Male Mate Choice in Mixed Bisexual/Unisexual Breeding Complexes of <i>Poecilia</i> (Teleostei: Poeciliidae)

Schlupp, Ingo; Parzefall, Jakob; Schartl, Manfred

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1991.tb00276.x

Cited by 77 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…This result is contrary to prior experiments that have evaluated the effect of visual cues on both male and female sailfin molly association preference for female conspecifics versus Amazon mollies (Schlupp et al 1991, Schlupp and Ryan 1996Gumm et al 2006). One hypothesis that warrants further consideration is that there is geographic variation in the ways that male sailfin mollies discriminate between species or in the ability to discriminate based on visual cues.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 84%

“…There is evidence of geographic variation in male sailfin molly mating preference (Gabor and Ryan 2001;Gumm and Gabor 2005). Therefore it is possible that the populations of males that we used in our studies differ behaviorally from the males from other populations used in the studies of Schlupp et al (1991), and Schlupp andRyan (1996, 1997) and Gumm et al (2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The lack of discrimination by males from the sympatric population between conspecific and heterospecific females based on both chemical and visual cues suggests that these males may rely on additional cues to distinguish species. Several studies have demonstrated that male sailfin mollies do prefer to mate with conspecific over heterospecific females in the presence of chemical, visual, and tactile cues (Woodhead and Armstrong 1985;Ryan et al 1996;Gabor and Ryan 2001; but see Schlupp et al 1991). Male sailfin mollies from sympatry may require close range tactile access via gonoporial nibbling to assess more specific chemical cues of females (Farr and Travis 1986).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Lack of species discrimination based on chemical cues by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna

2008

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When making mating decisions, individuals may rely on multiple cues from either the same or multiple sensory modalities. Although the use of visual cues in sexual selection is well studied, fewer studies have examined the role of chemical cues in mate choice. In addition, few studies have examined how visual and/or chemical cues affect male mating decisions. Male mate choice is important in systems where males must avoid mating with heterospecific females, as is found in a mating complex of Poecilia. Male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, are sexually parasitized by gynogenetic Amazon mollies, P. formosa. Little is known about the mechanism by which male sailfin mollies base their mating decisions. Here we tested the hypothesis that male sailfin mollies from an allopatric and a sympatric population with Amazon mollies use multiple cues to distinguish between conspecific and heterospecific females. We found that male sailfin mollies recognized the chemical cues of conspecific females, but we found no support for the hypothesis that chemical cues are by themselves sufficient for species discrimination. Lack of discrimination based on chemical cues alone may be due to the close evolutionary history between P. latipinna and P. formosa. Males from populations sympatric with Amazon mollies did not differentially associate with females of either of the two species when given access to both visual and chemical cues of the females, yet males from the allopatric population did associate more with conspecific females than with heterospecific females in the presence of both chemical and visual cues. The lack of discrimination by males from the sympatric population between conspecific and heterospecific females based on both chemical and visual cues suggests that these males require more complex combinations of cues to distinguish species, possibly due to the close relatedness of these species.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 84%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

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Lack of species discrimination based on chemical cues by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna

2008

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“…Empirical data, however, show enormous temporal and spatial variation and plasticity in male mate discrimination ability D: male mate preference for sexual over asexual females varies seasonally in terms of association preference (Heubel and Schlupp 2008) and sperm transfer (Riesch et al 2008), and among populations depending on the species complex and the strength of sexual-asexual sympatry (Ryan et al 1996, Gabor andRyan 2001). Male mate discrimination may conflict with preferences for large body size (Gumm and Gabor 2005) or female receptivity (Schlupp et al 1991) and be weakened by social effects such as mate-copying (Schlupp and Ryan 1997) or presence of potential competitors ). This result is in good line with theoretical predictions that male mate choice, even if good for the species, may fail to become strong when based (a) 99% decline counts as extinction (b) 99.9% decline counts as extinction on individual-level selection (Schmeller et al 2005, Servedio andLande 2006).…”

Section: Population Consequences Of Male Mate Choicementioning

confidence: 97%

“…Secondly, distinguishing the two types of females may become very difficult for males because females may evolve counter-adaptations to avoid being discriminated against (Schlupp et al 1991, Lima et al 1996. Thirdly, male discrimination against asexual females may occasionally lead to loss of real reproductive opportunities through erroneous rejection of conspecifics (Schmeller et al 2005, Hochkirch et al 2007).…”

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confidence: 98%

How to go extinct by mating too much: population consequences of male mate choice and efficiency in a sexual-asexual species complex

Heubel¹,

Rankin²

2009

Oikos

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Selection acting on individuals is not predicted to maximize population persistence, yet examples that explicitly quantify conflicts between individual and population level benefits are scarce. One such conflict occurs over sexual reproduction because of the cost of sex: sexual populations that suffer the cost of producing males have only half the growth rate compared to asexuals. Male behaviour can additionally impact population dynamics in a variety of ways, and here we study an example where the impact is unusually clear: the riddle of persistence of sperm-dependent sexualÁasexual species complexes. Here, a sexually reproducing host species coexists with an ameiotically reproducing all-female sperm parasite. SexualÁasexual coexistence should not be stable because the proportion of asexually reproducing females will rapidly increase and the relative abundance of the sexually reproducing host species will decline. A severe shortage of males will lead to sperm limitation for sexual and asexual females and the system collapses. Male mate choice could reduce the reproductive potential of the asexual species and thus potentially prevent the collapse. In the gynogenetic (spermdependent parthenogenetic) Amazon molly Poecilia formosa and its host (P. latipinna or P. mexicana), males discriminate against asexual females to some extent. Using a population-dynamical model, we examine the population dynamics of this species complex with varying strengths of male discrimination ability and efficiency with which they locate females and produce sperm. The sexual species would benefit from stronger discrimination, thus preventing being displaced by the asexual females. However, males would be required to evolve preferences that are probably too strong to be purely based upon selection acting on individuals. We conclude that male behaviour does not fully prevent but delays extinction, yet this is highly relevant because low local extinction rates strongly promote coexistence as a metapopulation.

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Mixed-species shoals and the maintenance of a sexual–asexual mating system in mollies

Schlupp

Ryan

1996

Animal Behaviour

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Abstract. The mating system of the sexual-asexual complex of sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, and Amazon mollies, P. formosa, depends on the close proximity of individuals in aggregations or shoals because P. formosa is gynogenetic (that is, sperm only initiate embryogenesis but do not contribute genetic material) and must be inseminated by male P. latipinna. Furthermore, female P. latipinna copy the mate choice of female P. formosa with the result that male P. latipinna become more attractive to conspecific females when they mate with P. formosa.

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Male Mate Choice in Mixed Bisexual/Unisexual Breeding Complexes of Poecilia (Teleostei: Poeciliidae)

Cited by 77 publications

References 22 publications

Lack of species discrimination based on chemical cues by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna

Lack of species discrimination based on chemical cues by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna

How to go extinct by mating too much: population consequences of male mate choice and efficiency in a sexual-asexual species complex

Mixed-species shoals and the maintenance of a sexual–asexual mating system in mollies

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