterns emerge from individual speed as revealed by an extremely social robotic fish. Biol Lett 2020; 16:20200436. [PMID: 32933404 PMCID: PMC7532714 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2020.0436] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Accepted: 08/26/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the emergence of collective behaviour has long been a key research focus in the natural sciences. Besides the fundamental role of social interaction rules, a combination of theoretical and empirical work indicates individual speed may be a key process that drives the collective behaviour of animal groups. Socially induced changes in speed by interacting animals make it difficult to isolate the effects of individual speed on group-level behaviours. Here, we tackled this issue by pairing guppies with a biomimetic robot. We used a closed-loop tracking and feedback system to let a robotic fish naturally interact with a live partner in real time, and programmed it to strongly copy and follow its partner's movements while lacking any preferred movement speed or directionality of its own. We show that individual differences in guppies' movement speed were highly repeatable and in turn shaped key collective patterns: a higher individual speed resulted in stronger leadership, lower cohesion, higher alignment and better temporal coordination of the pairs. By combining the strengths of individual-based models and observational work with state-of-the-art robotics, we provide novel evidence that individual speed is a key, fundamental process in the emergence of collective behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolle W. Jolles
- Department of Collective Behaviour, Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz, Germany
- Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Nils Weimar
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Institute for Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer-Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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15
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Bierbach D, Mönck HJ, Lukas J, Habedank M, Romanczuk P, Landgraf T, Krause J. Guppies Prefer to Follow Large (Robot) Leaders Irrespective of Own Size. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2020; 8:441. [PMID: 32500065 PMCID: PMC7243707 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2020.00441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Accepted: 04/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Body size is often assumed to determine how successfully an individual can lead others with larger individuals being better leaders than smaller ones. But even if larger individuals are more readily followed, body size often correlates with specific behavioral patterns and it is thus unclear whether larger individuals are more often followed than smaller ones because of their size or because they behave in a certain way. To control for behavioral differences among differentially-sized leaders, we used biomimetic robotic fish (Robofish) of different sizes. Live guppies (Poecilia reticulata) are known to interact with Robofish in a similar way as with live conspecifics. Consequently, Robofish may serve as a conspecific-like leader that provides standardized behaviors irrespective of its size. We asked whether larger Robofish leaders are preferentially followed and whether the preferences of followers depend on own body size or risk-taking behavior ("boldness"). We found that live female guppies followed larger Robofish leaders in closer proximity than smaller ones and this pattern was independent of the followers' own body size as well as risk-taking behavior. Our study shows a "bigger is better" pattern in leadership that is independent of behavioral differences among differentially-sized leaders, followers' own size and risk-taking behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hauke J. Mönck
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Institute for Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Lukas
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marie Habedank
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Institute for Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Excellence Cluster ‘Science of Intelligence’, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
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16
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Bierbach D, Krause S, Romanczuk P, Lukas J, Arias-Rodriguez L, Krause J. An interaction mechanism for the maintenance of fission-fusion dynamics under different individual densities. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8974. [PMID: 32461823 PMCID: PMC7231501 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2019] [Accepted: 03/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals often show high consistency in their social organisation despite facing changing environmental conditions. Especially in shoaling fish, fission-fusion dynamics that describe for which periods individuals are solitary or social have been found to remain unaltered even when density changed. This compensatory ability is assumed to be an adaptation towards constant predation pressure, but the mechanism through which individuals can actively compensate for density changes is yet unknown. The aim of the current study is to identify behavioural patterns that enable this active compensation. We compared the fission-fusion dynamics of two populations of the live-bearing Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) that live in adjacent habitats with very different predator regimes: cave mollies that inhabit a low-predation environment inside a sulfidic cave with a low density of predatory water bugs (Belostoma sp.), and mollies that live directly outside the cave (henceforth called "surface" mollies) in a high-predation environment. We analysed their fission-fusion dynamics under two different fish densities of 12 and 6 fish per 0.36 m2. As expected, surface mollies spent more time being social than cave mollies, and this difference in social time was a result of surface mollies being less likely to discontinue social contact (once they had a social partner) and being more likely to resume social contact (once alone) than cave mollies. Interestingly, surface mollies were also less likely to switch among social partners than cave mollies. A random walk simulation predicted each population to show reduced social encounters in the low density treatment. While cave mollies largely followed this prediction, surface mollies maintained their interaction probabilities even at low density. Surface mollies achieved this by a reduction in the size of a convex polygon formed by the group as density decreased. This may allow them to largely maintain their fission-fusion dynamics while still being able to visit large parts of the available area as a group. A slight reduction (21%) in the area visited at low densities was also observed but insufficient to explain how the fish maintained their fission-fusion dynamics. Finally, we discuss potential movement rules that could account for the reduction of polygon size and test their performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Stefan Krause
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Lübeck University of Applied Sciences, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco, Villahermosa, Mexico
