The Effects of Male Nuptial Coloration On Stickleback Aggression: a Reexamination

Behaviour ◽  
1982 ◽  
Vol 80 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 118-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Rowland
Keyword(s):  
Attack Rate ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Territorial Male ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Sexual Attractiveness ◽  
Nuptial Coloration ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

Abstract1. Territorial male threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, do not always attack an intruder (a dummy) with red undersides more than one lacking this feature even when it is presented within their own territory. Males in this study showed an overall tendency to bite a dummy without red undersides more than one with this feature during both simultaneous and serial presentations. 2. Considerable variation in attack rates exists between individual males, but whether or not a given male attacks the nonred dummy more appears to be unrelated to whether he exhibits high or low attack rates. 3. Males showed an increased attack rate after they acquired eggs in their nest, but the tendency for a male to attack the nonred dummy more than the red one appears to be unchanged after he acquires eggs. 4. It is suggested that the nuptial coloration of male threespine sticklebacks be interpreted more generally as an indicator of the male's social and physiological status, emphasizing its intimidating effects as well as its aggression eliciting effects for rival males. This is consistent with the observation that nuptial coloration is capable of increasing avoidance as well as attack in rival males and increasing sexual attractiveness to females.

scholarly journals Diversity and sexual dimorphism in the head lateral line system in North Sea populations of threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus (Teleostei: Gasterosteidae)

Zoomorphology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harald Ahnelt ◽  
David Ramler ◽  
Maria Ø. Madsen ◽  
Lasse F. Jensen ◽  
Sonja Windhager
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Lateral Line ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Sensory System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Lateral Line System ◽  
Line System ◽  
Marine Population ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

AbstractThe mechanosensory lateral line of fishes is a flow sensing system and supports a number of behaviors, e.g. prey detection, schooling or position holding in water currents. Differences in the neuromast pattern of this sensory system reflect adaptation to divergent ecological constraints. The threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus, is known for its ecological plasticity resulting in three major ecotypes, a marine type, a migrating anadromous type and a resident freshwater type. We provide the first comparative study of the pattern of the head lateral line system of North Sea populations representing these three ecotypes including a brackish spawning population. We found no distinct difference in the pattern of the head lateral line system between the three ecotypes but significant differences in neuromast numbers. The anadromous and the brackish populations had distinctly less neuromasts than their freshwater and marine conspecifics. This difference in neuromast number between marine and anadromous threespine stickleback points to differences in swimming behavior. We also found sexual dimorphism in neuromast number with males having more neuromasts than females in the anadromous, brackish and the freshwater populations. But no such dimorphism occurred in the marine population. Our results suggest that the head lateral line of the three ecotypes is under divergent hydrodynamic constraints. Additionally, sexual dimorphism points to divergent niche partitioning of males and females in the anadromous and freshwater but not in the marine populations. Our findings imply careful sampling as an important prerequisite to discern especially between anadromous and marine threespine sticklebacks.

Effects of constant and fluctuating temperatures on egg production in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (6) ◽  
pp. 1599-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vital Boulé ◽  
Gerard J. Fitzgerald
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Egg Production ◽  
Egg Size ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Reproduction Number ◽  
Temperature Fluctuations ◽  
Spawning Grounds ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Fluctuating Temperatures

Female threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) spend only 9–15 days on the spawning grounds, an intertidal salt marsh at Isle Verte, Quebec, during a 2-month breeding season. Individuals average only one spawning. However, in the laboratory they lay clutches of several hundred eggs every 3–5 days for several months. We designed laboratory experiments to determine (i) whether daily temperature fluctuations similar to those encountered in the marsh affect reproduction (number of clutches, number of eggs per clutch, and size of eggs) and (ii) whether the amplitude of the fluctuations encountered by the fish affects reproduction. We compared the reproduction of females held in fluctuating temperatures with that of females kept at 20 °C. Fish kept under fluctuating conditions produced more eggs per clutch but had longer interspawning intervals than those at 20 °C. Total seasonal egg production and egg size did not differ between the two groups. Fish in fluctuating temperatures survived longer and were in better condition than those at 20 °C. We conclude that the amplitude of the fluctuations is less important than mean temperature in determining reproductive performance. Fluctuating temperatures on the spawning grounds are not responsible for the short residency there.

