Do male guppies distinguish virgin females from recently mated ones?

Guevara-Fiore, Palestina; Skinner, Andrew M. J.; Watt, Penelope J.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2008.10.018

Cited by 74 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…However, it is not clear why crypt cells density in females is higher than in males. Perhaps the reason resides in the roles, well distinct between sexes, of odorant cues in Poecilia mate recognition: male guppies use pheromone detection to distinguish virgin females, even if they copulate also with mated females (Guevara-Fiore et al, 2009). Male pheromones are not only useful in choosing partners in absence of visual stimuli, but seem to induce also female guppies to avoid males and reduce the risk of predation (Shohet and Watt, 2004).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunohistochemical and Histochemical Characteristics of the Olfactory System of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae)

Bettini

Lazzari

Ciani

2009

The Anatomical Record

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Olfaction in fish has been studied using preferentially macrosmatic species as models. In the present research, the labelling patterns of different neuronal markers and lectins were analyzed in the olfactory neurons and in their bulbar axonal endings in the guppy Poecilia reticulata, belonging to the group of microsmatic fish. We observed that calretinin immunostaining was confined to a population of olfactory receptor cells localized in the upper layers of the sensory mucosa, probably microvillous neurons innervating the lateral glomerular layer. Immunoreactivity for S100 proteins was mainly evident in crypt cells, but also in other olfactory cells belonging to subtypes projecting in distinct regions of the bulbs. Protein gene product 9.5 (PGP 9.5) was not detected in the olfactory system of the guppy. Lectin binding revealed the presence of N-acetylglucosamine and a-N-acetylgalactosamine residues in the glycoconjugates of numerous olfactory neurons ubiquitously distributed in the mucosa. The low number of sugar types detected suggested a reduced glycosidic variability that could be an index of restricted odorant discrimination, in concordance with guppy visual-based behaviors. Finally, we counted few crypt cells which were immunoreactive for S100 and calretinin. Crypt cells were more abundant in guppy females. This difference is in accordance with guppy gender-specific responses to pheromones. Cells immunoreactive to calretinin showed no evidence of ventral projections in the bulbs. We assumed the hypothesis that their odorant sensitivity is not strictly limited to pheromones or sexual signals in general.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Immunohistochemical and Histochemical Characteristics of the Olfactory System of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae)

Bettini

Lazzari

Ciani

2009

The Anatomical Record

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“…In turn this will potentially also impact upon population dynamics and persistence and ultimately the structuring of ecological communities. Guppies primarily rely upon vision in various other important behaviours such as mate choice, social behaviour and predator detection, but also use olfactory cues to mediate these behaviours (Brown & Godin 1999;Shohet & Watt 2004;Guevara-Fiore et al 2009). Hence the sensory plasticity we document here could have implications beyond simply locating food to being beneficial to other fitness-related behaviours in this species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural consequences of sensory plasticity in guppies

et al. 2010

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Sensory plasticity, whereby individuals compensate for sensory deprivation in one sense by an improvement in the performance of an alternative sense, is a well-documented phenomenon in nature. Despite this, the behavioural and ecological consequences of sensory plasticity have not been addressed. Here we show experimentally that some components (vision and chemoreception) of the sensory system of guppies are developmentally plastic, and that this plasticity has important consequences for foraging behaviour. Guppies reared under low light conditions had a significantly stronger response to chemical food cues encountered in isolation than fish reared at higher light levels. Conversely, they exhibited a weaker response to visual-only cues. When visual and olfactory/gustatory cues were presented together, no difference between the strength of response for fish reared at different light intensities was evident. Our data suggest that guppies can compensate for experience of a visually poor, low light environment via a sensory switch from vision to olfaction/ gustation. This switch from sight to chemoreception may allow individuals to carry out the foraging behaviour that is essential to their survival in a visually poor environment. These considerations are especially important given the increasing frequency of anthropogenic changes to ecosystems. Compensatory phenotypic plasticity as demonstrated by our study may provide a hitherto unconsidered buffer that could allow animals to perform fundamental behaviours in the face of considerable change to the sensory environment.

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“…Analogously, it is possible that the higher number of crypt cells in sexually mature female guppies than in males reflects a diverse involvement of olfaction in some conspecific interactions. Males use olfaction to distinguish receptive females (Guevara-Fiore et al, 2009), whereas females are more selective in mate choice than males and use both visual and olfactory cues (Shohet and Watt, 2004). Furthermore, the female anti-predator Fig.3.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative analysis of crypt cell population during postnatal development of the olfactory organ of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae), from birth to sexual maturity

Bettini

Lazzari

2012

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARYCrypt cells are one of three types of olfactory sensory neuron, differing from ciliated and microvillar cells in shape, localization and number, and found only in fish. Although crypt cells are morphologically well characterized, their function remains unclear. They were hypothesized to be involved in reproductive behaviours by detecting sex pheromones, but electrophysiological investigations revealed sensitivity to only amino acids. However, the number of crypt cells in adult guppies is not the same in the two sexes. In this study, we compared the size of the crypt cell population in juvenile guppies during the first 90days after birth. The purpose of our study was to clarify whether a correlation exists between sex and the number of these olfactory neurons. The data show that guppies reach adult crypt cell density when they become sexually mature. Despite a constant increment in volume during development of the olfactory organ, the minimum density of crypt neurons occurs at ~45days. Moreover, in the early weeks, the density of crypt neurons is greater in males than in females because in females the total number of cells decreases significantly after just 7days. In adults, however, crypt neurons are found in higher density in females than in males. These findings suggest that the number of crypt cells is sex specific, with independent developmental dynamics between males and females. A role in pheromone detection could explain such a difference, but the early appearance of crypt cells in the first days of life is suggestive of other, not sexually related, functions.

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Do male guppies distinguish virgin females from recently mated ones?

Cited by 74 publications

References 63 publications

Immunohistochemical and Histochemical Characteristics of the Olfactory System of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae)

Immunohistochemical and Histochemical Characteristics of the Olfactory System of the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae)

Behavioural consequences of sensory plasticity in guppies

Quantitative analysis of crypt cell population during postnatal development of the olfactory organ of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata (Teleostei, Poecilidae), from birth to sexual maturity

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