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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17
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Santi F, Bierbach D, Schartl M, Riesch R. Life histories of guppies (Poecilia reticulata Peters, 1869; Poeciliidae) from the Pitch Lake in Trinidad. CARIBB J SCI 2019. [DOI: 10.18475/cjos.v49i2.a13] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Francesco Santi
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Manfred Schartl
- Department Physiological Chemistry, Biocenter, University of Würzburg, and Comprehensive Cancer Center Mainfranken, University Clinic Würzburg, 97078 Würzburg, Germany, and Hagler Institute for Advanced Studies and Department of Biology, Texas A&M Un
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
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18
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Sbragaglia V, Gliese C, Bierbach D, Honsey AE, Uusi-Heikkilä S, Arlinghaus R. Size-selective harvesting fosters adaptations in mating behaviour and reproductive allocation, affecting sexual selection in fish. J Anim Ecol 2019; 88:1343-1354. [PMID: 31131886 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2018] [Accepted: 04/20/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The role of sexual selection in the context of harvest-induced evolution is poorly understood. However, elevated and trait-selective harvesting of wild populations may change sexually selected traits, which in turn can affect mate choice and reproduction. We experimentally evaluated the potential for fisheries-induced evolution of mating behaviour and reproductive allocation in fish. We used an experimental system of zebrafish (Danio rerio) lines exposed to large, small or random (i.e. control) size-selective mortality. The large-harvested line represented a treatment simulating the typical case in fisheries where the largest individuals are preferentially harvested. We used a full factorial design of spawning trials with size-matched individuals to control for the systematic impact of body size during reproduction, thereby singling out possible changes in mating behaviour and reproductive allocation. Both small size-selective mortality and large size-selective mortality left a legacy on male mating behaviour by elevating intersexual aggression. However, there was no evidence for line-assortative reproductive allocation. Females of all lines preferentially allocated eggs to the generally less aggressive males of the random-harvested control line. Females of the large-harvested line showed enhanced reproductive performance, and males of the large-harvested line had the highest egg fertilization rate among all males. These findings can be explained as an evolutionary adaptation by which individuals of the large-harvested line display an enhanced reproductive performance early in life to offset the increased probability of adult mortality due to harvest. Our results suggest that the large-harvested line evolved behaviourally mediated reproductive adaptations that could increase the rate of recovery when populations adapted to high fishing pressure come into secondary contact with other populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Sbragaglia
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), Livorno, Italy
| | - Catalina Gliese
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Andrew E Honsey
- Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior Graduate Program, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, Minnesota
| | - Silva Uusi-Heikkilä
- Department of Biology, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.,Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Robert Arlinghaus
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Division of Integrative Fisheries Management, Department of Crop and Animal Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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19
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20
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Laskowski KL, Doran C, Bierbach D, Krause J, Wolf M. Naturally clonal vertebrates are an untapped resource in ecology and evolution research. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:161-169. [PMID: 30692622 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-018-0775-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/29/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Science requires replication. The development of many cloned or isogenic model organisms is a testament to this. But researchers are reluctant to use these traditional animal model systems for certain questions in evolution or ecology research, because of concerns over relevance or inbreeding. It has largely been overlooked that there are a substantial number of vertebrate species that reproduce clonally in nature. Here we highlight how use of these naturally evolved, phenotypically complex animals can push the boundaries of traditional experimental design and contribute to answering fundamental questions in the fields of ecology and evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Biology & Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Carolina Doran
- Department of Biology & Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology & Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology & Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- Department of Biology & Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology & Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
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21
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Kurvers RHJM, Drägestein J, Hölker F, Jechow A, Krause J, Bierbach D. Artificial Light at Night Affects Emergence from a Refuge and Space Use in Guppies. Sci Rep 2018; 8:14131. [PMID: 30237438 PMCID: PMC6147999 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-32466-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/06/2018] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a major form of anthropogenic pollution. ALAN is well known to affect different behaviours during nighttime, when changes in light conditions often have immediate consequences for the trade-offs individuals experience. How ALAN affects daytime behaviours, however, has received far less attention. Here we studied how ALAN affected daytime personality traits and learning ability. We exposed Trinidadian guppies, Poecilia reticulata, for 10 weeks to different ALAN levels: bright light (24 hrs bright light, ~5,000 lx), dim light (12 hrs bright light; 12 hrs dim light, ~0.5 lx) and control (12 hrs bright light; 12 hrs dark). Afterwards, we tested how the treatments affected diurnal emergence from a refuge, space use, activity, sociability and the ability to memorize the location of companion fish. Individuals exposed to the light treatments (both dim and bright light) emerged quicker from a refuge and fish from the bright light treatment spent relatively more time in the open area of the arena. ALAN did not affect any of the other behaviours, although memory could not be tested since fish did not learn the companions' location. Our results demonstrate that ALAN, next to affecting nocturnal behaviours, can also affect key diurnal behavioural processes, associated with risk-taking.
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Affiliation(s)
- R H J M Kurvers
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195, Berlin, Germany.
