The Experts below are selected from a list of 231 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform

Paul J. Monaco - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Luciana Sola - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

Caitlin R. Gabor - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Differences in resource assimilation between the unisexual Amazon molly, Poecilia formosa (Poeciliidae) and its sexual host (Poecilia latipinna)
    Environmental Biology of Fishes, 2014
    Co-Authors: Laura Alberici Da Barbiano, Reginald J. Robinson, Michael Tobler, Andrea S. Aspbury, Caitlin R. Gabor
    Abstract:

    Unisexual sperm-dependent species depend on a sexual host for reproduction, and must live in sympatry with their sperm donor. If niche overlap between the species is substantial, the intrinsic faster population growth of the unisexual over sexual species can cause competitive exclusion of the host from resources, causing the demise of the unisexual species. However, theoretical models predict that coexistence is possible, even without niche differentiation, if the unisexual species is a poorer competitor than the sexual host and if the effect of the unisexual species on the exploitative abilities of the sexual species is smaller than the effect that the sexually reproducing individuals have among themselves. We tested these predictions in the unisexual-bisexual mating complex of Poecilia formosa, and one of its sexual hosts, P. latipinna . Fishes were housed from parturition for 76 days with both conspecific and heterospecific individuals under both limited and ad libitum food regimes. Only one of the predictions of the models was met: the effects of intraspecific competition for P. latipinna were stronger than the effects of interspecific competition. Poecilia latipinna raised with conspecifics with limited food stored fewer fats than both heterospecific P. formosa , and conspecifics raised in any other treatment.

  • Body Size Dependent Male Sexual Behavior in a Natural Population of Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna)
    The American Midland Naturalist, 2012
    Co-Authors: Lily J. Swanbrow Becker, Andrea S. Aspbury, Caitlin R. Gabor
    Abstract:

    Abstract Male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, exhibit alternative mating strategies that are correlated with body size. Larger males court females and often prevent smaller males from accessing females, while smaller males often forcefully inseminate females. This pattern is well documented in the laboratory but has not been studied thoroughly in the field, where patterns of mating behavior are known to vary among natural populations. In an observational study of a P. latipinna population, we measured the proportion of time males from three size classes (small, intermediate, and large) spent exhibiting five mating behaviors: courting, thrusting, nibbling, chasing other males away, and being chased. We predicted that large males would spend more time courting females and chasing away other males, while small males would spend more time thrusting, nibbling, and being chased by other males. We also predicted that intermediate males would behave intermediately. Our findings partially supported those of p...

  • Seasonal Effects on Female Fecundity and Male Sperm Availability in a Thermally Stable Temperate Population of Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia latipinna)
    The American Midland Naturalist, 2011
    Co-Authors: Donelle M. Robinson, Caitlin R. Gabor, Tamira Konkin-garcia, Celeste M. Espinedo, Andrea S. Aspbury
    Abstract:

    Abstract Fish species from temperate climates exhibit seasonal variation in reproduction triggered by abiotic variables such as day length and temperature. The sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna occupies habitats in the southern temperate zone in North America, but little is known about seasonal patterns in reproductive parameters such as female egg production and male sperm production, especially in spring-fed habitats. Males and females were collected monthly for 21 mo to: (1) examine the seasonal patterns in egg availability, (2) examine the relationship between female size and fecundity, (3) examine seasonal patterns in male sperm availability and (4) examine the relationship between male size and sperm availability. We found that reproductive investment varied seasonally in both males and females in a population of sailfin mollies occupying a spring-fed habitat. Because both egg and sperm production can be energetically costly, individuals may reduce costs associated with reproduction by reducing the a...

  • Lack of species discrimination based on chemical cues by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna
    Evolutionary Ecology, 2010
    Co-Authors: Andrea S. Aspbury, Celeste M. Espinedo, Caitlin R. Gabor
    Abstract:

    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.

  • Non-repeatable mate choice by male sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna, in a unisexual-bisexual mating complex
    Behavioral Ecology, 2008
    Co-Authors: Caitlin R. Gabor, Andrea S. Aspbury
    Abstract:

