Beauty in the eyes of the beholders: colour vision is tuned to mate preference in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

AbstractIn many animal species, individuals with certain morphological, physiological, or behavioural traits may have a disproportionately large role in determining group behaviour. While most empirical studies of leadership have focused on behaviour of individuals exploring new environments or foraging, little is known about leading behaviour in other ecological contexts. Here, we use a selective breeding design in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata) to quantify the heritability of leadership in a cooperative context, and determine the behavioural traits associated with it. Firstly we found that phenotypic selection for high and low leadership (HL and LL, respectively) over three filial generations resulted in pronounced differences in leadership tendency with a moderate degree of heritability. In our assay of other social traits, LL males were more aggressive and sampled their social environment less than HL males, but HL and LL females did not differ in either aggressiveness or sociability. Traits such as boldness and exploratory tendency did not diverge between the two lines. Leading behaviour was thus associated with social traits in males, but not females; suggesting that there may be sex-specific mechanisms driving the emergence of leadership in this context. We discuss our findings in the context of the evolution of cooperation.

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Familiarity leads to female mate preference for novel males in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1006/anbe.1999.1225 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 58 (4) ◽

pp. 907-916 ◽

Cited By ~ 192

Author(s):

KIMBERLY A. HUGHES ◽

LINH DU ◽

F.HELEN RODD ◽

DAVID N. REZNICK

Keyword(s):

Poecilia Reticulata ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Female Mate Preference ◽

Female Mate

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Metabolism, personality and pace of life in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003375 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 153 (13-14) ◽

pp. 1517-1543 ◽

Cited By ~ 27

Author(s):

S.J. White ◽

T.J. Kells ◽

A.J. Wilson

Keyword(s):

Individual Variation ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Life Histories ◽

Poecilia Reticulata ◽

High Growth ◽

Early Maturation ◽

Metabolic Traits ◽

Personality Differences ◽

Pace Of Life ◽

Trinidadian Guppy

While among-individual variation in behaviour, or personality, is common across taxa, its mechanistic underpinnings are poorly understood. The Pace of Life syndrome (POLS) provides one possible explanation for maintenance of personality differences. POLS predicts that metabolic differences will covary with behavioural variation, with high metabolism associated with risk prone behaviour and ‘faster’ life histories (e.g., high growth, early maturation). We used a repeated measures approach, assaying metabolic traits (rate and scope), behaviour and growth to test these predictions in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata. We found that while individuals varied significantly in their behaviour and growth rate, more risk prone individuals did not grow significantly faster. Furthermore, after accounting for body size there was no support for among-individual variation in metabolic traits. Thus, while personality differences are clearly present in this population, they do not covary with metabolism and the POLS framework is not supported.

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Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellites in the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Molecular Ecology Notes ◽

10.1046/j.1471-8286.2002.00276.x ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 2 (4) ◽

pp. 456-458 ◽

Cited By ~ 44

Author(s):

S. A. Becher ◽

S. T. Russell ◽

A. E. Magurran

Keyword(s):

Poecilia Reticulata ◽

Isolation And Characterization ◽

Polymorphic Microsatellites ◽

Trinidadian Guppy

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Male coloration affects female gestation period and timing of fertilization in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0261004 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 16 (12) ◽

pp. e0261004

Author(s):

Aya Sato ◽

Ryu-ichi Aihara ◽

Kenji Karino

Keyword(s):

Female Choice ◽

Poecilia Reticulata ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Gestation Period ◽

Behavioral Strategy ◽

High Quality ◽

Internal Fertilization ◽

Internal Mechanism ◽

Selective Mating ◽

Male Coloration

The trade-up hypothesis is a female behavioral strategy related to mating with multiple males. In this hypothesis, females can produce high-quality offspring while avoiding the risk of losing reproductive opportunities by non-selective mating with males at first mating and then re-mating with more attractive males. As an internal mechanism to realize this behavioral strategy, we predicted that females would immediately fertilize their eggs when they mated with attractive males, whereas females would delay fertilization when they mated with unattractive males to trade-up sires of offspring. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is an ovoviviparous fish with internal fertilization, and females show a clear mate preference based on the area of orange coloration on the bodies of males. In addition, it is known that females show a re-mating strategy consistent with the trade-up hypothesis. We tested whether the attractiveness of mated males affected the gestation period and the timing of fertilization. Females were paired with either colorful males or drab males, and the gestation periods (the number of days from mating to parturition) were compared. In addition, we dissected the abdomens of the females at intervals of several days after mating and observed whether the eggs were fertilized. The gestation period in females that were paired with attractive colorful males was significantly shorter than that in females that were paired with drab males. We found that females that mated with colorful males also had their eggs fertilized earlier than those that mated with drab males. Our findings show that differences in the timing of fertilization according to attractiveness of the mate increase the opportunity for cryptic female choice and trading up.

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