scholarly journals Quantitative variation in female sensory structures supports species recognition and intraspecific mate choice functions in damselflies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra A. Barnard ◽  
John P. Masly
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Physical Contact ◽  
Reproductive Character Displacement ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Sensory Structures ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractMales and females exchange signals prior to mating that convey information such as sex, species identity, or individual condition. Tactile signals relayed during physical contact between males and females before and during mating appear to be important for mate choice and reproductive isolation in some animals. However, compared to our understanding of visual, auditory, and chemical signals, we know little about the importance of tactile signals in mating decisions. Among North American damselflies in the genus Enallagma (Odonata: Coenagrionidae) species-specific tactile stimulation contributes to reproductive isolation between species and may also be important for intraspecific mate choice. We quantified several mechanosensory sensilla phenotypes on the female thorax among multiple sympatric and allopatric populations of two Enallagma species that occasionally interbreed in nature. Although each species differed in features of sensilla distribution within the thoracic plates, we found no strong evidence of reproductive character displacement among the sensilla traits we measured in regions of sympatry. However, substantial variation of sensilla traits was observed within populations of both species. Our results suggest that species-specific placement of female mechanoreceptors appears sufficient for species recognition, but mechanosensor variation among females within species may be important for mate choice.

scholarly journals Selection on male sex pheromone composition contributes to butterfly reproductive isolation

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1804) ◽  
pp. 20142734 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. B. Bacquet ◽  
O. Brattström ◽  
H.-L. Wang ◽  
C. E. Allen ◽  
C. Löfstedt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Pheromone ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Reproductive Character Displacement ◽  
Male Sex Pheromone ◽  
Pheromone Composition ◽  
Male Sex

Selection can facilitate diversification by inducing character displacement in mate choice traits that reduce the probability of maladaptive mating between lineages. Although reproductive character displacement (RCD) has been demonstrated in two-taxa case studies, the frequency of this process in nature is still debated. Moreover, studies have focused primarily on visual and acoustic traits, despite the fact that chemical communication is probably the most common means of species recognition. Here, we showed in a large, mostly sympatric, butterfly genus, a strong pattern of recurrent RCD for predicted male sex pheromone composition, but not for visual mate choice traits. Our results suggest that RCD is not anecdotal, and that selection for divergence in male sex pheromone composition contributed to reproductive isolation within the Bicyclus genus. We propose that selection may target olfactory mate choice traits as a more common sensory modality to ensure reproductive isolation among diverging lineages than previously envisaged.

scholarly journals Reproductive character displacement generates reproductive isolation among conspecific populations: an artificial neural network study

2006 ◽  
Vol 273 (1592) ◽  
pp. 1361-1368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karin S Pfennig ◽  
Michael J Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Neural Network ◽  
Neural Networks ◽  
Artificial Neural Network ◽  
Artificial Neural Networks ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Reproductive Character Displacement ◽  
Reproductive Character ◽  
Artificial Neural

When interactions with heterospecifics prevent females from identifying conspecific mates, natural selection can promote the evolution of mating behaviours that minimize such interactions. Consequently, mating behaviours may diverge among conspecific populations in sympatry and in allopatry with heterospecifics. This divergence in conspecific mating behaviours—reproductive character displacement—can initiate speciation if mating behaviours become so divergent as to generate reproductive isolation between sympatric and allopatric conspecifics. We tested these ideas by using artificial neural networks to simulate the evolution of conspecific mate recognition in populations sympatric and allopatric with different heterospecifics. We found that advertisement calls diverged among the different conspecific populations. Consequently, networks strongly preferred calls from their own population to those from foreign conspecific populations. Thus, reproductive character displacement may promote reproductive isolation and, ultimately, speciation among conspecific populations.

scholarly journals Segregation of Species-Specific Male Attractiveness in F2 Hybrid Lake Malawi Cichlid Fish

2011 ◽  
Vol 2011 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ola Svensson ◽  
Bernd Egger ◽  
Boye Gricar ◽  
Katie Woodhouse ◽  
Cock van Oosterhout ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Lake Malawi ◽  
Paternity Analysis ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Heritable Variation ◽  
Species Specific

