Male Poecilia Research Articles

Individual differences in spatial learning are correlated across tasks but not with stress response behaviour in guppies

Cognition is vital for carrying out behaviours required for survival and reproduction. Cognitive performance varies between species, but also between individuals within populations. While variation is a prerequisite for natural selection, selection does not act on traits in isolation. The extent to which cognitive traits covary with other aspects of phenotype (e.g. personality traits) may be important in shaping evolutionary dynamics. Here we adopted a multivariate approach to test spatial learning in male Poecilia reticulata and asked whether differences in cognitive performance are associated with (repeatable) differences in stress response behaviour. Functional links between cognitive traits and ‘stress coping style’ have been hypothesized. Furthermore, individual level studies of cognitive performance typically rely on multiple testing paradigms that may themselves be a stressor. There is a risk that variation in stress responsiveness is itself a cause of apparent, but artefactual variance in cognitive ability. Fish repeatedly experienced two spatial learning tasks (maze layouts) and an acute stress response test (open field trial). We found repeatable differences between individuals in performance within and across maze layouts. On average, performance improved with experience in the first maze, consistent with spatial learning, but not in the second. Individuals varied in the trajectory of mean performance with trial number in both mazes, suggesting they differ in ‘learning rate’. Acute stress response behaviour was repeatable but predicted neither average time to solve the maze nor learning rate. We found no support for between-individual correlation between acute stress response and cognitive performance. However, we highlight the possibility that cumulative, chronic stress effects may nevertheless cause declines in performance for some individuals (leading to lack of improvement in mean time to solve the second maze). If so, this may represent a pervasive but difficult challenge for our ability to robustly estimate learning rates in studies of animal cognition.

Behavioral and reproductive effects in Poecilia vivipara males from a tropical estuary affected by estrogenic contaminants

Contamination of aquatic habitats by endocrine disruptor chemicals is a major concern globally. This study evaluated histochemical, behavioral, and reproductive effects on adult male Poecilia vivipara sampled from Capibaribe River Estuarine System (CRES), compared to laboratory control males after breeding with virgin control females. CRES is contaminated by a mixture of estrogenic contaminants estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, 17α-Ethinylestradiol, bisphenol A and caffeine in concentrations averaging 13.9; 4.2; 19.5; 8.6; 27 and 23.2 ng L−1, respectively. Estrogenic risk in 17β-estradiol-equivalent-concentrations is above probable no effect concentrations. Males sampled from CRES indicated liver phosphoprotein induction, decreased number of contacts and copulation attempts when paired with control females, slower swimming speed and lower female impregnation success rates, compared to control males. A reduction of 62% in fecundity was observed in control females paired with field sampled males compared with control males. Our results highlight hazards posed to fish reproduction by estrogenic micropollutants.

Strategic exploitation of fluctuating asymmetry in male Endler's guppy courtship displays is modulated by social environment.

Lateral asymmetry in signalling traits enables males to strategically exploit their best side. In many animals, both body colouration and fluctuating asymmetry are signals of male attractiveness. We demonstrated experimentally that even sexually naïve male Poecilia wingei were able to identify their most attractive side (i.e. that with a higher proportion of carotenoid pigmentation) and use it preferentially during courtship. Notably, males retained their strategic signalling in a male-biased social environment, whereas they ceased to signal strategically in a female-biased environment. The degree of asymmetry in colouration did not affect overall courtship activity. Strategic lateralization in courtship displays was strongest and most repeatable in the male-biased social environment where males competed with rivals for matings. Individual asymmetry in colouration changed considerably over a period of 3 months. This suggests that colouration is a dynamic feature during adulthood and that males are capable of tracking and strategically exploiting their lateral asymmetry in accordance with their social environment.

Plasticity of the mate choice mind: courtship evokes choice‐like brain responses in females from a coercive mating system

Female mate choice is fundamental to sexual selection, and determining molecular underpinnings of female preference variation is important for understanding mating character evolution. Previously it was shown that whole-brain expression of a synaptic plasticity marker, neuroserpin, positively correlates with mating bias in the female choice poeciliid, Xiphophorus nigrensis, when exposed to conspecific courting males, whereas this relationship is reversed in Gambusia affinis, a mate coercive poeciliid with no courting males. Here we explore whether species-level differences in female behavioral and brain molecular responses represent 'canalized' or 'plastic' traits. We expose female G. affinis to conspecific males and females, as well as coercive and courting male Poecilia latipinna, for preference assays followed by whole-brain gene expression analyses of neuroserpin, egr-1 and early B. We find positive correlations between gene expression and female preference strength during exposure to courting heterospecific males, but a reversed pattern following exposure to coercive heterospecific males. This suggests that the neuromolecular processes associated with female preference behavior are plastic and responsive to different male phenotypes (courting or coercive) rather than a canalized response linked to mating system. Further, we propose that female behavioral plasticity may involve learning because female association patterns shifted with experience. Compared to younger females, we found larger, more experienced females spend less time near coercive males but associate more with males in the presence of courters. We thus suggest a conserved learning-based neuromolecular process underlying the diversity of female mate preference across the mate choice and coercion-driven mating systems.