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - J Drägestein
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstraße 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - F Hölker
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstraße 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - A Jechow
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - J Krause
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115, Berlin, Germany
| | - D Bierbach
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
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22
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Bierbach D, Landgraf T, Romanczuk P, Lukas J, Nguyen H, Wolf M, Krause J. Using a robotic fish to investigate individual differences in social responsiveness in the guppy. R Soc Open Sci 2018; 5:181026. [PMID: 30225087 PMCID: PMC6124066 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.181026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Responding towards the actions of others is one of the most important behavioural traits whenever animals of the same species interact. Mutual influences among interacting individuals may modulate the social responsiveness seen and thus make it often difficult to study the level and individual variation in responsiveness. Here, open-loop biomimetic robots that provide standardized, non-interactive social cues can be a useful tool. These robots are not affected by the live animal's actions but are assumed to still represent valuable and biologically relevant social cues. As this assumption is crucial for the use of biomimetic robots in behavioural studies, we hypothesized (i) that meaningful social interactions can be assumed if live animals maintain individual differences in responsiveness when interacting with both a biomimetic robot and a live partner. Furthermore, to study the level of individual variation in social responsiveness, we hypothesized (ii) that individual differences should be maintained over the course of multiple tests with the robot. We investigated the response of live guppies (Poecilia reticulata) when allowed to interact either with a biomimetic open-loop-controlled fish robot-'Robofish'-or with a live companion. Furthermore, we investigated the responses of live guppies when tested three times with Robofish. We found that responses of live guppies towards Robofish were weaker compared with those of a live companion, most likely as a result of the non-interactive open-loop behaviour of Robofish. Guppies, however, were consistent in their individual responses between a live companion and Robofish, and similar individual differences in response towards Robofish were maintained over repeated testing even though habituation to the test environment was detectable. Biomimetic robots like Robofish are therefore a useful tool for the study of social responsiveness in guppies and possibly other small fish species.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Institute for Computer Science, Arnimallee 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Thaer Institute, Hinter d. Reinhardtstr. 8-18, Berlin, Germany
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Lukas
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Thaer Institute, Hinter d. Reinhardtstr. 8-18, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hai Nguyen
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Thaer Institute, Hinter d. Reinhardtstr. 8-18, Berlin, Germany
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23
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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24
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Bierbach D, Lukas J, Bergmann A, Elsner K, Höhne L, Weber C, Weimar N, Arias-Rodriguez L, Mönck HJ, Nguyen H, Romanczuk P, Landgraf T, Krause J. Insights into the Social Behavior of Surface and Cave-Dwelling Fish ( Poecilia mexicana) in Light and Darkness through the Use of a Biomimetic Robot. Front Robot AI 2018; 5:3. [PMID: 33500890 PMCID: PMC7805783 DOI: 10.3389/frobt.2018.00003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2017] [Accepted: 01/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Biomimetic robots (BRs) are becoming more common in behavioral research and, if they are accepted as conspecifics, allow for new forms of experimental manipulations of social interactions. Nevertheless, it is often not clear which cues emanating from a BR are actually used as communicative signals and how species or populations with different sensory makeups react to specific types of BRs. We herein present results from experiments using two populations of livebearing fishes that differ in their sensory capabilities. In the South of Mexico, surface-dwelling mollies (Poecilia mexicana) successfully invaded caves and adapted to dark conditions. While almost without pigment, these cave mollies possess smaller but still functional eyes. Although previous studies found cave mollies to show reduced shoaling preferences with conspecifics in light compared to surface mollies, it is assumed that they possess specialized adaptations to maintain some kind of sociality also in their dark habitats. By testing surface- and cave-dwelling mollies with RoboFish, a BR made for use in laboratory experiments with guppies and sticklebacks, we asked to what extent visual and non-visual cues play a role in their social behavior. Both cave- and surface-dwelling mollies followed the BR as well as a live companion when tested in light. However, when tested in darkness, only surface-dwelling fish were attracted by a live conspecific, whereas cave-dwelling fish were not. Neither cave- nor surface-dwelling mollies were attracted to RoboFish in darkness. This is the first study to use BRs for the investigation of social behavior in mollies and to compare responses to BRs both in light and darkness. As our RoboFish is accepted as conspecific by both used populations of the Atlantic molly only under light conditions but not in darkness, we argue that our replica is providing mostly visual cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Juliane Lukas
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anja Bergmann
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany
| | - Kristiane Elsner
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany
| | - Leander Höhne
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christiane Weber
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nils Weimar
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, bologna.lab, Q-Team Programm, Berlin, Germany
| | - Lenin Arias-Rodriguez
- División Académica de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Juárez Autónoma de Tabasco (UJAT), Villahermosa, Tabasco, Mexico
| | - Hauke J Mönck
- Freie Universität Berlin, FB Mathematik u. Informatik, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hai Nguyen
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Pawel Romanczuk
- Department of Biology, Institute for Theoretical Biology, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Tim Landgraf
- Freie Universität Berlin, FB Mathematik u. Informatik, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jens Krause
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany.,Faculty of Life Sciences, Thaer Institute, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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25
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Affiliation(s)
- Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, Berlin, D-12587, Germany
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26
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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27
