Reproductive behaviour of sneaker males of the peacock blenny

Gonçalves, David; Fagundes, Teresa; Oliveira, Rui Filipe

doi:10.1046/j.1095-8649.2003.00157.x

Cited by 21 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…For example, subordinate males of many species resort to sneaker tactics, including horned beetles (Emlen ), amphipods (Clark ), and peacock blennies (Gonçalves et al. ). Minimum expected mating success might also be greater than zero for males that do not express the secondary sexual trait if there is a high element of chance to mating.…”

Section: The Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual competition and the evolution of condition-dependent ageing

et al. 2018

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Increased individual resources (condition) can be correlated with either increased or decreased longevity. While variation in resource acquisition and allocation can account for some of this variation, the general conditions that select for either pattern remain unclear. Previous models suggest that nonlinearity of payoffs from investment in reproduction (e.g., male secondary sexual traits) can select for high‐condition individuals that sacrifice longevity to increase reproductive opportunity. However, it remains unclear what mating systems or patterns of sexual competition might select for such life‐history strategies. We used a model of condition‐dependent investment to explore how expected payoffs from increased expression of secondary sexual traits affect optimal investment in lifespan. We find that nonlinearity of these payoffs results in a negative relationship between condition and lifespan under two general conditions: first, when there are accelerating marginal benefits from increasing investment; second, when individuals that invest minimally in secondary sexual trait expression can still achieve matings. In the second scenario, the negative relationship occurs due to selection on low‐condition individuals to extend lifespan at the cost of secondary sexual trait expression. Our findings clarify the potential role of sexual selection in shaping patterns of condition‐dependent ageing, and highlight the importance of considering the strategies of both low‐ and high‐condition individuals when investigating patterns of condition‐dependent ageing.

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Section: The Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sexual competition and the evolution of condition-dependent ageing

et al. 2018

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“…1996). Parasitic males of this species are of a different morphotype than bourgeois males because they lack secondary sex characters, such as the sex‐pheromone producing anal gland and the head crest, and adopt female‐mimicking behaviour and female nuptial colouration to gain access to the nests defended by older and larger bourgeois males (Gonçalves et al. 1996, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Androgens and Immune Function in Male Alternative Reproductive Morphotypes of the Peacock Blenny Salaria pavo

Ros

Oliveira

2009

Ethology

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Species with alternative reproductive tactics offer the opportunity to analyse how behavioural and morphological traits are tuned to produce successfully competing phenotypes within one sex. In the teleost fish Salaria pavo, alternative reproductive tactics are sequential. The older ornamented males compete for access to females by guarding a cavity to which they attract females to spawn. Ornamented males that are found without a nest are called ‘floaters’. Younger mature males which are too small to compete with nest‐holders attempt to ‘sneak’ as female mimics into successful nests and release their sperm to fertilize freshly spawned eggs. The alternative tactics in S. pavo are associated with different levels of the androgens testosterone and 11‐ketotestosterone, which have been found to suppress immune function in several teleost fish. A field study was carried out to analyse the relationship between these reproductive tactics, androgens and blood levels of lymphocytes as a monitoring method of immune function. We expected highest investment in the immune system in sneakers because these have the lowest androgen levels and functionally because investing in self‐maintenance increases their future prospect to switch tactic and to reproduce as a nest‐holder. Indeed, the relative count of lymphocytes correlated negatively with body size and thus was highest in sneakers and lowest in nest‐holders. In concordance, 11‐ketotestosterone and testosterone levels were found to be higher in floaters and nest‐holders than in sneakers. However, no correlation was found between individual levels of testosterone or 11‐ketotestosterone and lymphocytes. Thus, a trade‐off between reproductive traits associated with high androgen levels and immunocompetence might exist at the level of alternative tactics but this might not be explained by acute immunosuppressive effects of circulating androgens.

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“…Females feed in seagrass beds and approach bricks to assess males against the brick background. Sneakers also feed in seagrass beds but spend most of the time associating with successful nesting males and waiting for spawning episodes to occur (Gonçalves et al ., 2003). These distinct and critical visual tasks are very likely to be best tackled with visual systems having different spectral sensitivities (Lythgoe & Partridge, 1989, 1991; Partridge & Cummings, 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vision and visual variation in the peacock blenny

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Gonçalves

Partridge

et al. 2004

Journal of Fish Biology

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Microspectrophotometry (MSP) revealed the presence of a rod and at least two cone classes (mid-and long-wavelength sensitive) in the intertidal peacock blenny Salaria pavo. Both rhodopsin and porphyropsin based visual pigments were found in all fish, together with high individual variation in chromophore ratio. The three morphs (females, males and sneaker males) differed in their spectral sensitivities (as measured with the optomotor response) with sneakers having higher sensitivity at long-wavelengths than either males or females. This longwave displacement of peak sensitivity could be due elevated proportions of porphyropsin visual pigments in the sneakers' retinae. The lenses of all morphs exhibited a short-wavelength cut-off and an unusual layer of carotenoid was found behind the retinal pigment epithelium and in the outer segments of some cones. These screening pigments could serve a photo-protective role or to improve visual contrast. No short-wave photoreceptors were located using MSP. This indicates that this cone class may be absent or present at very low numbers in the retina. This is the first in depth study of the visual system of a blenniid fish and indicates potential within-species visual variation that may be related to the species' habitat and morph-specific behavioural requirements.

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Reproductive behaviour of sneaker males of the peacock blenny

Cited by 21 publications

References 12 publications

Sexual competition and the evolution of condition-dependent ageing

Sexual competition and the evolution of condition-dependent ageing

Androgens and Immune Function in Male Alternative Reproductive Morphotypes of the Peacock Blenny Salaria pavo

Vision and visual variation in the peacock blenny

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