Among the huge radiations of haplochromine cichlid fish in Lakes Malawi and Victoria, closely related species are often reproductively isolated via female mate choice although viable fertile hybrids can be produced when females are confined only with heterospecific males. We generated F2 hybrid males from a cross between a pair of closely related sympatric cichlid fish from Lake Malawi. Laboratory mate choice experiments using microsatellite paternity analysis demonstrated that F2 hybrid males differed significantly in their attractiveness to females of the two parental species, indicating heritable variation in traits involved in mate choice that may contribute to reproductive isolation between these species. We found no significant correlation between male mating success and any measurement of male colour pattern. A simple quantitative genetic model of reproductive isolation suggests that there may be as few as two chromosomal regions controlling species-specific attractiveness. We propose that adaptive radiation of Lake Malawi cichlids could be facilitated by the presence of genes with major effects on mate choice and reproductive isolation.

scholarly journals Neural Basis of Acoustic Species Recognition in a Cryptic Species Complex

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saumya Gupta ◽  
Rishi K. Alluri ◽  
Gary J. Rose ◽  
Mark A. Bee
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Cryptic Species ◽  
Temporal Processing ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Species Difference ◽  
Mechanistic Explanation ◽  
Pulse Number ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Cryptic Species Complex ◽  
Species Specific

Sexual traits that promote species recognition are important drivers of reproductive isolation, especially among closely related species. Identifying neural processes that shape species differences in recognition is crucial for understanding the causal mechanisms of reproductive isolation. Temporal patterns are salient features of sexual signals widely used in species recognition by several taxa, including anurans. Recent advances in our understanding of temporal processing by the anuran auditory system provide an opportunity to investigate the neural basis of species-specific recognition. The anuran inferior colliculus (IC) consists of neurons that are selective for temporal features of calls. Of potential relevance are auditory neurons known as interval-counting neurons (ICNs) that are often selective for the pulse rate of conspecific advertisement calls. Here, we tested the hypothesis that ICNs mediate acoustic species recognition by exploiting the known differences in temporal selectivity in two cryptic species of gray treefrog (Hyla chrysoscelis and Hyla versicolor). We examined the extent to which the threshold number of pulses required to elicit behavioral responses from females and neural responses from ICNs was similar within each species but potentially different between the two species. In support of our hypothesis, we found that a species difference in behavioral pulse number thresholds closely matched the species difference in neural pulse number thresholds. However, this relationship held only for ICNs that exhibited band-pass tuning for conspecific pulse rates. Together, these findings suggest that differences in temporal processing of a subset of ICNs provide a mechanistic explanation for reproductive isolation between two cryptic treefrog species.

scholarly journals REPRODUCTIVE CHARACTER DISPLACEMENT OF EPICUTICULAR COMPOUNDS AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO MATE CHOICE INDROSOPHILA SUBQUINARIAANDDROSOPHILA RECENS

Evolution ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (4) ◽  
pp. 1163-1175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly A. Dyer ◽  
Brooke E. White ◽  
Jacqueline L. Sztepanacz ◽  
Emily R. Bewick ◽  
Howard D. Rundle
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Character Displacement ◽  
Reproductive Character Displacement ◽  
Reproductive Character

Simple Versus Elaborate Behavior in Grasshoppers an Analysis of Communication in the Genus Syrbula

Behaviour ◽  
1972 ◽  
Vol 42 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 291-321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Otte
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Courtship Behavior ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Pair Formation ◽  
The Body ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Two Sides ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Simple Behavior