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Laskowski KL, Wolf M, Bierbach D. The making of winners (and losers): how early dominance interactions determine adult social structure in a clonal fish. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.0183. [PMID: 27170711 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.0183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2016] [Accepted: 04/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Across a wide range of animal taxa, winners of previous fights are more likely to keep winning future contests, just as losers are more likely to keep losing. At present, such winner and loser effects are considered to be fairly transient. However, repeated experiences with winning and/or losing might increase the persistence of these effects, generating long-lasting consequences for social structure. To test this, we exposed genetically identical individuals of a clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), to repeated winning and/or losing dominance interactions during the first two months of their life. We subsequently investigated whether these experiences affected the fish's ability to achieve dominance in a hierarchy five months later after sexual maturity, a major life-history transition. Individuals that had only winning interactions early in life consistently ranked at the top of the hierarchy. Interestingly, individuals with only losing experience tended to achieve the middle dominance rank, whereas individuals with both winning and losing experiences generally ended up at the bottom of the hierarchy. In addition to demonstrating that early social interactions can have dramatic and long-lasting consequences for adult social behaviour and social structure, our work also shows that higher cumulative winning experience early in life can counterintuitively give rise to lower social rank later in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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28
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Sommer-Trembo C, Plath M, Gismann J, Helfrich C, Bierbach D. Context-dependent female mate choice maintains variation in male sexual activity. R Soc Open Sci 2017; 4:170303. [PMID: 28791157 PMCID: PMC5541552 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170303] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The existence of individual variation in males' motivation to mate remains a conundrum as directional selection should favour high mating frequencies. Balancing selection resulting from (context-dependent) female mate choice could contribute to the maintenance of this behavioural polymorphism. In dichotomous choice tests, mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) females preferred virtual males showing intermediate mating frequencies, reflecting females' tendencies to avoid harassment by highly sexually active males. When tested in the presence of a female shoal-which protects females from male harassment-focal females showed significantly stronger preferences for high sexual activity. A trade-off between (indirect) benefits and (direct) costs of mating with sexually active males probably explains context-dependent female mate choice, as costs depend on the social environment in which females choose their mates. No preference was observed when we tested virgin females, suggesting that the behavioural pattern described here is part of the learned behavioural repertoire of G. holbrooki females.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Sommer-Trembo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling 712100, People's Republic of China
| | - Jakob Gismann
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Claudia Helfrich
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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29
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Lukas JAY, Jourdan J, Kalinkat G, Emde S, Miesen FW, Jüngling H, Cocchiararo B, Bierbach D. On the occurrence of three non-native cichlid species including the first record of a feral population of Pelmatolapia ( Tilapia) mariae (Boulenger, 1899) in Europe. R Soc Open Sci 2017; 4:170160. [PMID: 28680671 PMCID: PMC5493913 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.170160] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2017] [Accepted: 05/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Thermally influenced freshwater systems provide suitable conditions for non-native species of tropical and subtropical origin to survive and form proliferating populations beyond their native ranges. In Germany, non-native convict cichlids (Amatitlania nigrofasciata) and tilapia (Oreochromis sp.) have established populations in the Gillbach, a small stream that receives warm water discharge from a local power plant. Here, we report on the discovery of spotted tilapia (Pelmatolapia mariae) in the Gillbach, the first record of a reproducing population of this species in Europe. It has been hypothesized that Oreochromis sp. in the Gillbach are descendants of aquaculture escapees and our mtDNA analysis found both O. mossambicus and O. niloticus maternal lineages, which are commonly used for hybrids in aquaculture. Convict cichlids and spotted tilapia were most probably introduced into the Gillbach by aquarium hobbyists. Despite their high invasiveness worldwide, we argue that all three cichlid species are unlikely to spread and persist permanently beyond the thermally influenced range of the Gillbach river system. However, convict cichlids from the Gillbach are known to host both native and non-native fish parasites and thus, non-native cichlids may constitute threats to the native fish fauna. We therefore strongly recommend continuous monitoring of the Gillbach and similar systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliane A. Y. Lukas
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mueggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
- Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- Department of River Ecology and Conservation, Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Clamecystrasse 12, 63571 Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Gregor Kalinkat
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mueggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Sebastian Emde
- Institute for Ecology, Evolution and Diversity, Goethe-University, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60438 Frankfurt/M, Germany
- Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre, Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt/M, Germany
| | - Friedrich Wilhelm Miesen
- Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig, Sektion Ichthyologie, Adenauerallee 160, 53113 Bonn, Germany
| | - Hannah Jüngling
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Conservation Genetics Group, Clamecystrasse 12, 63571 Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - Berardino Cocchiararo
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt, Conservation Genetics Group, Clamecystrasse 12, 63571 Gelnhausen, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Mueggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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30
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Bierbach D, Laskowski KL, Wolf M. Behavioural individuality in clonal fish arises despite near-identical rearing conditions. Nat Commun 2017; 8:15361. [PMID: 28513582 PMCID: PMC5442312 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms15361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2016] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Behavioural individuality is thought to be caused by differences in genes and/or environmental conditions. Therefore, if these sources of variation are removed, individuals are predicted to develop similar phenotypes lacking repeatable individual variation. Moreover, even among genetically identical individuals, direct social interactions are predicted to be a powerful factor shaping the development of individuality. We use tightly controlled ontogenetic experiments with clonal fish, the Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa), to test whether near-identical rearing conditions and lack of social contact dampen individuality. In sharp contrast to our predictions, we find that (i) substantial individual variation in behaviour emerges among genetically identical individuals isolated directly after birth into highly standardized environments and (ii) increasing levels of social experience during ontogeny do not affect levels of individual behavioural variation. In contrast to the current research paradigm, which focuses on genes and/or environmental drivers, our findings suggest that individuality might be an inevitable and potentially unpredictable outcome of development. Genetically-identical animals experiencing the same environmental conditions should develop, in theory, identical behavioral traits. However, Bierbach et al. show here that behavioral differences still emerge among cloned fish under tightly controlled experimental conditions.