    Most studies of repeatability examine female mate choice, but male mate choice may have significant evolutionary consequences when males of a sexual species are sexually parasitized by heterospecific gynogenetic females as is the case for sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna. Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa, are all female gynogens that require sperm from P. latipinna for initiation of embryogenesis, but inheritance is strictly maternal. We examined repeatability and consistency of male mate choice for female sailfin versus Amazon mollies in a series of 4 experiments. We measured male association preference for 1) size-matched female sailfin versus Amazon mollies, 2) smaller female sailfin mollies versus larger Amazon mollies, and 3) larger female sailfin mollies versus smaller Amazon mollies. We also examined 4) actual male mate choice for size-matched sailfin versus Amazon mollies. Male mate preference was not repeatable in any of our studies, and male sailfin mollies were consistent in their mate preference for conspecific females over heterospecific females only when the conspecific female was larger than the Amazon and when males could actually mate with females of both species. In all experiments, males that showed the highest conspecific preference also showed the most consistency in their preference across the 2 days of testing. The lack of repeatability of male mate preference may contribute to the persistence of Amazon mollies. Key words: Amazon molly, gynogenetic, live-bearing fish, Poecilia formosa, species recognition. [Behav Ecol]

Ingo Schlupp - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Male size, not female preferences influence female reproductive success in a poeciliid fish (Poecilia latipinna)
    2018
    Co-Authors: Ulrike Scherer, Ralph Tiedemann, Ingo Schlupp
    Abstract:

    Objective We investigated the potential role of indirect benefits for female mate preferences in a highly promiscuous species of live-bearing fishes, the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna using an integrative approach that combines methods from animal behavior, life-history evolution, and genetics. Males of this species solely contribute sperm for reproduction, and consequently females do not receive any direct benefits. Despite this, females typically show clear mate preferences. It has been suggested that females can increase their reproductive success through indirect benefits from choosing males of higher quality. Results Although preferences for large body size have been recorded as an honest signal for genetic quality, this particular study resulted in female preference being unaffected by male body size. Nonetheless, larger males did sire more offspring, but with no effect on offspring quality. This study presents a methodical innovation by combining preference testing with life history measurements—such as the determination of the dry weight of fish embryos—and paternity analyses on single fish embryos.

  • Male size, not female preferences influence female reproductive success in a poeciliid fish (Poecilia latipinna): a combined behavioural/genetic approach.
    BMC research notes, 2018
    Co-Authors: Ulrike Scherer, Ralph Tiedemann, Ingo Schlupp
    Abstract:

    We investigated the potential role of indirect benefits for female mate preferences in a highly promiscuous species of live-bearing fishes, the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna using an integrative approach that combines methods from animal behavior, life-history evolution, and genetics. Males of this species solely contribute sperm for reproduction, and consequently females do not receive any direct benefits. Despite this, females typically show clear mate preferences. It has been suggested that females can increase their reproductive success through indirect benefits from choosing males of higher quality. Although preferences for large body size have been recorded as an honest signal for genetic quality, this particular study resulted in female preference being unaffected by male body size. Nonetheless, larger males did sire more offspring, but with no effect on offspring quality. This study presents a methodical innovation by combining preference testing with life history measurements—such as the determination of the dry weight of fish embryos—and paternity analyses on single fish embryos.

  • Additional file 8: of The gonadal transcriptome of the unisexual Amazon molly Poecilia formosa in comparison to its sexual ancestors, Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna
    2018
    Co-Authors: Ina Schedina, Ingo Schlupp, Detlef Groth, Ralph Tiedemann
    Abstract:

    Blast results for the sequence comparisons between the Poecilia latipinna transcriptome and the Uniprot/Swiss-Prot database. (TXT 7176 kb

  • Male size, not female preferences influence female reproductive success in a poeciliid fish (Poecilia latipinna): a combined behavioural/genetic approach
    BMC, 2018
    Co-Authors: Ulrike Scherer, Ralph Tiedemann, Ingo Schlupp
    Abstract:

    Abstract Objective We investigated the potential role of indirect benefits for female mate preferences in a highly promiscuous species of live-bearing fishes, the sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna using an integrative approach that combines methods from animal behavior, life-history evolution, and genetics. Males of this species solely contribute sperm for reproduction, and consequently females do not receive any direct benefits. Despite this, females typically show clear mate preferences. It has been suggested that females can increase their reproductive success through indirect benefits from choosing males of higher quality. Results Although preferences for large body size have been recorded as an honest signal for genetic quality, this particular study resulted in female preference being unaffected by male body size. Nonetheless, larger males did sire more offspring, but with no effect on offspring quality. This study presents a methodical innovation by combining preference testing with life history measurements—such as the determination of the dry weight of fish embryos—and paternity analyses on single fish embryos

  • Multiple paternity in different populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna
    Animal Biology, 2012
    Co-Authors: Antje Girndt, Ingo Schlupp, Rüdiger Riesch, Martin Plath, Christiane Schröder, Ralph Tiedemann
    Abstract:

    Rates of multiple paternities were investigated in the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna), using eight microsatellite loci. Genotyping was performed for offspring and mothers in 40 broods from four allopatric populations from the south-eastern U.S.A. along a geographic stretch of 1200 km in west-east direction and approximately 200 km from north to south. No significant differences regarding rates of multiple paternities were found between populations despite sample populations stemming from ecologically divergent habitats. Even the most conservative statistical approach revealed a minimum of 70% of the broods being sired by at least two males, with an average of 1.80-2.95 putative fathers per brood. Within broods, one male typically sired far more offspring than would be expected under an assumed equal probability of all detected males siring offspring.

