Offspring number in a livebearing fish (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae): reduced fecundity and reduced plasticity in a population of cave mollies

Riesch, Rüdiger; Tobler, Michael; Plath, Martin; Schlupp, Ingo

doi:10.1007/s10641-008-9392-0

Cited by 34 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Even if reared in the laboratory under benign ad libitum-food conditions (where we might expect cave mollies to maximize incipient matrotrophy according to Trexler and DeAngelis 2003;see also Marsh-Matthews and Deaton 2006) the initial maternal investment in yolk is still much greater than in surface mollies, which points to a genetic component to offspring size in cave mollies. In concordance with this, Riesch et al (2009b) demonstrated a genetically inherited reduction in cave molly fecundity relative to surface mollies, but argued that this likely reflects selection for larger eggs, as would be predicted by a resource-dependent advantage of matrotrophy (Trexler and DeAngelis 2003). On the other hand, if nutrient transfer in the cave molly continued over a longer gestation time (see above), total matrotrophic investment per offspring might even be greater in the cave molly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Matrotrophy in the cave molly: an unexpected provisioning strategy in an extreme environment

et al. 2009

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Maternal provisioning of animal embryos may be entirely through yolk deposited in the unfertilized egg (lecithotrophy) or may include post-fertilization nutrient transfer (matrotrophy) in varying degrees. Current theory suggests that the extent of postfertilization provisioning is resource-dependent, with higher levels of matrotrophy being advantageous in more productive environments. In this study, we investigated post-fertilization embryo provisioning in a livebearing fish, Poecilia mexicana, from two different habitats (a toxic cave and a non-toxic surface habitat) that impose different energetic demands and therefore differ in resources available for reproduction. We predicted that fish in the benign habitat would be more matrotrophic than those from the toxic cave. We used two different techniques for this assay: (1) the matrotrophy-index analysis (MI) for fieldcollected fish and (2) both MI and radio-tracer assay for laboratory-reared females. According to the interpretation of the matrotrophy index, both populations are purely lecithotrophic, while the radio-tracer assay found females from both populations to actively transfer nutrients to developing embryos at approximately the same rate. Our results suggest that P. mexicana, which was traditionally classified as lecithotrophic, is capable of incipient matrotrophy, and that matrotrophy can contribute to embryo provisioning even in populations from resource-limited environments. Furthermore, the analysis of laboratoryreared animals provides evidence for a genetic component to the large offspring size in cave mollies, which had so far only been described from the field. Specifically, our results suggest matrotrophy occurs in species interpreted as lecithotrophic using the MI approach. Hence, to avoid misclassification, both techniques should ideally be employed in concert, R. Riesch (rather than individually. Finally, our results provide further insights into the possible evolutionary pathway from lecithotrophic oviparity to matrotrophic viviparity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

Matrotrophy in the cave molly: an unexpected provisioning strategy in an extreme environment

et al. 2009

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“…Each rearing tank thus only contained siblings from the same clutch. To avoid stress for the fish we did not measure offspring size, but the fact that cave mollies produce considerably larger offspring has repeatedly been demonstrated in the field and under similar common garden conditions (e.g., Riesch et al 2009bRiesch et al , 2010a, and cave molly offspring were visibly larger in the present experiment. After 30 days, the experiment was terminated and we calculated 'offspring survival' (number of surviving offspring relative to the original clutch size) for each brood.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 75%

“…Therefore, given the heritability of the population differences in the reproductive traits investigated here (Riesch et al , 2010d, and assuming roughly equal interbrood intervals and total life-spans (R. Riesch, unpubl. data), this suggests that cave molly females may also have lower reproductive fitness than resident surface molly females if they managed to successfully migrate into the adjacent benign surface habitats, and thus, would potentially be out-competed by the surface ecotype (for in-depth discussion on the benefits of larger offspring size in extreme habitats see Riesch et al 2009bRiesch et al , 2010a.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In species without any parental care, on the other hand, lifehistory theory clearly predicts that selection should maximize parental fitness (Trivers 1974;Godfray 1995). Thus, species like livebearing fishes (family Poeciliidae)-in which neither females nor males provide post-parturition brood care-may be an ideal system to study various aspects of the offspring size/ fecundity trade-off (e.g., Reznick and Endler 1982;Bashey 2006Bashey , 2008Riesch et al 2009bRiesch et al , 2010a.…”