Burst swimming and its enzymatic correlates in the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus): full-sib heritabilities

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (4) ◽  
pp. 680-688 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Garenc ◽  
Frederick G Silversides ◽  
Helga Guderley
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Creatine Phosphokinase ◽  
Swimming Performance ◽  
Biotic Interactions ◽  
Considerable Influence ◽  
Paternal Effects ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Burst Swimming ◽  
Intrafamilial Variability

Full-sib heritabilities of burst-swimming capacity and its enzymatic correlates were calculated in juvenile threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, from 25 families raised under constant laboratory conditions. Variation among families in burst-swimming performance, enzyme activities, body size, and condition of the juveniles was considerable. Estimates of full-sib heritabilities of absolute and relative burst-swimming performance decreased during ontogenesis, as they were higher for 2-month-old than for 3.6-month-old sticklebacks. This decline may reflect a decrease in the importance of paternal effects with age, as well as an increase in intrafamilial variability due to the existence of feeding or social hierarachies. Enzymatic correlates of burst-swimming performance measured in 3.6-month-old sticklebacks had higher full-sib heritabilities than burst-swimming performance itself, with the highest values found for cytochrome c oxidase, followed by lactate dehydrogenase and then phosphofructokinase and creatine phosphokinase. These results suggest that genetic factors may have a considerable influence upon burst-swimming performance and muscle metabolic capacities of juvenile threespine sticklebacks, but that this influence may be tempered by biotic interactions.

scholarly journals Genome Characterization, Prevalence, and Transmission Mode of a Novel Picornavirus Associated with the Threespine Stickleback Fish (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan A. Hahn ◽  
Nolwenn M. Dheilly
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Rna Virus ◽  
Wide Distribution ◽  
Model System ◽  
Threespine Stickleback ◽  
Tissue Samples ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
The Impact

ABSTRACT The complete genome sequence of an RNA virus was assembled from RNA sequencing of virus particles purified from threespine stickleback intestine tissue samples. This new virus is most closely related to the Eel picornavirus and can be assigned to the genus Potamipivirus in the family Picornaviridae. Its unique genetic properties are enough to establish a new species, dubbed the Threespine Stickleback picornavirus (TSPV). Due to their broad geographic distribution throughout the Northern Hemisphere and parallel adaptation to freshwater, threespine sticklebacks have become a model in evolutionary ecology. Further analysis using diagnostic PCRs revealed that TSPV is highly prevalent in both anadromous and freshwater populations of threespine sticklebacks, infects almost all fish tissues, and is transmitted vertically to offspring obtained from in vitro fertilization in laboratory settings. Finally, TSPV was found in Sequence Reads Archives of transcriptome of Gasterosteus aculeatus, further demonstrating its wide distribution and unsought prevalence in samples. It is thus necessary to test the impact of TSPV on the biology of threespine sticklebacks, as this widespread virus could interfere with the behavioral, physiological, or immunological studies that employ this fish as a model system. IMPORTANCE The threespine stickleback species complex is an important model system in ecological and evolutionary studies because of the large number of isolated divergent populations that are experimentally tractable. For similar reasons, its coevolution with the cestode parasite Schistocephalus solidus, its interaction with gut microbes, and the evolution of its immune system are of growing interest. Herein we describe the discovery of an RNA virus that infects both freshwater and anadromous populations of sticklebacks. We show that the virus is transmitted vertically in laboratory settings and found it in Sequence Reads Archives, suggesting that experiments using sticklebacks were conducted in the presence of the virus. This discovery can serve as a reminder that the presence of viruses in wild-caught animals is possible, even when animals appear healthy. Regarding threespine sticklebacks, the impact of Threespine Stickleback picornavirus (TSPV) on the fish biology should be investigated further to ensure that it does not interfere with experimental results.

Reproductive-timing-dependent alternation of offspring life histories in female threespine sticklebacks

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (8) ◽  
pp. 1314-1321 ◽  
Author(s):  
Toshihiko Saito ◽  
Shigeru Nakano
Keyword(s):  
Life Histories ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Reproductive Timing ◽  
Equivalent Age ◽  
Structured Population ◽  
Otolith Increments ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks ◽  
Young Of The Year ◽  
Age Structured ◽  
Breeding Seasons

Relationships between reproductive timing of spawners and timing of hatch and age at maturity of their offspring were examined in fluvial threespine sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Some age 2 and all age 3 females matured in this age-structured population, with only a few females reproducing over two successive breeding seasons. Age 2 females spawned over the relatively long breeding season (March-August), whereas age 3 females spawned mainly early in the season (March-June). Although the standard length of mature age 3 females was greater than that of age 2 females, the back-calculated standard lengths of the former were always shorter than those of the latter at an equivalent age, the most distinct differences being apparent in young of the year. Analysis of daily otolith increments showed that the earlier the young of the year were born, the larger they were at the end of the growing season. As a result of these findings, age 3 females can be expected to produce offspring that will mature at age 2, whereas the offspring of late-spawning age 2 females are more likely to mature at age 3. Therefore, a partial alternation of life histories between generations is thought to occur.

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