Male body size and breeding tubercles are both linked to intrasexual dominance and reproductive success in the minnow

Jacob, Alain; Evanno, Guillaume; Renai, Emanuela; Sermier, Roberto; Wedekind, Claus

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.12.006

Cited by 46 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…A male's paternity share in sperm competition has previously been estimated from his rank order and proximity to the spawning female (Schroder, 1982;Gross, 1985;Fleming & Gross, 1994;Fleming et al, 1996;Jacob et al, 2009). We observed an increased number of sneaker males in the immediate proximity of the female and the guarding male, immediately before egg release.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Spawning behaviour of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): risk of sperm competition and timing of milt release for sneaker and dominant males

Sørum

Figenschou

Rudolfsen

et al. 2011

Behav

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SummaryA mismatch in timing between the release of male and female gametes in external fertilizers may lead to failed fertilization or, under sperm competition, reduced paternity. To quantify the actual synchrony of gamete release and the level of sperm competition we placed video cameras on two spawning grounds of a naturally spawning population of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus). Females release eggs in response to courting (quivering) in less than 1% of the cases, yet to both dominant and sneaker males. That is, females initiated spawning with dominant males in 73.3% of the recorded spawning events. Although the actual spawning seems to be largely under female control, 55.6% of spawning events occur under sperm competition. The average time delay between dominant and sneaker males milt release under sperm competition is 0.68 s. Thus, female reproductive decisions seem to be strongly influenced by male-male competition and this may have set the stage for the evolution and maintenance of the observed plasticity in ejaculate characteristics of male charr.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 51%

Spawning behaviour of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): risk of sperm competition and timing of milt release for sneaker and dominant males

Sørum

Figenschou

Rudolfsen

et al. 2011

Behav

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“…2009). Moreover, body size is often linked to dominance during mating season (Jacob et al. 2007, 2009), and dominance itself has been discussed as a possible indicator of genetic quality (Qvarnstrom & Forsgren 1998; Wong & Candolin 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of different mating scenarios on embryo viability in brown trout

et al. 2010

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Mating with attractive or dominant males is often predicted to offer indirect genetic benefits to females, but it is still largely unclear how important such non-random mating can be with regard to embryo viability. We sampled a natural population of adult migratory brown trout (Salmo trutta), bred them in vitro in a half-sib breeding design to separate genetic from maternal environmental effects, raised 2098 embryos singly until hatching, and exposed them experimentally to different levels of pathogen stress at a late embryonic stage. We found that the embryos' tolerance to the induced pathogen stress was linked to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) of their parents, i.e. certain MHC genotypes appeared to provide better protection against infection than others. We also found significant additive genetic variance for stress tolerance. Melanin-based dark skin patterns revealed males with 'good genes', i.e. embryos fathered by dark coloured males had a high tolerance to infection. Mating with large and dominant males would, however, not improve embryo viability when compared to random mating. We used simulations to provide estimates of how mate choice based on MHC or melanin-based skin patterns would influence embryos' tolerance to the experimentally induced pathogen stress.

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“…During the breeding activities, males butt both each other and females, and frequently present their colouration to the females in head‐down positions. Females usually release their eggs when only one large (dominant) male is present (Müller & Ward 1995; Jacob et al. 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

RESEARCH PAPER: Multiple Sexual Ornamentation Signals Male Quality and Predicts Female Preference in Minnows

et al. 2010

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Sexual ornamentation often consists of multiple components. Different sexual signals may indicate different aspects of mate quality or reflect quality in different time scales. On the other hand, same signals can have a dual function and are used both in male–male competition and courtship. Many fish species are capable of rapidly altering their colouration (ephemeral colour changes), but this capability is usually ignored in sexual selection studies. Here, we used experimentally manipulated social environments to study the ephemeral colour changes in multicomponent sexual signals of male minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) during male–male competition and female choice. We found that the dominant males courted the females more actively and had redder and/or darker skin colouration than the subordinate males. Furthermore, darkness difference between subordinate and dominant males increased in the presence of female, which suggests that the male–male competition may increase the honesty of signalling and thus facilitate female choice. In support of this hypothesis, females had a strong behavioural preference towards the more colourful males, which may indicate female choice. As colourful males often had a higher social status than paler individuals, it is possible that females base their preference on male status, not only the colouration per se. In any case, our results suggest that sexual ornamentation of male minnows may signal status, courting activity and superior quality of the males and that these signals may have a dual function in both male–male competition and female choice. Females preferred different ornamental traits (dark and red colour patterns) relatively equally, indicating that mate choice is based on multiple cues.

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Male body size and breeding tubercles are both linked to intrasexual dominance and reproductive success in the minnow

Cited by 46 publications

References 42 publications

Spawning behaviour of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): risk of sperm competition and timing of milt release for sneaker and dominant males

Spawning behaviour of Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus): risk of sperm competition and timing of milt release for sneaker and dominant males

Effects of different mating scenarios on embryo viability in brown trout

RESEARCH PAPER: Multiple Sexual Ornamentation Signals Male Quality and Predicts Female Preference in Minnows

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