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confidence: 99%

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The offspring size/fecundity trade-off and female fitness in the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae)

Riesch¹,

Plath²,

Schlupp³

2011

Environ Biol Fish

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Across a variety of taxa, large offspring have been demonstrated to have a fitness advantage over smaller offspring of the same species. However, producing large offspring often comes at the cost of having to produce fewer young, and the payoff (and thus, evolutionary outcome) of this trade-off is expected to vary between environments. Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana: Poeciliidae, Teleostei), inhabiting a sulfidic cave and various non-sulfidic surface habitats in Tabasco (Mexico), are reproductively isolated and evolved divergent female lifehistory traits: females of the cave ecotype produce considerably fewer, but larger offspring. Stressful (sulfidic) environments may favor the production of larger offspring, as they are better able to cope with chemical stressors. It remains to be determined though if increased offspring survival outweighs the fitness cost of producing fewer but larger offspring even under benign laboratory conditions. We tested 30-day newborn survival of offspring from wildcaught P. mexicana females from diverging populations in a low-density, no predation, no cannibalism, and ad-libitum-food, benign laboratory environment. Survival rates were highly skewed towards larger cave molly offspring; however, surface molly females still had a higher fitness than cave molly females in terms of higher total numbers of surviving offspring. Our study provides evidence for an innate fitness advantage of larger cave molly offspring. Furthermore, the observed differences in life-history strategies could promote further divergence and reproductive isolation among these ecotypes of P. mexicana, because cave molly females immigrating into the adjacent surface habitats would most likely be selected against.

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“…Previous studies have demonstrated male preference for larger females in many species (Abrahams, 1993; Bisazza, Marconato & Marin, 1989; Dosen & Montgomerie, 2004a; Gumm & Gabor, 2005; Herdman, Kelly & Godin, 2004; Hoysak & Godin, 2007; Jeswiet & Godin, 2011; Plath et al, 2006; Ptacek & Travis, 1997). This is likely a result of the strong correlation between female size and fecundity (Herdman, Kelly & Godin, 2004; Hughes, 1985; Marsh-Matthews et al, 2005; Milton & Arthington, 1983; Reznick & Endler, 1982; Riesch et al, 2009b), suggesting that size is used as a signal of female quality and has played a role in the evolution of male mate choice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

Schlupp

2013

PeerJ

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While female mate preference is very well studied, male preference has only recently begun to receive significant attention. Its existence is found in numerous taxa, but empirical research has mostly been limited to a descriptive level and does not fully address the factors influencing its evolution. We attempted to address this issue using preference functions by comparing the strength of male preference for females of different sizes in nine populations of four poeciliid species. Due to environmental constraints (water toxicity and surface versus cave habitat), females from these populations vary in the degree to which their size is correlated to their fecundity. Hence, they vary in how their size signals their quality as mates. Since female size is strongly correlated with fecundity in this subfamily, males were sequentially presented with conspecific females of three different size categories and the strength of their preference for each was measured. Males preferred larger females in all populations, as predicted. However, the degree to which males preferred each size category, as measured by association time, was not correlated with its fecundity. In addition, cave males discriminated against smaller females more than surface males. Assuming that male preference is correlated with female fitness, these results suggest that factors other than fecundity have a strong influence on female fitness in these species.

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Offspring number in a livebearing fish (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae): reduced fecundity and reduced plasticity in a population of cave mollies

Cited by 34 publications

References 27 publications

Matrotrophy in the cave molly: an unexpected provisioning strategy in an extreme environment

Matrotrophy in the cave molly: an unexpected provisioning strategy in an extreme environment

The offspring size/fecundity trade-off and female fitness in the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae)

Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

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