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Large‐scale infrastructure projects commonly have large effects on the environment. The planned construction of the Nicaragua Canal will irreversibly alter the aquatic environment of Nicaragua in many ways. Two distinct drainage basins (San Juan and Punta Gorda) will be connected and numerous ecosystems will be altered. Considering the project's far‐reaching environmental effects, too few studies on biodiversity have been performed to date. This limits provision of robust environmental impact assessments. We explored the geographic distribution of taxonomic and genetic diversity of freshwater fish species (Poecilia spp., Amatitlania siquia, Hypsophrys nematopus, Brycon guatemalensis, and Roeboides bouchellei) across the Nicaragua Canal zone. We collected population samples in affected areas (San Juan, Punta Gorda, and Escondido drainage basins), investigated species composition of 2 drainage basins and performed genetic analyses (genetic diversity, analysis of molecular variance) based on mitochondrial cytb. Freshwater fish faunas differed substantially between drainage basins (Jaccard similarity = 0.33). Most populations from distinct drainage basins were genetically differentiated. Removing the geographic barrier between these basins will promote biotic homogenization and the loss of unique genetic diversity. We found species in areas where they were not known to exist, including an undescribed, highly distinct clade of live bearing fish (Poecilia). Our results indicate that the Nicaragua Canal likely will have strong impacts on Nicaragua's freshwater biodiversity. However, knowledge about the extent of these impacts is lacking, which highlights the need for more thorough investigations before the environment is altered irreversibly. 相似文献
2.
Male-biased predation of a cave fish by a giant water bug 总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1
Male-biased predation has been described from several epigean species, and in many cases, intrinsic differences between the sexes (such as male ornaments) have been suggested as an explanation. Here we report on male-biased predation of a cave fish (Poecilia mexicana) by an aquatic insect (Belostoma sp.) in a Mexican sulfur cave. P. mexicana use aquatic surface respiration (ASR) to survive in their sulfidic, hypoxic habitat. We found that males typically exhibit more ASR activity than females, which leads to increased exposure to the sit-and-wait predator that catches fish near the water surface. Our finding is novel, because male vulnerability to predation is not directly related to male traits involved in courtship, but rather due to other sexual differences in behavior and ultimately, oxygen demands. 相似文献
3.
Rüdiger Riesch Virginia Duwe Nina Herrmann Lisa Padur Annemarie Ramm Kristin Scharnweber Matthias Schulte Tanja Schulz-Mirbach Madlen Ziege Martin Plath 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2009,63(10):1515-1526
One potential trade-off that bold individuals face is between increased predation risks and gains in resources. Individuals
experiencing high predation and hungry individuals (or individuals with low body condition) are predicted to show increased
boldness. We examined one behavioral trait previously reported to be associated with boldness (the time individual fish needed
to emerge from shelter) in various populations of mollies (Poecilia spp.). Our study system included several southern Mexican surface streams with high piscine predation and high food availability,
sulfidic surface streams with high avian predation, in which the inhabiting fish show reduced body condition, and a sulfidic
cave, where predation and body condition are low. Our comparison revealed very short times to emerge from the start box in
populations from non-sulfidic streams. In sulfidic habitats (whether surface or cave), it took individual Poecilia mexicana considerably longer to emerge from the start box, and the same difference was also found in an independent comparison between
P. mexicana and the closely related, highly sulfide-adapted Poecilia sulphuraria. Fish reared under common garden conditions (in the absence of predators and hydrogen sulfide) showed intermediate boldness
scores to the extremes observed in the field. Our data thus indicate that (a) boldness is shaped by environmental conditions/experiential
effects, but is not heritable, (b) predation affects boldness in the predicted direction, but (c) low body condition leads
to reduced boldness. Extremophile Poecilia spp. spend most of their time surfacing to survive under sulfidic and hypoxic conditions, which exposes them to increased
levels of predations, but the fish forage on the bottom. Hence, in this system, increased boldness does not increase foraging
success. We argue that energy limitation favors reducing energetically costly behaviors, and exploring novel environments
may be just one of them. 相似文献
4.
Chad C. Smith 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2007,61(9):1349-1358
Operational sex ratio (the ratio of sexually active males to fertilizable females) has a major influence on male competition
for mates and male–female interactions. The contributions of male and female density per se to mating system dynamics, however,
are rarely examined, and the fitness consequences are often inferred rather than quantified. Male mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) compete aggressively and frequently harass females for copulations, a behavior thought to reduce female fitness. Female
fitness can also be reduced by increases in female density, which may affect food availability, cannibalism rates, and chemical
interactions between females. I manipulated male and female densities of G. affinis to measure their effects on male–male aggression, male harassment toward females, and female fitness. I found that males
chased rivals more often and attempted fewer copulations when female density decreased, but surprisingly male density had
no significant effect on the frequency of these male behaviors. In contrast, males’ agonistic displays toward other males
increased with male density, but display behavior was unaffected by female density. These results suggest that male and female
density do not always contribute equally or at all to the patterns of behavior we observe. Female fitness declined as female
density increased, the opposite pattern expected if male harassment is costly to females. This suggests that a strong, negative
effect of female density overwhelmed any potential costs of male harassment. Sources of female density dependence and the
consequences of changes in male and female density to patterns of male behavior are discussed. 相似文献
5.