Toxicity Measurement of Imidazolium Ionic Liquids Using Acute Toxicity Test

Ionic liquids (ILs) can be considered as environmentally friendly solvent, but they have the ability to dissolve in water and accumulate in the environment. Therefore, the toxicity of ILs should be assessed in order to prevent their harm to human and environment. This study was carried out to investigate the toxicity of ILs towards marine and freshwater fish. Three ILs have been tested, which are 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate and 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide toward marine fish and 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide toward freshwater fish. Two different marine fish were employed, which are: Cephalopholis cruentata (grouper) and Lates calcarifer (barramundi). For freshwater fish, male Poecilia reticulate (guppy) was employed. The toxicity tests were conducted according to OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) guideline 203. For 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulphate [BMIM][HSO4], the median lethal concentration (LC50) estimated toward Cephalopholis cruentatato be 199.98mg.L-1. For 1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide [BMIM][TFSI], LC50 estimated toward LatesCalcariferto be 374.11mg.L-1. While, for 1-Hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis (trifluoromethylsulfonyl) imide, [HMIM][NTf2], LC50 estimated toward Poecilia Reticulate to be 207.49mg.L-1. All the LC50 values obtained can be identified as practically nontoxic liquids based on Acute Toxicity Rating Scale by Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS). As to our knowledge, there is no previous reported toxicity studies of [BMIM][HSO4] and [BMIM][TFSI] on marine fish and [HMIM] [NTf2] on freshwater fish. Thus, this paper can be used as a benchmark for researchers who are dealing with these three ILs.

A novel, sexually selected trait in poeciliid fishes: female preference for mustache-like, rostral filaments in male Poecilia sphenops

Female choice can often drive the elaboration of male traits, leading to the evolution of secondary sexual traits. In the Mexican molly, Poecilia sphenops (Poeciliidae), some males exhibit a mustache-like structure on the upper maxilla, the function of which has not been previously recognized. The mustache consists of epidermal outgrowths at the edge of the scales that appear to have no sensory function. Trait expression varies within as well as among populations of P. sphenops, but is not linked to male body size polymorphism. In mate choice experiments, female P. sphenops exhibited a visual mating preference for males with mustaches, suggesting that the trait may be sexually selected. Since the mating behavior of P. sphenops involves contact of the male’s snout and the female genital region prior to copulation, we hypothesize that the mustache may also convey tactile signals to the female.

Competência de peixes como predadores de larvas de Aedes aegypti, em condições de laboratório

To evaluate the efficacy of fish as predators of the Aedes aegypti larvae in laboratory conditions. The male and female of five different fish were included in the experiment. The tests to measure their consumption ability lasted five weeks for each species. Each trial involved four test tanks and four control tanks. Two control tanks contained just one fish, and the other two just larvae. Each of the test tanks contained one fish and the larvae. During the first week, 100 larvae were placed in the tank, with an additional 100 added every week, up to a maximum daily amount of 500 larvae. The length and weight of the fish were measured at the beginning and end of every week. A total of 369,000 larvae were used. The Trichogaster trichopteros was the only species in which both sexes ate 100% of the available larvae. The Betta splendens failed to eat only 15 larvae. The male Poecilia reticulate showed a strong capacity for larvae eating, compared with the female of the same species. In terms of weight and size, the Betta splendens proved capable of eating 523 larvae per gram of weight per day. The female and male Trichogaster trichopteros and Astyanax fasciatus, and the female Betta splendens and Poecilia sphenops proved to be the most effective predators of the Aedes aegypti larvae. And although the male Poecilia sphenops and female Poecilia reticulata were less effective, they were also capable of eradicating the total number of Aedes aegypti larvae that could appear over 24 hours in a breeding site under natural conditions. The male Poecilia reticulata, however, proved incapable of doing so.

Quantitative matrix comparisons in ecological and evolutionary investigations

The pair-wise statistical comparison of data matrices is a methodological problem which must be dealt with in a variety of disciplines. In this report we demonstrate an innovative approach using the Mantel test (a nonparametric, multivariate evaluation of test matrices) to quantitatively contrast observed color polymorphisms in male Poecilia reticulata collected from 41 samples sites in Trinidad against four evolutionary models: (1) response to an environmental gradient, (2) localized environmental patches, (3) isolation by distance, and (4) historical factors. To represent these models we derived pair-wise distances between study sites for the following data: (1) altitude, (2) density of predators, and (3) kilometric distances. To represent model four above, we generated an imposed asymptotic distance matrix for geographically contiguous sites, and a Gabriel connectivity matrix for stream-connected sites (e.g. those within the same watershed). We found that differences in color polymorphisms covary significantly with differences in predator densities and in altitudes, suggesting that male color polymorphisms track clinally distributed communities of visually hunting predators. These data substantiate previously published results from field and laboratory experiments. The utility of the Mantel procedure is that it permits a quantitative evaluation of ecological and evolutionary problems which have previously been difficult to approach statistically.

Temperature dependence of courtship in male guppies, Poecilia reticulata Peters (Pisces, Cyprinidae)

In poikilothermal animals, modes of behaviour as well as other physiological functions are dependent on the environmental temperature. Individual adaptation can decrease or cancel out this dependency. In experiments involving abrupt and slow temperature changes, we were able to prove temperature compensations and stress effects in the courting behaviour of the male Poecilia reticulata.

Responses of pituitary cells of Poecilia to changes in growth induced by thryroxine and thiourea

The cytology of the TSH and STH cells of the pituitary of male Poecilia reticulata is described. Thyroxine treatments increased growth but had no effect on the staining of the TSH or STH cells. Thiourea inhibited growth and resulted in degranulation of the TSH cells and an accumulation of stainable material in the STH cells. Animals treated with both thyroxine and thiourea showed normal growth; they had almost as much material in the TSH cells as control animals and the STH cells were intermediate in appearance between control or thyroxine-treated animals and thiourea-treated animals. The probability of an interaction between thyroxine and STH on fish growth and the possible involvement of thyroxine in STH release is discussed.