Abstract

Sexual harassment is common among poeciliid fish. In some fishes, males show a high frequency of sneak copulation; such sexual activity is costly to the females in terms of foraging efficiency. In mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki), when males are present, the distance between females tends to decrease, and this behavior has been interpreted as an adaptive strategy to dilute the costs of male sexual activity. In this study, the tendency to reduce distance in the presence of a male has been investigated in females of six poeciliid species (Girardinus metallicus, Girardinus falcatus, G. holbrooki, Poecilia reticulata, Xiphophorus hellerii, and Xiphophorus mayae) that exhibit different male mating strategies and different levels of sexual activity. Results revealed large interspecific differences in the pattern of female aggregation. Females of species with a high frequency of sneak copulations tended to reduce their social distance in the presence of a male. By contrast, species that rely mainly on courtship showed little or no variation in social distance. The proportion of sneak copulations predicts the degree of variation in female social response, but the amount of total sexual activity does not, suggesting that the change in females' social distance when a male is present may indeed serve to reduce the costs of male sexual harassment.

Highlights

  • Sexual conflicts arise when a mating strategy that maximizes the reproductive success of one sex is detrimental to the other sex (Parker, 1979)

  • G. falcatus and P. reticulata (Tacarigua River population) came from stocks maintained in our laboratory and were housed in groups of the same size as G. holbrooki

  • Sexual activity ranges from a minimum of 8.25 sexual acts per male in X. mayae to 65.22 sexual acts per male in G. metallicus

Read more

Summary

Introduction

Sexual conflicts arise when a mating strategy that maximizes the reproductive success of one sex is detrimental to the other sex (Parker, 1979). Can store sperm for months, and only a few copulations ensure the fertilization of all their eggs (Constantz, 1984). Such intense sexual activity by the males is costly to the females in terms of conspicuousness to predators, foraging efficiency, and offspring fitness (Pocklington and Dill, 1995; Pilastro et al, 2003; Dadda et al, 2005; Gasparini et al, 2012)

Methods
Results
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call