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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
| | - Kate L Laskowski
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
| | - Max Wolf
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, Germany
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31
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Polverino G, Bierbach D, Killen SS, Uusi-Heikkilä S, Arlinghaus R. Body length rather than routine metabolic rate and body condition correlates with activity and risk-taking in juvenile zebrafish Danio rerio. J Fish Biol 2016; 89:2251-2267. [PMID: 27615803 PMCID: PMC6849769 DOI: 10.1111/jfb.13100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
In this study, the following hypotheses were explored using zebrafish Danio rerio: (1) individuals from the same cohort differ consistently in activity and risk-taking and (2) variation in activity and risk-taking is linked to individual differences in metabolic rate, body length and body condition. To examine these hypotheses, juvenile D. rerio were tested for routine metabolic rate and subsequently exposed to an open field test. Strong evidence was found for consistent among-individual differences in activity and risk-taking, which were overall negatively correlated with body length, i.e. larger D. rerio were found to be less active in a potentially dangerous open field and a similar trend was found with respect to a more direct measure of their risk-taking tendency. In contrast, routine metabolic rate and body condition were uncorrelated with both activity and risk-taking of juvenile D. rerio. These findings suggest that body length is associated with risk-related behaviours in juvenile D. rerio for which larger, rather than smaller, individuals may have a higher risk of predation, while the role for routine metabolic rate is relatively limited or non-existent, at least under the conditions of the present study.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Polverino
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Muggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.
| | - D Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Muggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - S S Killen
- College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ, U.K
| | - S Uusi-Heikkilä
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Muggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
- Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, Itäinen Pitkäkatu 4, Turku, 20014, Finland
| | - R Arlinghaus
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Muggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
- Division of Integrative Fisheries Management, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Unter den Linden 6, 10099, Berlin, Germany
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Sommer-Trembo C, Bierbach D, Arias-Rodriguez L, Verel Y, Jourdan J, Zimmer C, Riesch R, Streit B, Plath M. Does personality affect premating isolation between locally-adapted populations? BMC Evol Biol 2016; 16:138. [PMID: 27338278 PMCID: PMC4918032 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-016-0712-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2016] [Accepted: 06/13/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Background One aspect of premating isolation between diverging, locally-adapted population pairs is female mate choice for resident over alien male phenotypes. Mating preferences often show considerable individual variation, and whether or not certain individuals are more likely to contribute to population interbreeding remains to be studied. In the Poecilia mexicana-species complex different ecotypes have adapted to hydrogen sulfide (H2S)-toxic springs, and females from adjacent non-sulfidic habitats prefer resident over sulfide-adapted males. We asked if consistent individual differences in behavioral tendencies (animal personality) predict the strength and direction of the mate choice component of premating isolation in this system. Results We characterized focal females for their personality and found behavioral measures of ‘novel object exploration’, ‘boldness’ and ‘activity in an unknown area’ to be highly repeatable. Furthermore, the interaction term between our measures of exploration and boldness affected focal females’ strength of preference (SOP) for the resident male phenotype in dichotomous association preference tests. High exploration tendencies were coupled with stronger SOPs for resident over alien mating partners in bold, but not shy, females. Shy and/or little explorative females had an increased likelihood of preferring the non-resident phenotype and thus, are more likely to contribute to rare population hybridization. When we offered large vs. small conspecific stimulus males instead, less explorative females showed stronger preferences for large male body size. However, this effect disappeared when the size difference between the stimulus males was small. Conclusions Our results suggest that personality affects female mate choice in a very nuanced fashion. Hence, population differences in the distribution of personality types could be facilitating or impeding reproductive isolation between diverging populations depending on the study system and the male trait(s) upon which females base their mating decisions, respectively. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12862-016-0712-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Sommer-Trembo
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People's Republic of China. .,Department of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - 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, Villahermosa, Tabasco, CP. 86150, Mexico
| | - Yesim Verel
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Jonas Jourdan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.,Biodiversity and Climate Research Centre (BiK-F), Senckenberganlage 25, 60325, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Claudia Zimmer
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People's Republic of China.,Department of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Rüdiger Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham Hill, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Bruno Streit
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, People's Republic of China
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Schulz‐Mirbach T, Eifert C, Riesch R, Farnworth MS, Zimmer C, Bierbach D, Klaus S, Tobler M, Streit B, Indy JR, Arias‐Rodriguez L, Plath M. Toxic hydrogen sulphide shapes brain anatomy: a comparative study of sulphide‐adapted ecotypes in the
Poecilia mexicana
complex. J Zool (1987) 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/jzo.12366] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- T. Schulz‐Mirbach
- Department Biology II Ludwig‐Maximilians‐University Munich Planegg‐Martinsried Germany
| | - C. Eifert
- Ecology and Evolution J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - R. Riesch
- School of Biological Sciences Royal Holloway University of London Egham UK
| | - M. S. Farnworth
- Göttingen Center for Molecular Biosciences Georg‐August‐University Göttingen Göttingen Germany
| | - C. Zimmer
- Ecology and Evolution J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - D. Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes Leibniz‐Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin Germany
| | - S. Klaus
- Ecology and Evolution J. W. Goethe University Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main Germany
| | - M. Tobler
- Division of Biology Kansas State University Manhattan KS USA
| | - B. Streit
