Developmental plasticity in vision and behavior may help guppies overcome increased turbidity

Ehlman, Sean M.; Sandkam, Benjamin A.; Breden, Felix; Sih, Andrew

doi:10.1007/s00359-015-1041-4

Cited by 64 publications

(69 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…However, results from these studies are often conflicting; with some organisms showing plastic changes while others have little/no plasticity whatsoever. When reared under different light regimens, developmental plasticity in opsin expression was observed in guppies (Ehlman et al 2015) and black bream (Shand et al 2008). Contrary to these results, rearing conditions had no effect on opsin expression in cave-dwelling mollies (Tobler et al 2010) and South American cichlid Aequidens pulcher (Wagner & Kroger 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult plasticity in African cichlids: Rapid changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light differences

2017

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Phenotypic plasticity allows organisms to adapt quickly to local environmental conditions and could facilitate adaptive radiations. Cichlids have recently undergone an adaptive radiation in Lake Malawi where they inhabit diverse light environments and tune their visual sensitivity through differences in cone opsin expression. While cichlid opsin expression is known to be plastic over development, whether adults remain plastic is unknown. Adult plasticity in visual tuning could play a role in cichlid radiations by enabling survival in changing environments and facilitating invasion into novel environments. Here we examine the existence of and temporal changes in adult visual plasticity of two closely related species. In complementary experiments, wild adult Metriaclima mbenji from Lake Malawi were moved to the lab under UV-deficient fluorescent lighting; while lab raised M. benetos were placed under UV-rich lighting designed to mimic light conditions in the wild. Surprisingly, adult cichlids in both experiments showed significant changes in the expression of the UV-sensitive single cone opsin, SWS1, in only three days. Modeling quantum catches in the light environments revealed a possible link between the light available to the SWS1 visual pigment and SWS1 expression. We conclude that adult cichlids can undergo rapid and significant changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light shifts that are relevant to their habitat and evolutionary history in Lake Malawi. This could have contributed to the rapid divergence characteristic of these fantastic fishes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adult plasticity in African cichlids: Rapid changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light differences

2017

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“…The sex differences we found in opsin expression are interesting, because sexual dimorphism in opsin expression has been reported in laboratory populations of guppies (Laver and Taylor 2011;Ehlman et al 2015) but was not found for wild populations on Trinidad (Sandkam et al 2015a) or mainland South America (Sandkam et al 2015b). This difference could result from differences in carotenoid uptake if wild populations are somewhat carotenoid-limited and one sex does a better job of compensating for low carotenoids.…”

Section: Sex Differences In Opsin Expressionmentioning

confidence: 69%

“…While our results clearly show that differences in the abundance of dietary carotenoids can influence LWS opsin expression, there are likely additional factors involved in tuning opsin expression that could help explain this discrepancy, such as light environment. Ehlman et al (2015) recently found that lower abundance of available light resulted in higher expression of the LWS opsins. We found that low levels of dietary carotenoids decrease LWS opsin expression.…”

Section: Mate Choice and Dietary Carotenoidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Differences in the sensory systems responsible for detecting and discriminating amongs these stimuli, such as color vision, can have far-reaching effects on an organism's behavior. Traditionally, color vision was thought to only vary across species, but recent work in several taxa has found that color vision can also vary across populations [e.g., bluefin killifish (Fuller et al 2004), cichlids , stickleback (Flamarique et al 2013), guppies and close relatives (Sandkam et al 2015a, b)] which can be due to both genetic variation and plasticity (Fuller et al 2005;O'Quin et al 2012;Ehlman et al 2015; reviewed in Carleton et al 2016). Several studies have recently shown that visual systems are plastic with respect to developmental stage, time of day, and lighting environment (Fuller and Claricoates 2011;Johnson et al 2013;Flamarique et al 2013;Dalton et al 2015;Ehlman et al 2015;Sakai et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mate choice and color vision have recently been shown to covary across populations of guppies, making vision a likely factor involved in mate choice divergence across populations Houde 1995, Sandkam et al 2015a). Recently, Ehlman et al (2015) used a split-brood design in the laboratory to show that guppy color vision also has a component of developmental plasticity. Identifying the forces that shape differences in vision would allow for specific predictions regarding the strength and direction of signal evolution and direct comparisons to other taxa.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Exploring visual plasticity: dietary carotenoids can change color vision in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

et al. 2016

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Proximate and ultimate causes of variable visual sensitivities: Insights from cichlid fish radiations

Carleton

Dalton

Escobar‐Camacho

et al. 2016

Genesis

126

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Animals vary in their sensitivities to different wavelengths of light. Sensitivity differences can have fitness implications in terms of animals’ ability to forage, find mates and avoid predators. As a result, visual systems are likely selected to operate in particular lighting environments and for specific visual tasks. This review focuses on cichlid vision, as cichlids have diverse visual sensitivities, and considerable progress has been made in determining the genetic basis for this variation. We describe both the proximate and ultimate mechanisms shaping cichlid visual diversity using the structure of Tinbergen’s four questions. We describe 1) the molecular mechanisms that tune visual sensitivities including changes in opsin sequence and expression; 2) the evolutionary history of visual sensitivity across the African cichlid flocks; 3) the ontological changes in visual sensitivity and how modifying this developmental program alters sensitivities among species; and 4) the fitness benefits of spectral tuning mechanisms with respect to survival and mating success. We further discuss progress to unravel the gene regulatory networks controlling opsin expression and suggest that a simple genetic architecture contributes to the lability of opsin gene expression. Finally, we identify unanswered questions including whether visual sensitivities are experiencing selection, and whether similar spectral tuning mechanisms shape visual sensitivities of other fishes.

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Developmental plasticity in vision and behavior may help guppies overcome increased turbidity

Cited by 64 publications

References 75 publications

Adult plasticity in African cichlids: Rapid changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light differences

Adult plasticity in African cichlids: Rapid changes in opsin expression in response to environmental light differences

Exploring visual plasticity: dietary carotenoids can change color vision in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Proximate and ultimate causes of variable visual sensitivities: Insights from cichlid fish radiations

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