Female preference and male nuptial colouration in the freshwater fish Gobiomorphus breviceps: geographic variation among populations

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 463-469 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J Hamilton ◽  
Robert Poulin
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Water Clarity ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Different Populations ◽  
Selected Traits

Geographic variation in the strength or direction of sexual selection acting on different populations has been documented before but has not been the subject of intense study. We examine covariation among sexually selected traits and environmental factors for five stream populations of a small New Zealand freshwater fish, the upland bully, Gobiomorphus breviceps (Eleotridae). Levels of infection by a trematode parasite and some aspects of female behaviour and male colouration varied significantly among populations. Among individual fish we found that female mate choice behaviours and male colouration did not correlate similarly with other traits, or with parasite load, in the different populations studied. We also determined whether average population values correlated among the different stream populations. Whereas environmental factors such as water clarity and substrate colouration appeared to be unimportant, average parasite load correlated with some components of male colouration, and female preferences appeared to be correlated with male colouration. These results illustrate both the variability among populations that prevents results obtained from one population from being generalized to the entire species, and the plasticity of sexually selected traits in relation to local conditions.

scholarly journals Female mate choice and the potential for ornament evolution in túngara frogs Physalaemus pustulosus

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Ryan ◽  
Ximena E. Bernal ◽  
A. Stanley Rand
Keyword(s):  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Signal Evolution ◽  
Physalaemus Pustulosus ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Novel Traits ◽  
Tungara Frogs ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Ornament Evolution

Abstract The potential for ornament evolution in response to sexual selection rests on the interaction between the permissiveness or selectivity of female preferences and the constraints on male development of signaling related traits. We investigate the former by determining how latent female preferences either exaggerate the magnitude of current traits (i.e. elaborations) or favor novel traits (i.e. innovations). In túngara frogs, females prefer complex mating calls (whine-chucks) to simple calls (whine only). The whine is critical for mate recognition while the chuck further enhances the attractiveness of the call. Here we use a combination of synthetic and natural stimuli to examine latent female preferences. Our results show that a diversity of stimuli, including conspecific and heterospecific calls as well as predator-produced and human-made sounds, increase the attractiveness of a call when added to a whine. These stimuli do not make simple calls more attractive than a whine-chuck, however. In rare cases we found stimuli that added to the whine decrease the attractiveness of the call. Overall, females show strong preferences for both elaborations and innovations of the chuck. We argue that the emancipation of these acoustic adornments from mate recognition allows such female permissiveness, and that male constraints on signal evolution are probably more important in explaining why males evolved their specific adornment. Experimentally probing latent female preferences for stimuli out of the species‘ range is a useful means to gain insights about the potential of female choice to influence signal evolution and thus the astounding diversity in male sexually-selected traits.

Prevalence and intensity of hematozoan infections in a population of American kestrels

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell D Dawson ◽  
Gary R Bortolotti
Keyword(s):  
Breeding Season ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Chronic Infections ◽  
Age Classes ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Several Variables ◽  
American Kestrels ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Breeding Seasons ◽  
Host Parasite

Interest in hematozoan parasites has been considerable in recent years, mostly as a result of Hamilton and Zuk's idea that parasites influence the expression of sexually selected traits. However, little is known about the basic patterns of parasitism and the dynamics of host-parasite relationships. We describe the patterns of blood parasitism in American kestrels (Falco sparverius) sampled throughout the breeding seasons of 1994 and 1995, and investigate the influence of several variables on parasite load. Parasite prevalences in kestrels were high, ranging from 75 to 94% depending on the sex of the birds and stage of the breeding season. Prevalence increased with date, indicating either active parasite transmission or relapses of chronic infections. Parasite intensity also increased with date, but these effects were sex- and year-specific. We detected no sex differences in either prevalence or intensity, but prevalences were higher in young (second calendar year) birds than in older birds. Because this effect was evident early in the breeding season, we suggest that it was due to differential recrudescence of chronic infections between age-classes. Food supply had no effect on parasite load. Among birds that were sampled twice in the same year, parasite status remained relatively constant, although some birds acquired infections while others lost them. Change in intensity between samples was dependent on year; nonetheless, intensities remained relatively stable throughout the breeding season. Kestrels sampled in both years had consistent parasite loads. Parasites were detected in only 3% of kestrel nestlings.

scholarly journals The Effect of Seasonal Changes on Freshwater Fish Assemblages and Environmental Factors in Bukit Merah Reservoir (Malaysia)

2015 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zakeyuddin Mohd Shafiq ◽  
Md Sah Amir Shah Ruddin ◽  
Hazrin Hashim Zarul ◽  
Puteh Khaled ◽  
Mohammad Syaiful ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Freshwater Fish ◽  
Fish Species ◽  
Seasonal Changes ◽  
Fish Assemblages ◽  
Water Clarity ◽  
Major Influence ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Significant Difference

Abstract Seasonal changes of freshwater fish assemblages and environmental factors in Bukit Merah Reservoir were carried out from January-February 2013 (dry season) to March-April 2013 (wet season) by measuring several physico-chemical parameters such as dissolved oxygen (DO), water temperature, pH, water conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS) and water clarity. 19 fish species comprising of 10 families were collected by using experimental gill nets with different mesh sizes at four different sampling stations. Mean CPUE for total catch and biomass were significantly different between dry and wet season (p < 0.05). Based on a T-test analysis, water temperature, pH and conductivity were significantly different (p < 0.05) between seasons whereas a one-way ANOVA displayed a significant difference in TDS and water clarity between sampling stations (p < 0.05), implicating that those factors did not give major influence towards other parameters in a man-made reservoir. From all fish species studied, only mean CPUE for individuals (CPUEn) of Osteochilus vittatus and Oxygaster anomalura had a significant difference between seasons (p < 0.05); probably an indicator of their migration season

Tests of the positive and functional allometry hypotheses for sexually selected traits in the Jamaican field cricket

2021 ◽  
pp. 104413
Author(s):  
Susan M. Bertram ◽  
Danya D. Yaremchuk ◽  
Mykell L. Reifer ◽  
Amy Villareal ◽  
Matthew J. Muzzatti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Field Cricket ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Sexually Selected Traits: A Fundamental Framework for Studies on Behavioral Epigenetics

ILAR Journal ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 53 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 253-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Jasarevic ◽  
D. C. Geary ◽  
C. S. Rosenfeld
Keyword(s):  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

scholarly journals Analysis of organismic and population characteristics of the coenopopulations of Dracocephalum nutans L.

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 ◽  
pp. 00003
Author(s):  
Gulnora Denisova ◽  
Alexey Astashenkov
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Environmental Factors ◽  
Paper Analysis ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Widespread Species ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Selected Traits

On the study of the mechanisms of sustainable development of populations of the widespread species D. nutans presents the results in the paper. Analysis of organism and population traits showed that in unformed communities, the species has maximum values of all selected traits. As a result, the comparison of points has been found to be associated with environmental and censorship conditions. Depending on the environmental factors, different types of ontogenetic spectrums are formed (left-sided, centered, right- sided).

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document