- 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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Ziege M, Bierbach D, Bischoff S, Brandt AL, Brix M, Greshake B, Merker S, Wenninger S, Wronski T, Plath M. Importance of latrine communication in European rabbits shifts along a rural-to-urban gradient. BMC Ecol 2016; 16:29. [PMID: 27301694 PMCID: PMC4908761 DOI: 10.1186/s12898-016-0083-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2015] [Accepted: 05/23/2016] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Information transfer in mammalian communication networks is often based on the deposition of excreta in latrines. Depending on the intended receiver(s), latrines are either formed at territorial boundaries (between-group communication) or in core areas of home ranges (within-group communication). The relative importance of both types of marking behavior should depend, amongst other factors, on population densities and social group sizes, which tend to differ between urban and rural wildlife populations. Our study is the first to assess (direct and indirect) anthropogenic influences on mammalian latrine-based communication networks along a rural-to-urban gradient in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) living in urban, suburban and rural areas in and around Frankfurt am Main (Germany). Results The proportion of latrines located in close proximity to the burrow was higher at rural study sites compared to urban and suburban ones. At rural sites, we found the largest latrines and highest latrine densities close to the burrow, suggesting that core marking prevailed. By contrast, latrine dimensions and densities increased with increasing distance from the burrow in urban and suburban populations, suggesting a higher importance of peripheral marking. Conclusions Increased population densities, but smaller social group sizes in urban rabbit populations may lead to an increased importance of between-group communication and thus, favor peripheral over core marking. Our study provides novel insights into the manifold ways by which man-made habitat alterations along a rural-to-urban gradient directly and indirectly affect wildlife populations, including latrine-based communication networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Madlen Ziege
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany
| | - Svenja Bischoff
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Anna-Lena Brandt
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Mareike Brix
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Bastian Greshake
- Department for Applied Bioinformatics, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Stefan Merker
- Department of Zoology, State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart, Rosenstein 1, 70191, Stuttgart, Germany
| | - Sandra Wenninger
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Goethe University Frankfurt, Max-von-Laue-Str. 13, 60439, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Torsten Wronski
- Bristol Zoological Society, Conservation Science, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HA, UK
| | - Martin Plath
- College of Animal Science and Technology, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, 712100, Shaanxi, China
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35
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Sommer-Trembo C, Zimmer C, Jourdan J, Bierbach D, Plath M. Predator experience homogenizes consistent individual differences in predator avoidance. J ETHOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-016-0460-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Landgraf T, Bierbach D, Nguyen H, Muggelberg N, Romanczuk P, Krause J. RoboFish: increased acceptance of interactive robotic fish with realistic eyes and natural motion patterns by live Trinidadian guppies. Bioinspir Biomim 2016; 11:015001. [PMID: 26757096 DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/11/1/015001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
In recent years, simple biomimetic robots have been increasingly used in biological studies to investigate social behavior, for example collective movement. Nevertheless, a big challenge in developing biomimetic robots is the acceptance of the robotic agents by live animals. In this contribution, we describe our recent advances with regard to the acceptance of our biomimetic RoboFish by live Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We provide a detailed technical description of the RoboFish system and show the effect of different appearance, motion patterns and interaction modes on the acceptance of the artificial fish replica. Our results indicate that realistic eye dummies along with natural motion patterns significantly improve the acceptance level of the RoboFish. Through the interactive behaviors, our system can be adjusted to imitate different individual characteristics of live animals, which further increases the bandwidth of possible applications of our RoboFish for the study of animal behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tim Landgraf
- Freie Universität Berlin, FB Mathematik u. Informatik Arnimallee 7, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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37
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Bierbach D, Sommer-Trembo C, Hanisch J, Wolf M, Plath M. Personality affects mate choice: bolder males show stronger audience effects under high competition. Behav Ecol 2015. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arv079] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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38
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Uusi-Heikkilä S, Whiteley AR, Kuparinen A, Matsumura S, Venturelli PA, Wolter C, Slate J, Primmer CR, Meinelt T, Killen SS, Bierbach D, Polverino G, Ludwig A, Arlinghaus R. The evolutionary legacy of size-selective harvesting extends from genes to populations. Evol Appl 2015; 8:597-620. [PMID: 26136825 PMCID: PMC4479515 DOI: 10.1111/eva.12268] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2014] [Accepted: 04/05/2015] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Size-selective harvesting is assumed to alter life histories of exploited fish populations, thereby negatively affecting population productivity, recovery, and yield. However, demonstrating that fisheries-induced phenotypic changes in the wild are at least partly genetically determined has proved notoriously difficult. Moreover, the population-level consequences of fisheries-induced evolution are still being controversially discussed. Using an experimental approach, we found that five generations of size-selective harvesting altered the life histories and behavior, but not the metabolic rate, of wild-origin zebrafish (Danio rerio). Fish adapted to high positively size selective fishing pressure invested more in reproduction, reached a smaller adult body size, and were less explorative and bold. Phenotypic changes seemed subtle but were accompanied by genetic changes in functional loci. Thus, our results provided unambiguous evidence for rapid, harvest-induced phenotypic and evolutionary change when harvesting is intensive and size selective. According to a life-history model, the observed life-history changes elevated population growth rate in harvested conditions, but slowed population recovery under a simulated moratorium. Hence, the evolutionary legacy of size-selective harvesting includes populations that are productive under exploited conditions, but selectively disadvantaged to cope with natural selection pressures that often favor large body size.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silva Uusi-Heikkilä
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany ; Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku Turku, Finland
| | - Andrew R Whiteley
- Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts Amherst, MA, USA
| | - Anna Kuparinen
- Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki Helsinki, Finland
| | | | - Paul A Venturelli
- Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology, University of Minnesota St Paul, MN, USA
| | - Christian Wolter
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany
| | - Jon Slate
- Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank Sheffield, UK
| | - Craig R Primmer
- Division of Genetics and Physiology, Department of Biology, University of Turku Turku, Finland
| | - Thomas Meinelt
- Department of Ecophysiology and Aquaculture, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany
| | - Shaun S Killen
- Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health and Comparative Medicine, College of Medical, Veterinary & Life Sciences, University of Glasgow Glasgow, UK
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany
| | - Giovanni Polverino
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany
| | - Arne Ludwig