AbstractThe species in the genus Syvbula possess more elaborate courtship behavior than other Orthoptera. This fact is difficult to explain because other species living in similar situations possess very simple behavior. Pair formation is achieved through the attraction of females to stridulating males, or through reciprocal stridulating and approaching between males and females. Occasionally females attract males by singing spontaneously. The two Syrbula species live together in parts of Texas. Reproductive isolation is ensured and needless sexual interactions are prevented by call differences; i.e., females respond only to the songs of their own species. Elaborate courtship is omitted when pairs are formed through an exchange of calling signals. However, in the presence of sexually unreceptive females, males perform elaborate courtship behavior. The movements of appendages are mostly synchronous suggesting they are controlled by a single command from the brain; however, some asymmetry of movements exists (the appendages on the two sides of the body assume different positions and may be out of phase with one another) indicating a more complicated control system than exists in the European species, GomPhocerus rufus. Males assume a position nearly parallel to the female during courtship and the near appendages perform one set of movements and the far appendages a different set. Each side of the body can perform both sets of movements. Intermale rivalry takes several forms: stealing of females by non-calling or non-courting males, the production of male-identifying or male-spacing signals and, possibly, chorusing. The causes for the evolution of elaborate behavior are unknown. It may have evolved due to sexual selection or due to the fact that females of Syrbula require some special sort of priming before each mating. Selection for reproductive isolation does not usually seem to result in elaboration of courtship in grasshoppers. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced and its importance may lie in sexual or species recognition.

scholarly journals Species specificity and intraspecific variation in the chemical profiles of Heliconius butterflies across a large geographic range

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathy Darragh ◽  
Gabriela Montejo-Kovacevich ◽  
Krzysztof M. Kozak ◽  
Colin R. Morrison ◽  
Clarisse M. E. Figueiredo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Strong Correlation ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Species Traits ◽  
Geographic Range ◽  
Biologically Active ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Strong Signal ◽  
Chemical Profiles

AbstractIn many animals, mate choice is important for the maintenance of reproductive isolation between species. Traits important for mate choice and behavioural isolation are predicted to be under strong stabilising selection within species, however such traits can also exhibit variation at the population level driven by neutral and adaptive evolutionary processes. Here, we describe patterns of divergence among androconial and genital chemical profiles at inter- and intra-specific levels in mimetic Heliconius butterflies. Most variation in chemical bouquets was found between species, but there were also quantitative differences at the population level. We found a strong correlation between interspecific chemical and genetic divergence, however, this correlation varied in intraspecific comparisons. We identified ‘indicator’ compounds characteristic of particular species that included known biologically active compounds, suggesting an approach for identification of candidate compounds for future behavioural studies in novel systems. Overall, the strong signal of species identity suggests a role for these compounds in species recognition, but with additional potentially neutral variation at the population level.

scholarly journals Prioritizing Sex Recognition Over Learned Species Recognition: Hierarchical Mate Recognition in an Invasive Fish

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kit Magellan ◽  
Emili García-Berthou
Keyword(s):  
Species Recognition ◽  
Single Species ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Gambusia Holbrooki ◽  
Species Identity ◽  
Sex Recognition ◽  
Term Change ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Coercive Mating

Mate recognition is the process of identifying and assessing the appropriate species, sex or population of another individual for their suitability as a potential mate. Recognition may be innate or learned. Learning, the acquisition of knowledge or skills through experience, involves a relatively long-term change in behavioral responses. In this study we examined learned and innate mate recognition in invasive male mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki, interacting with female conspecifics and male and female native toothcarp, Aphanius iberus. Male mosquitofish directed no mating attempts at male toothcarp whereas numerous attempts were made toward female toothcarp. Male mosquitofish therefore differentiated between males and females, but initially did not distinguish between con- and heterospecific females. Neither the presence of a male toothcarp, nor the presence of a refugia affected the number of mating attempts received by females. However, by the second day males appeared to learn to more accurately direct their mating attempts, with larger female mosquitofish receiving the most attention, though smaller toothcarp females were still harassed. We propose that male mosquitofish, with a coercive mating system, are selected for persistence despite rejection by potential mates. In this scenario, the pool of potential mates may include heterospecifics whose avoidance of mating attempts may be ignored by male mosquitofish. It may thus be adaptive for male mosquitofish to prioritize sex recognition over species recognition: if one sex is recognized as a “non-mate” this will cut 50% from the pool of potential mates whereas recognition of a single species will remove many fewer potential mates from the pool. This innate sex recognition together with rapid learning of species identity may be a factor in the invasive success of mosquitofish.

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