Differential interests between the sexes regarding the number of copulations can result in sexual harassment. Hence, females
may have less time available for foraging. Male sexual harassment often leads to fitness reduction in females. We used the
mating complex of the bisexual fish Poecilia mexicana and the co-occurring all-female Poecilia formosa to study sexual harassment and its incurred cost on female feeding efficiency. P. formosa is a sperm-dependent parthenogen that requires mating with host males to induce embryogenesis, but the male genes are not
used. We therefore predicted P. mexicana males to prefer conspecific females. Hence, costs of male sexual harassment should not occur in unisexuals. While P. formosa are at a disadvantage compared to P. mexicana females due to male mate choice (leading to sperm limitation), this could be traded-off by suffering less from sexual harassment.
In our experiment, we found males to direct significantly more pre-copulatory mating behaviour towards conspecific females,
whereas actual mating attempts did not differ between species. Contrary to our prediction, both types of females started feeding
later and spent less time feeding in the presence of a male partner compared to the time spent feeding with another female,
suggesting that females of both species suffer from male harassment. The focal females' feeding time declined with increasing
body size of the female competitor, and the same pattern was found when a male was present. We discuss that—besides sexual
harassment—other factors such as food competition and female mate choice may affect female feeding efficiency. 相似文献
6.
Variation in melanin patterns among individuals, populations, and species is common in fishes of the genus Xiphophorus. In the variable platyfish, Xiphophorus variatus, variation in metabolic rate is associated with melanin coloration and the color morphs appear to be physiological specialists adapted to particular environmental conditions. This study investigates whether a melanin polymorphism in the green swordtail, Xiphophorus helleri, is likewise associated with variation in metabolic rate. We measured metabolic rate as oxygen consumption rate of both adult male and juvenile X. helleri in static respirometers. The oxygen consumption rate does not differ significantly between the spotted and nonspotted morphs in either group, suggesting that-unlike in X. variatus-selection on metabolic rate is not involved in maintaining the polymorphism in X. helleri. We suggest that explanations need to be sought for the evolution of melanophore diversity in Xiphophorus that are pertinent to each melanin pattern polymorphism or groups of similar polymorphisms. 相似文献
7.
Rüdiger Riesch Ingo Schlupp Michael Tobler Martin Plath 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2006,60(6):794-802
Cave animals are widely recognised as model organisms to study regressive evolutionary processes like the reduction of eyes. In this paper, we report on the regressive evolution of species discrimination in the cave molly, Poecilia mexicana, which, unlike other cave fishes, still has functional eyes. This allowed us to examine the response to both visual and non-visual cues involved in species discrimination. When surface-dwelling females were given a chance to associate with either a conspecific or a swordtail (Xiphophorus hellerii) female, they strongly preferred the conspecific female both when multiple cues and when solely visual cues were available to the female. No association preference was observed when only non-visual cues were provided. In contrast, cave-dwelling females showed no preference under all testing conditions, suggesting that species recognition mechanisms have been reduced. We discuss the role of species discrimination in relation to habitat differences. 相似文献
8.
No evidence for sperm priming responses under varying sperm competition risk or intensity in guppies
Jonathan P. Evans 《Die Naturwissenschaften》2009,96(7):771-779
Sperm competition theory predicts that males should tailor their investment in ejaculates according to the number of rival
males competing to fertilize a female’s eggs. Research spanning several taxa supports this prediction by showing that males
are often sensitive to the level of sperm competition and adjust their investment in sperm numbers accordingly. More recent
work has revealed that males may also tailor the quality of sperm according to the number of males competing for fertilization.
Here I test for both effects in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in an experiment that simultaneously evaluates the risk and intensity models of sperm competition. The experiment determined
whether male guppies adjust the number (stripped ejaculate size) and quality (sperm velocity and viability) of sperm that
are primed over a 3-day period according to experimental changes in the perceived level of sperm competition. A total of 136
focal males were initially stripped of all retrievable sperm and assayed for these sperm traits before being allocated at
random to one of four treatments simulating different levels of sperm competition risk and intensity. During the 3-day treatment
phase, focal males had visual and olfactory access to a sexually receptive (initially virgin) female maintained with different
numbers of stimulus males to simulate variation in the risk and intensity of sperm competition. Following this, males were
assayed again for the sperm traits. Contrary to predictions, there was no significant change in any of the measured variables
among treatments, although qualitatively the patterns for sperm velocity and viability did conform to expectation. The lack
of any trend for the number of sperm primed was unequivocal and future work examining the effects of sperm competition on
sperm production should focus on whether males differentially allocate sperm numbers among matings that differ in the level
of sperm competition. 相似文献
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