- Department of Evolutionary Genetics, Leibniz-Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Arlinghaus
- Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries Berlin, Germany ; Chair of Integrative Fisheries Management, Faculty of Life Sciences, Albrecht-Daniel-Thaer Institute of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin Berlin, Germany
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Landgraf T, Nguyen H, Schröer J, Szengel A, Clément RJG, Bierbach D, Krause J. Blending in with the Shoal: Robotic Fish Swarms for Investigating Strategies of Group Formation in Guppies. Biomimetic and Biohybrid Systems 2014. [DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-09435-9_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/03/2022]
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I, Geupel H, Streit B, Plath M. Casanovas are liars: behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk, and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in live-bearing fishes. F1000Res 2013; 2:75. [PMID: 24627773 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.2-75.v2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/07/2013] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Male reproductive biology can by characterized through competition over mates as well as mate choice. Multiple mating and male mate choice copying, especially in internally fertilizing species, set the stage for increased sperm competition, i.e., sperm of two or more males can compete for fertilization of the female's ova. In the internally fertilizing fish Poecilia mexicana, males respond to the presence of rivals with reduced expression of mating preferences (audience effect), thereby lowering the risk of by-standing rivals copying their mate choice. Also, males interact initially more with a non-preferred female when observed by a rival, which has been interpreted in previous studies as a strategy to mislead rivals, again reducing sperm competition risk (SCR). Nevertheless, species might differ consistently in their expression of aggressive and reproductive behaviors, possibly due to varying levels of SCR. In the current study, we present a unique data set comprising ten poeciliid species (in two cases including multiple populations) and ask whether species can be characterized through consistent differences in the expression of aggression, sexual activity and changes in mate choice under increased SCR. We found consistent species-specific differences in aggressive behavior, sexual activity as well as in the level of misleading behavior, while decreased preference expression under increased SCR was a general feature of all but one species examined. Furthermore, mean sexual activity correlated positively with the occurrence of potentially misleading behavior. An alternative explanation for audience effects would be that males attempt to avoid aggressive encounters, which would predict stronger audience effects in more aggressive species. We demonstrate a positive correlation between mean aggressiveness and sexual activity (suggesting a hormonal link as a mechanistic explanation), but did not detect a correlation between aggressiveness and audience effects. Suites of correlated behavioral tendencies are termed behavioral syndromes, and our present study provides correlational evidence for the evolutionary significance of SCR in shaping a behavioral syndrome at the species level across poeciliid taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany ; Current address: Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Amber M Makowicz
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Ingo Schlupp
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Holger Geupel
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany
| | - Bruno Streit
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, 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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Bierbach D, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I, Geupel H, Streit B, Plath M. Casanovas are liars: behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk, and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in live-bearing fishes. F1000Res 2013; 2:75. [PMID: 24627773 PMCID: PMC3917653 DOI: 10.12688/f1000research.2-75.v3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/22/2013] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Male reproductive biology can by characterized through competition over mates as well as mate choice. Multiple mating and male mate choice copying, especially in internally fertilizing species, set the stage for increased sperm competition, i.e., sperm of two or more males can compete for fertilization of the female’s ova. In the internally fertilizing fish
Poecilia mexicana, males respond to the presence of rivals with reduced expression of mating preferences (audience effect), thereby lowering the risk of by-standing rivals copying their mate choice. Also, males interact initially more with a non-preferred female when observed by a rival, which has been interpreted in previous studies as a strategy to mislead rivals, again reducing sperm competition risk (SCR). Nevertheless, species might differ consistently in their expression of aggressive and reproductive behaviors, possibly due to varying levels of SCR. In the current study, we present a unique data set comprising ten poeciliid species (in two cases including multiple populations) and ask whether species can be characterized through consistent differences in the expression of aggression, sexual activity and changes in mate choice under increased SCR. We found consistent species-specific differences in aggressive behavior, sexual activity as well as in the level of misleading behavior, while decreased preference expression under increased SCR was a general feature of all but one species examined. Furthermore, mean sexual activity correlated positively with the occurrence of potentially misleading behavior. An alternative explanation for audience effects would be that males attempt to avoid aggressive encounters, which would predict stronger audience effects in more aggressive species. We demonstrate a positive correlation between mean aggressiveness and sexual activity (suggesting a hormonal link as a mechanistic explanation), but did not detect a correlation between aggressiveness and audience effects. Suites of correlated behavioral tendencies are termed behavioral syndromes, and our present study provides correlational evidence for the evolutionary significance of SCR in shaping a behavioral syndrome at the species level across poeciliid taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany ; Current address: Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Berlin, Germany
| | - Amber M Makowicz
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Ingo Schlupp
- Department of Biology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA
| | - Holger Geupel
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany
| | - Bruno Streit
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- Evolutionary Ecology Group, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, D-60438, Germany
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Abstract
Male homosexual behaviour-although found in most extant clades across the Animal Kingdom-remains a conundrum, as same-sex mating should decrease male reproductive fitness. In most species, however, males that engage in same-sex sexual behaviour also mate with females, and in theory, same-sex mating could even increase male reproductive fitness if males improve their chances of future heterosexual mating. Females regularly use social information to choose a mate; e.g. male attractiveness increases after a male has interacted sexually with a female (mate choice copying). Here, we demonstrate that males of the tropical freshwater fish Poecilia mexicana increase their attractiveness to females not only by opposite-sex, but likewise, through same-sex interactions. Hence, direct benefits for males of exhibiting homosexual behaviour may help explain its occurrence and persistence in species in which females rely on mate choice copying as one component of mate quality assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Bierbach
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main 60438, Germany.
