Abstract
Abstract High predation risk during development induces phenotypic changes in animals. However, little is known about how these plastic responses affect signalling and competitiveness during contests. Herein, we have studied the consequences of anti-predator plasticity during the intra-sexual competition of Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a cichlid fish with mutual mate choice. We staged contests between adult size-matched siblings of the same sex derived from different environments: one fish was regularly exposed to conspecific alarm cues since the larval stage (simulating predator presence), the other fish to control conditions. Rearing environment did not affect the winner of contests or total aggression within a fight. However, contest behaviour differed between treatments. The effects were especially pronounced in alarm cue-exposed fish that lost a contest: they generally displayed lower aggression than winners but also lower aggression than losers of the control treatment. Thus, perceived predator presence modulates intra-sexual competition behaviour by increasing the costs associated with fighting.
Highlights
Animal contests during intra-sexual competition are a central aspect of sexual selection (Earley & Hsu, 2013; McCullough et al, 2016)
We study the effect of a predatory developmental environment on fighting behaviour during intra-sexual competition
When fish that grew up in the presence of alarm cues won, they displayed tendentially more than their losing control opponents did (LRT, χ 2 = 2,771, p = 0.096) whereas the frequency of attacks was comparable between the contestants in a dyad (LRT, χ 2 = 2.119, p = 0.146)
Summary
Animal contests during intra-sexual competition are a central aspect of sexual selection (Earley & Hsu, 2013; McCullough et al, 2016). These contests often follow ritualized behavioural sequences whose underlying principles. The loser will stop displaying any aggressive behaviour, and instead show submissive behaviour and retreat so as to avoid further damage Such fight patterns have been observed in multiple species, for example in cichlids (Jakobsson et al, 1979; Mosler, 1985), in lizards (Rand & Rand, 1976; Bradbury & Vehrencamp, 2011) and in crickets (Hofmann & Schildberger, 2001). Contest behaviour has evolved in fluctuating natural environments, few studies have considered the effect of different developmental environments on contest behaviour later in life (Royle et al, 2005; Palaoro et al, 2017)
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