Past Event! Note: this event has already taken place.
Dr Gita Kolluru
April 24, 2015 at 3:30 PM to 4:30 PM
| Location: | 4440Q Carleton Technology and Training Centre |
| Cost: | Free |
| Audience: | Anyone |
| Key Contact: | Andrew Simons |
| Contact Email: | andrew.simons@carleton.ca |
| Contact Phone: | 613-520-2600 ext 3869 |
Factors influencing mating behavior in poeciliid fishes
Gita Kolluru, PhD
Associate Professor
California Polytechnic State University
Abstract: Males of some poeciliid shes court females prior to copulation, whereas others perform sneak copulations only. Based on prior studies, the following predictions emerge: 1) in courting species, males should reduce conspicuous behavior including courtship, under risky conditions; 2) males in courting species should possess relatively short gonopodia to minimize costs and because selection favoring longer gonopodia is reduced; 3) specis
with courtship should be sexually dichromatic, and the coloration should be sexually selected. Our work focuses on the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), an extremely well studied, sexually dichromatic, courting species with short gonopodia, and Girardinus metallicus, a species about which little is known. We tested prediction 1) by examining guppy behavior in low and high light conditions. Courtship displays were reduced under risky high light conditions, but the equally conspicuous aggressive behavior was not in uenced. Females were less responsive to courtship under high light, suggesting that behavioral exibility is driven by the reactions of females, such that low light conditions represent high payo for males, rather than just low risk. We tested predictions 2) and 3)
by examining a morph of G. metallicus that had not been previously studied. We found that males possess long gonopodia, but are sexually dichromatic and exhibit courtship display, contradicting prediction 2). This may be because the gonopodium itself is part of the display in this morph. Consistent with prediction 3), the prominent ventral black coloration in these males appears to be sexually selected via male-male competition. Previous studies of poeciliids have a orded detailed information about a few species such as the guppy; however, understanding the breadth of diversity and phylogenetic patterns of trait evolution in poeciliids requires studies of lesser-known species.