Female preferences based on male nutritional chemical traits

Giaquinto, Percília Cardoso; Berbert, Claudia Militão da Silva; Delício, Helton Carlos

doi:10.1007/s00265-010-0918-z

Cited by 30 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Pheromones are typically defined as substances, or mixtures of substances, that are released by individuals into the environment where they induce specific, adaptive and largely innate biological responses in conspecifics that are mutually beneficial to both the sender and receiver (Karlson and Luscher, 1959;Sorensen et al, 2000). The olfactory organs of aquatic animals are constantly exposed to soluble conspecific odorants, and fishes may be predisposed to evolve pheromonal functions for released sex hormones (and other metabolites) because they should provide reliable indicators of important reproductive events and internal physiological state, including nutritional status (Doving, 1976;Fisher and Rosenthal, 2006;Giaquinto et al, 2010). Several freshwater fishes are also known to alter when and where they release urinary pheromones, which is consistent with the hypothesis of a true communication system (benefits both signaler and receiver) designed to optimize detection by the intended receiver (Bradbury and Vehrencamp, 1998;Stacey and Sorensen, 2005;Appelt and Sorensen, 2007;Rosenthal et al, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The absence of a similar urination pattern towards mouth-brooding females suggests that dominant males can use visual cues alone to recognize that these females are not receptive and therefore do not invest in either chemical or behavioral signals. While the effects of male urine on female A. burtoni behavior and physiology require further study, chemical signals from males of other fish species are known to influence female behaviors, attraction towards males, spawning success and activity of the HPG axis (Sorensen, 1992;Fisher and Rosenthal, 2006;Gerlach, 2006;Barata et al, 2008a;Giaquinto et al, 2010;Stacey, 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Simulated male territory intrusion in several other African cichlid species was also associated with changes in levels of conjugated urinary 11-KT components released into the water compared with relatively unchanged levels of free 11-KT fractions released via the gills, suggesting that social context affects male urine release (Hirschenhauser et al, 2008). While the chemical identity of compounds released in the urine is not yet known in A. burtoni, conjugated and unconjugated steroidal compounds have been measured from the urine of other fish species including cichlids (Oliveira et al, 1996;Rocha and Reis-Henriques, 1996;Frade et al, 2002;Barata et al, 2008b;Hirschenhauser et al, 2008;Stacey, 2011), and the concentration of urinary compounds and olfactory sensitivity (determined via EOG recordings) can depend on dominance and nutritional status (Oliveira et al, 1996;Frade et al, 2002;Barata et al, 2007;Barata et al, 2008b;Giaquinto et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Maruska

Fernald

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYChemosensory signaling is crucial for communication in many fish species, but little is known about how signalers modulate chemical output in response to sensory information and social context. Here, we tested the hypothesis that dominant male African cichlid fish (Astatotilapia burtoni) use urine signals during social interactions, and demonstrate that this signaling depends on social context (reproductive; territorial) and on available sensory information (visual cues; full interaction). We injected males with dye to visualize urine pulses and exposed them to full sensory information or visual cues alone of four types: (1) dominant male; (2) gravid (reproductively receptive) females; (3) mouth-brooding (non-receptive) females; or (4) control (no fish). We found that males released urine sooner and increased their urination frequency when visually exposed to gravid females as compared with mouth-brooding females and or no-fish controls. While males could distinguish female reproductive states using visual cues alone, courtship behavior rates were ~10-fold higher when they fully interacted with gravid females compared with receiving visual cues alone. Males also increased their urination and territorial behaviors when exposed to another male, suggesting that chemical signals may convey information on dominance status. These data support the hypothesis that dominant males use urine as a chemical signal and adjust the frequency of their urine output based on contextual information.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Maruska

Fernald

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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“…Numerous studies demonstrate a role of diet quality for mate assessment pheromones across a wide range of taxa, including insects (Shelly et al, 2007;South et al, 2011;Fedina et al, 2012;Weddle et al, 2012;Liedo et al, 2013); mammals (Ferkin et al, 1997;Havlicek and Lenchova, 2006); reptiles (Kopena et al, 2011(Kopena et al, , 2014Chouinard, 2012); arachnids (Cross et al, 2009;Baruffaldi and Andrade, 2015); and fish (Giaquinto, 2010;Giaquinto et al, 2010;Hayward and Gillooly, 2011 ; Table 1). Nonetheless, comprehensive studies that include both behavioral and chemical assays are largely limited to insect systems.…”

Section: Linking Diet and Individual Qualitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Diet-Mediated Pheromones and Signature Mixtures Can Enforce Signal Reliability

et al. 2017

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Diet is arguably the most significant environmental factor shaping chemical signals in animals. In rare cases, dietary components are converted directly into pheromones or signature mixtures but more generally variation in an individual's diet influences their overall condition and thus capacity to synthesize the signal. Typically, diet is variable between individuals of the same species and this can lead to variation in signals. This variation presents specific challenges to receivers, who must be able to recognize and respond to a greater range of signals. However, such variation might also provide the receiver with key information about the signaller, allowing them to respond to the signal advantageously. Here we investigate how dietary-mediated pheromones and signature mixtures can provide the receiver with reliable information about the signaller, ultimately benefiting the receiver in a way not achievable by a static signal.

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“…) and impacts the male's susceptibility to diseases and his sperm quality and quantity (Giaquinto et al. ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Short‐Term Nutritional Limitation Affects Mating Behaviour and Reproductive Output in Dwarf Spiders

Kunz

Uhl

2015

Ethology

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Mating decisions can vary considerably depending on individual experience, mate availability and nutritional status. Here, we applied short-term dietary restrictions to adult female spiders that were well fed during the juvenile stage in an effort to understand whether and how brief periods of food shortage can influence male and female mating decisions and mating behaviour. To assess whether responses vary between closely related species, we conducted the same experiment on the dwarf spiders Oedothorax retusus and O. apicatus. During courtship and mating, males of both species offer secretion to females from glandular tissue in their prosoma. Females were subject to food shortage over a period of 3 wks ('low-diet' treatment, LD) or fed regularly ('high-diet' treatment, HD). We compared courtship probability, mating probability/behaviour, and reproductive output between dietary groups and species. In both Oedothorax species, females in the LD treatment were less likely to mate and more aggressive towards males. Furthermore, LD females produced egg sacs that were significantly lighter than were those of the HD females. Effects of food deprivation on copulation duration, gustatory behaviour and oviposition latency differed between species. Our study shows that short periods of dietary restriction during the adult stage can strongly affect mating behaviour and reproductive output with differences between closely related species.

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Female preferences based on male nutritional chemical traits

Cited by 30 publications

References 42 publications

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Diet-Mediated Pheromones and Signature Mixtures Can Enforce Signal Reliability

Short‐Term Nutritional Limitation Affects Mating Behaviour and Reproductive Output in Dwarf Spiders

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