Putative pheromones from the anal glands of male blennies attract females and enhance male reproductive success

Barata, Eduardo N.; Serrano, Rui M.; Miranda, António; Nogueira, Rita Maria Ribeiro; Hubbard, Peter C.; Canário, Adelino V. M.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2007.05.018

Cited by 46 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…However, chemical communication has also been reported for cichlids as an important way for reproductive communication (e.g., 13,14). In the cichlid Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, the dominant male increases chasing and courtship of females injected with 17,20βP, but in anosmic males these behaviors are not demonstrable (15).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual communication stimulates reproduction in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

Castro

Gonçalves-de-Freitas

Volpato

et al. 2009

Braz J Med Biol Res

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Reproductive fish behavior is affected by male-female interactions that stimulate physiological responses such as hormonal release and gonad development. During male-female interactions, visual and chemical communication can modulate fish reproduction. The aim of the present study was to test the effect of visual and chemical male-female interaction on the gonad development and reproductive behavior of the cichlid fish Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.). Fifty-six pairs were studied after being maintained for 5 days under one of the four conditions (N = 14 for each condition): 1) visual contact (V); 2) chemical contact (Ch); 3) chemical and visual contact (Ch+V); 4) no sensory contact (Iso) -males and females isolated. We compared the reproductive behavior (nesting, courtship and spawning) and gonadosomatic index (GSI) of pairs of fish under all four conditions. Visual communication enhanced the frequency of courtship in males (mean ± SEM; V: 24.79 ± 3.30, Ch+V: 20.74 ± 3.09, Ch: 0.1 ± 0.07, Iso: 4.68 ± 1.26 events/30 min; P < 0.05, two-way ANOVA with LSD post hoc test), induced spawning in females (3 spawning in V and also 3 in Ch+V condition), and increased GSI in males (mean ± SEM; V: 1.39 ± 0.08, Ch+V: 1.21 ± 0.08, Ch: 1.04 ± 0.07, Iso: 0.82 ± 0.07%; P < 0.05, two-way ANOVA with LSD post hoc test). Chemical communication did not affect the reproductive behavior of pairs nor did it enhance the effects of visual contact. Therefore, male-female visual communication is an effective cue, which stimulates reproduction among pairs of Nile tilapia.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual communication stimulates reproduction in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

Castro

Gonçalves-de-Freitas

Volpato

et al. 2009

Braz J Med Biol Res

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“…Chemosensory signaling is a key communication channel in fishes and has been best studied in the goldfish Carrasius auratus where both males and females release pheromones to prime the opposite sex and synchronize spawning (Dulka et al, 1987;Sorensen, 1992;Appelt and Sorensen, 1999;Stacey and Sorensen, 2005;Appelt and Sorensen, 2007;Stacey, 2011). Many other fish species also use pheromones to influence the behavior and physiology of conspecifics, which has important consequences for reproductive success Gerlach, 2006;Barata et al, 2008b;Barata et al, 2008a;Rosenthal et al, 2011), and this phenomenon is conserved through mammals (Dulac and Torello, 2003;Swaney and Keverne, 2009). One mode of pheromone release in fishes is via urine pulses; however, few studies have examined how individuals might alter their urine release for use as a contextual social signal.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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“…This is therefore likely to have similar effects on spermatogenesis and milt production in the sole (Chauvigné et al, 2014a,b). Given the apparent difference in urinary odorants between mature and immature males, it is possible that females use this chemical information in mate choice, similar to major histocompatability complex-related odorants in sticklebacks (Aeschlimann et al, 2003;Milinski et al, 2005Milinski et al, , 2010 or the anal glands in blennies (Barata et al, 2008). The active components could be extracted using C18 cartridges, suggesting that steroids or prostaglandins may be involved, which compares with other species (reviewed by Stacey, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Olfactory sensitivity of the marine flatfishSolea senegalensisto conspecific body fluids

Fatsini

Carazo

Chauvigné

et al. 2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Chemical communication is better understood in freshwater fish than marine fish. The Senegalese sole (Solea senegalensis) is a marine flatfish wherein one of the problems in aquaculture is the poor reproductive performance of hatchery-bred males. Is chemical communication involved in the reproduction of this species? Urine, intestinal fluid and mucus samples were taken from adult fish (wildcaught and hatchery-bred) over the spawning season (March-May), and assessed for olfactory potency using the electro-olfactogram (EOG). The effect of stimulation of the olfactory system with adult female urine on circulating luteinizing hormone (LH) levels was also tested in males. Intestinal fluid and urine were potent olfactory stimuli for both juvenile and adult conspecifics, evoking large-amplitude, concentration-dependent EOG responses, with thresholds of detection at approximately 1:10 6 . However, the amplitude of the response to urine depended on the sex and state of maturity of both the donor and the receiver. Most olfactory activity could be extracted by C18 solid-phase cartridges. Urine from mature females evoked a slight, but significant, increase in circulating LH levels in mature males 30 min after exposure. Furthermore, the olfactory potency of urine differed between wild-caught and hatchery-bred fish; however, contrary to expectations, urine from wild-caught females was less potent than that from hatchery-bred females. Taken together, these results strongly suggest that faeces-and urine-released odorants are involved in reproduction in the Senegalese sole, and establish a basis for further investigation into pheromonal communication in marine teleosts.

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Putative pheromones from the anal glands of male blennies attract females and enhance male reproductive success

Cited by 46 publications

References 23 publications

Visual communication stimulates reproduction in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

Visual communication stimulates reproduction in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus (L.)

Contextual chemosensory urine signaling in an African cichlid fish

Olfactory sensitivity of the marine flatfishSolea senegalensisto conspecific body fluids

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