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Ziege M, Hennige-Schulz C, Muecksch F, Bierbach D, Tiedemann R, Streit B, Plath M. A comparison of two methods to assess audience-induced changes in male mate choice. Curr Zool 2012. [DOI: 10.1093/czoolo/58.1.84] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Multidirectional communicative interactions in social networks can have a profound effect on mate choice behavior. Male Atlantic molly Poecilia mexicana exhibit weaker mating preferences when an audience male is presented. This could be a male strategy to reduce sperm competition risk: interacting more equally with different females may be advantageous because rivals might copy mate choice decisions. In line with this hypothesis, a previous study found males to show a strong audience effect when being observed while exercising mate choice, but not when the rival was presented only before the choice tests. Audience effects on mate choice decisions have been quantified in poeciliid fishes using association preference designs, but it remains unknown if patterns found from measuring association times translate into actual mating behavior. Thus, we created five audience treatments simulating different forms of perceived sperm competition risk and determined focal males’ mating preferences by scoring pre-mating (nipping) and mating behavior (gonopodial thrusting). Nipping did not reflect the pattern that was found when association preferences were measured, while a very similar pattern was uncovered in thrusting behavior. The strongest response was observed when the audience could eavesdrop on the focal male’s behavior. A reduction in the strength of focal males’ preferences was also seen after the rival male had an opportunity to mate with the focal male’s preferred mate. In comparison, the reduction of mating preferences in response to an audience was greater when measuring association times than actual mating behavior. While measuring direct sexual interactions between the focal male and both stimulus females not only the male’s motivational state is reflected but also females’ behavior such as avoidance of male sexual harassment.
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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
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Evolutionary Biology & Systematic Zoology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Carmen Hennige-Schulz
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Evolutionary Biology & Systematic Zoology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Frauke Muecksch
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - David Bierbach
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Ralph Tiedemann
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Evolutionary Biology & Systematic Zoology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
| | - Bruno Streit
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
| | - Martin Plath
- Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, D-60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, Unit of Evolutionary Biology & Systematic Zoology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany
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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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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] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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Tobler M, Palacios M, Chapman LJ, Mitrofanov I, Bierbach D, Plath M, Arias-Rodriguez L, de León FJG, Mateos M. Evolution in extreme environments: replicated phenotypic differentiation in livebearing fish inhabiting sulfidic springs. Evolution 2011; 65:2213-28. [PMID: 21790570 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.2011.01298.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
We investigated replicated ecological speciation in the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana and P. sulphuraria (Poeciliidae), which inhabit freshwater habitats and have also colonized multiple sulfidic springs in southern Mexico. These springs exhibit extreme hypoxia and high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, which is lethal to most metazoans. We used phylogenetic analyses to test whether springs were independently colonized, performed phenotypic assessments of body and gill morphology variation to identify convergent patterns of trait differentiation, and conducted an eco-toxicological experiment to detect differences in sulfide tolerances among ecotypes. Our results indicate that sulfidic springs were colonized by three different lineages, two within P. mexicana and one representing P. sulphuraria. Colonization occurred earlier in P. sulphuraria, whereas invasion of sulfidic springs in P. mexicana was more recent, such that each population is more closely related to neighboring populations from adjacent nonsulfidic habitats. Sulfide spring fish also show divergence from nonsulfidic phenotypes and a phenotypic convergence toward larger heads, larger gills, and increased tolerance to H(2) S. Together with previous studies that indicated significant reproductive isolation between fish from sulfidic and nonsulfidic habitats, this study provides evidence for repeated ecological speciation in the independent sulfide spring populations of P. mexicana and P. sulphuraria.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Tobler
- Department of Zoology, Oklahoma State University, 501 Life Sciences West, Stillwater, Oklahoma 74078, USA.
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