Mate choice, fecundity and sexual dimorphism in two pipefish species (Syngnathidae)

Berglund, Anders; Rosenqvist, Gunilla; Svensson, Ingrid

doi:10.1007/bf00300646

Cited by 312 publications

(270 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Thus, our data provide a possibly unique example, in which males that mate with large females pay a cost by caring for fewer offspring. Since large females are preferred as mates in this species [59], this clearly suggests that the fitness benefits males gain from that preference (e.g. larger offspring that survive better; [48,65]) are large enough to override the number's cost.…”

Section: Discussion (A) Egg Sizementioning

confidence: 98%

“…In S. typhle, embryo respiration increases with increasing embryo dry mass with a slope of 0.44 [59]. Although the relationship between respiration and egg volume is not exactly known, egg diameter and dry mass are strongly and positively correlated [37].…”

Section: Discussion (A) Egg Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In (i), embryo survival was arcsine-transformed and embryo length was log-transformed and in (ii), proportion of time spent swimming and proportion of time spent in the upper half of the aquarium were arcsine-square root-transformed. Response variables were normalized (each variable had its mean subtracted and was divided by its standard deviation) in order to achieve a common scale between the variables before producing a resemblance matrix based on Euclidean distances [59,60] for each multivariate test. As a rule, interaction terms with p (perm) .…”

Section: (D) Male Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolutionary puzzle of egg size, oxygenation and parental care in aquatic environments

2015

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Offspring fitness generally improves with increasing egg size. Yet, eggs of most aquatic organisms are small. A common but largely untested assumption is that larger embryos require more oxygen than they can acquire through diffusion via the egg surface, constraining egg size evolution. However, we found no detrimental effects of large egg size on embryo growth and survival under hypoxic conditions. We tested this in the broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle, whose males provide extensive care (nourishment, osmoregulation and oxygenation) to their young in a brood pouch on their bodies. We took advantage of this species' pronounced variation in egg size, correlating positively with female size, and tested the effect of hypoxia (40% dissolved oxygen) versus fully oxygenated (100%) water on embryo size and survival of large versus small eggs after 18 days of paternal brooding. Egg size did not affect embryo survival, regardless of O 2 treatment. While hypoxia affected embryo size negatively, both large and small eggs showed similar reductions in growth. Males in hypoxia ventilated more and males with large eggs swam more, but neither treatment affected their position in the water column. Overall, our results call into question the most common explanation for constrained egg size evolution in aquatic environments.

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Section: Discussion (A) Egg Sizementioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Discussion (A) Egg Sizementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: (D) Male Behaviourmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The evolutionary puzzle of egg size, oxygenation and parental care in aquatic environments

2015

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“…If male weedy seadragon size limits female reproductive success, then there should be strong sexual selection towards larger males. In pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) mate choice experiments, larger mates were preferred and fecundity increased with size in both sexes (Berglund et al 1986). Because the reproductive success increased equally in both sexes, it was determined that sexual dimorphism was absent in S. typhle (Berglund et al 1986).…”

Section: Reproductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The life history of weedy seadragons, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Teleostei:Syngnathidae)

Forsgren

Lowe

2006

Mar. Freshwater Res.

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Abstract. The aim of this study was to provide a detailed description of the life history of weedy seadragons, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus. Weedy seadragon development was described based on morphological characters and categorised into four periods: incubation, larval, juvenile and sub-adult. Hatching occurred 35-42 days post-fertilisation, most hatchlings exhibited juvenile characteristics upon hatching or shortly thereafter. The von Bertalanffy growth parameters generated from weedy seadragon length-at-age data were L ∞ = 285 ± 3 mm standard length (SL; mean ± s.e.) and k = 2.20 ± 0.05 year −1 . Females possessed a higher gonosomatic index (GSI; 1.25 ± 1.18%; mean ± s.d.) than males (0.34 ± 0.20%), which increased substantially for females over 230 mm in length. Mature female weedy seadragons (290 ± 32 mm SL) ovulated 110 ± 27 eggs per female per spawning. Additionally, three females produced more than one clutch per season. Male weedy seadragons (319 ± 9 mm SL) successfully incubated 91 ± 40 eggs per spawning event. In addition to improving our understanding of the life history of weedy seadragons, this information can be used to estimate population demography and develop management strategies.

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“…the pipefish Syngnathus typhle L., Berglund et al 1986; the Banggai cardinal fish Pterapogon kauderni Koumans, Vagelli 1999) offer a better opportunity to study female mate preferences. Courtship behaviours directed towards males are likely to be a good indicator of female propensity to mate with a particular male, although actual matings also depend on other factors such as costs associated with mate searching and male choosiness (Jennions and Petrie 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Time spent close to a sexual partner as a measure of female mate preference in a sex-role-reversed population of the blenny Salaria pavo (Risso) (Pisces: Blenniidae)

Gonçalves

Oliveira

2003

Acta ethologica

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In most species females do not exhibit conspicuous sexual behaviours and female mate preferences are often measured by means of the time spent close to males. In spite of its widespread use, in only a few studies has this measure been validated as a reliable indicator of female mate preference. Sex-role-reversed species offer a better opportunity to test female preferences, as females usually court males. We tested in a sex-role-reversed population of the blenny Salaria pavo (Risso) if the time spent by females close to males related to the number of courtship displays directed towards males, and whether these measures of female preference reliably predicted matings. Females were simultaneously presented with two males behind a glass partition and the time spent close to each male was measured. We then allowed females to have access to the males' compartments and measured the courtship behaviours performed by females towards each male and recorded with which of the males females spawned. Females spent more time close to the male that subsequently received more courtship displays, and the preferred male had a more developed head crest. However, both measures of female preference failed to predict matings. Females were often attacked by males and probably had, in some occasions, to spawn with the less preferred male. Females that spawned with the previously preferred male had more swollen bellies than females that spawned with the less preferred male, suggesting a male preference towards more ripe females. These results validate the use of "time spent close to a sexual partner" as a measure of female preference in S. pavo. We argue that matings may not always reliably indicate mate preferences, particularly in the less choosy sex.

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Mate choice, fecundity and sexual dimorphism in two pipefish species (Syngnathidae)

Cited by 312 publications

References 22 publications

The evolutionary puzzle of egg size, oxygenation and parental care in aquatic environments

The evolutionary puzzle of egg size, oxygenation and parental care in aquatic environments

The life history of weedy seadragons, Phyllopteryx taeniolatus (Teleostei:Syngnathidae)

Time spent close to a sexual partner as a measure of female mate preference in a sex-role-reversed population of the blenny Salaria pavo (Risso) (Pisces: Blenniidae)

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