Multiple paternity in different populations of the sailfin molly, Poecilia latipinna

Rates of multiple paternities were investigated in the sailfin molly (Poecilialatipinna), using eight microsatellite loci. Genotyping was performed for offspring and mothers in 40 broods from four allopatric populations from the south-eastern U.S.A. along a geographic stretch of 1200 km in west-east direction and approximately 200 km from north to south. No significant differences regarding rates of multiple paternities were found between populations despite sample populations stemming from ecologically divergent habitats. Even the most conservative statistical approach revealed a minimum of 70% of the broods being sired by at least two males, with an average of 1.80-2.95 putative fathers per brood. Within broods, one male typically sired far more offspring than would be expected under an assumed equal probability of all detected males siring offspring.

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No pre-existing bias in sailfin molly females, Poecilia latipinna, for a sword in males

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539053778292 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 142 (3) ◽

pp. 283-303 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Karin B. Klink ◽

Klaudia Witte

Keyword(s):

Female Preference ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Video Playback ◽

Playback Experiments ◽

Poecilia Latipinna ◽

Sensory Stimuli ◽

Female Mate Preference ◽

Conditioning Experiment ◽

Sailfin Molly ◽

Different Populations

The origination of female mate preference is still not well known and may depend on genetic predispositions, social environment and sensory stimuli in the environment. Females of different populations, which live in different environments, may therefore differ in a pre-existing bias for male traits. Previous studies within the genus Xiphophorus and Priapella (Poeciliidae) have indicated that females have a latent preference for a sword in males, even though conspecific males do not express a sword. In a recent study Basolo (2002a) found such a pre-existing bias for artificially sworded males in sailfin molly females from a Louisiana population. To investigate whether Poecilia latipinna females exhibit in general a pre-existing bias for sworded males or whether populations differ in a pre-existing female preference for sworded males, we tested P. latipinna females from a Texas population for a latent preference for sworded males. We tested in video playback experiments whether sailfin molly females P. latipinna have a latent preference for males with an artificial coloured plastic sword on TV monitors. Using video playbacks we first showed in a conditioning experiment that females perceived yellow plastic swords. Females preferred to associate with conspecific males to conspecific females on TV monitors. Females, however, did not exhibit a preference for males with a coloured sword over males with a transparent sword. Our result contradicts results of a previous study showing that sailfin molly females from a different population exhibited a preference for live males with an artificial sword. Pre-existing biases for novel male traits in females may differ between populations within a species. Thus, environmental factors may influence the development of pre-existing biases and might, therefore, drive the evolution of latent preferences in different populations differently.

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Analysis of Chromosome Number in Some Allium and Silene Wild Species with Ornamental Use

Notulae Botanicae Horti Agrobotanici Cluj-Napoca ◽

10.15835/nbha4119006 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 41 (1) ◽

pp. 294 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lucia DRAGHIA ◽

Elena Liliana CHELARIU ◽

Culiţă SÎRBU ◽

Maria BRÂNZÄ‚ ◽

Cristina SANDU MICULSCHI

Keyword(s):

Chromosome Number ◽

Natural Habitat ◽

The Black Sea ◽

Similar Data ◽

The South ◽

Allium Species ◽

South Eastern ◽

Different Populations ◽

Geographic Regions ◽

Two Populations

The present study analyses the number of somatic chromosomes in plant species with ornamental value, in Romanian indigenous flora, Allium (A. flavum L., A. saxatile Bieb.) and Silene (S. compacta Fischer., S. supina M.Bieb.). The biological material was identified and harvested in the South-Eastern part of Dobrogea (Tulcea and Constanţa counties), area in the South-Eastern part of Romania, situated between the Danube and the Black Sea. Individuals from two populations of Allium flavum and Allium saxatile, respectively from Tulcea county (Turcoaia town) and Constanţa county (from Cheile Dobrogei) were analyzed. In the case of Silene compacta and Silene supina, plants of one population in Tulcea county, Turcoaia town, were used. The aim of the analysis was the quantification and comparison of the somatic chromosomes of plants from the same species but different populations, as is the case of the two Allium species, but also to relate them to results from specialty literature, reported by others. The chromosome number was determined in the roots of the small plants that were obtained from seeds collected in their natural habitat. Except the case of Silene supina species, where only diploid forms were identified (2n=24), when in specific literature tetraploid forms are mentioned (2n=48), found in other areas, all other analyzed taxa register similar data to that reported in other geographic regions. Respectively, 2n= 16 in the case of Allium flavum and Allium saxatile and 2n= 24 in the case of Silene compacta.

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