Martin Plath - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.

  • Multiple paternity in different populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna
    Animal Biology, 2012
    Co-Authors: Antje Girndt, Ingo Schlupp, Rüdiger Riesch, Martin Plath, Christiane Schröder, Ralph Tiedemann
    Abstract:

    Rates of multiple paternities were investigated in the sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna), using eight microsatellite loci. Genotyping was performed for offspring and mothers in 40 broods from four allopatric populations from the south-eastern U.S.A. along a geographic stretch of 1200 km in west-east direction and approximately 200 km from north to south. No significant differences regarding rates of multiple paternities were found between populations despite sample populations stemming from ecologically divergent habitats. Even the most conservative statistical approach revealed a minimum of 70% of the broods being sired by at least two males, with an average of 1.80-2.95 putative fathers per brood. Within broods, one male typically sired far more offspring than would be expected under an assumed equal probability of all detected males siring offspring.

  • Examination of boldness traits in sexual and asexual mollies (Poecilia latipinna, P. formosa)
    acta ethologica, 2011
    Co-Authors: Kristin Scharnweber, Martin Plath, Michael Tobler
    Abstract:

    Considering the high costs of sexual reproduction (e.g., the production of males), its maintenance and predominance throughout the Animal Kingdom remain elusive. Especially the mechanisms allowing for a stable coexistence of closely related sexual and asexual species are still subject to a lively debate. Asexuals should rapidly outnumber sexuals due to higher population growth rates, unless they face some disadvantages. Here, we investigate potential differences in feeding behavior in a system of sexual (sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna ) and coexisting gynogenetic fishes (Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa ). In two different experiments, we tested for differences in behavioral traits associated with boldness. Bold individuals take higher risks for gains in resources, so shyer individuals should be less competitive. Our study was motivated by the recent finding that P. formosa are less likely to be preyed upon by piscine predators than P. latipinna . We asked whether this result is indicative of low boldness in P. formosa. However, no differences between the two species were detectible in our behavioral experiments measuring (a) time to emerge from shelter to explore a novel environment, (b) latency time until feeding in a novel environment, and (c) recovery time until feeding restarted after a simulated predator attack. Furthermore, different boldness measures were not correlated with each other within individuals.

  • female sperm limitation in natural populations of a sexual asexual mating complex Poecilia latipinna Poecilia formosa
    Biology Letters, 2008
    Co-Authors: Rüdiger Riesch, Ingo Schlupp, Martin Plath
    Abstract:

    In sperm-dependent sexual/asexual mating systems, male mate choice is critical for understanding the mechanisms behind apparent stability observed in natural populations. The gynogenetic Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) requires sperm from sexual males (e.g. Poecilia latipinna) to trigger embryogenesis, but inheritance is strictly maternal. Consequently, males should try to avoid or reduce the cost of mating with asexuals. We investigated male mate choice by documenting the presence of sperm in natural populations and found that a higher proportion of sexual females had sperm than asexuals. In addition, among those females that had sperm, sexuals had more sperm than asexuals. Our results hint at a role for male mate choice as a stabilizing factor in such systems.

  • Female sperm limitation in natural populations of a sexual/asexual mating complex (Poecilia latipinna, Poecilia formosa)
    Biology Letters, 2008
    Co-Authors: Rüdiger Riesch, Ingo Schlupp, Martin Plath
    Abstract:

    In sperm-dependent sexual/asexual mating systems, male mate choice is critical for understanding the mechanisms behind apparent stability observed in natural populations. The gynogenetic Amazon molly (Poecilia formosa) requires sperm from sexual males (e.g. Poecilia latipinna) to trigger embryogenesis, but inheritance is strictly maternal. Consequently, males should try to avoid or reduce the cost of mating with asexuals. We investigated male mate choice by documenting the presence of sperm in natural populations and found that a higher proportion of sexual females had sperm than asexuals. In addition, among those females that had sperm, sexuals had more sperm than asexuals. Our results hint at a role for male mate choice as a stabilizing factor in such systems.