Kin and population recognition in sympatric Lake Constance perch (Perca fluviatilis L.): can assortative shoaling drive population divergence? |
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Authors: | Jasminca Behrmann-Godel Gabriele Gerlach Reiner Eckmann |
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Institution: | (1) Limnological Institute, University of Konstanz, 78457 Konstanz, Germany;(2) Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, MA 02543-1015, USA |
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Abstract: | Prior studies have shown that perch (Perca fluviatilis L.) of Lake Constance belong to two genetically different but sympatric populations and that local aggregations of juveniles
and adults contain closely related kin. In this study, we analysed the genetic structure of pelagic perch larvae to investigate
if kin-structured shoals already exist during early ontogenetic development or might be the result of homing to natal sites.
Analysis of the gene frequencies at five microsatellite loci revealed that three out of five pelagic aggregations of larvae
showed significant accumulation of kin. To investigate possible mechanisms of shoal formation, we tested if perch use olfactory
cues to recognize their kin. Choice tests in a fluviarium showed preference for odours of unfamiliar kin vs unfamiliar non-kin.
Additionally, we showed that perch could differentiate between the odours of the two sympatric populations and significantly
preferred unfamiliar and unrelated conspecifics of their own over the foreign population. Our results present a behavioural
mechanism that can lead to the observed formation of kin-structured shoals in perch. We further discuss if the ability to
discriminate between their own and a foreign population can result in assortative mating within populations and thus form
the basis of “socially mediated speciation” in perch. |
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Keywords: | Kin recognition Population recognition Kin structure Microsatellites Relatedness |
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