Choosy males from the underground: male mating preferences in surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana) |
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Authors: | Martin Plath Uta Seggel Heike Burmeister Katja U Heubel Ingo Schlupp |
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Institution: | (1) Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Institute for Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany;(2) Department of Behavior, Biozentrum Grindel, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146 Hamburg, Germany;(3) Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 65, Helsinki, 00014, Finland;(4) Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK 73019, USA |
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Abstract: | Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana) inhabit a variety of surface habitats, but they also occur in a sulfur cave in southern Mexico. We examined male mate choice
relative to female body size in the cave population and in the most closely related surface-dwelling population from a nearby
river. Males from both populations were either light- or dark-reared and could choose between two differently sized females
either on the basis of visual cues in light or on the basis of solely nonvisual cues in darkness. Sexual preferences were
estimated from the degree of association. Cave molly males always showed a preference for the larger female, both in light
and in darkness. Among the surface males, only light-reared males showed a preference in the visual cues test, but not in
darkness. In a control experiment, we demonstrated that male association preferences directly translate into actual mating
preferences. Apparently, using visual cues for mate choice is the ancestral state in this system, and using nonvisual cues
has evolved as a novel trait in the cave population. We discuss the evolution of nonvisual male mate choice in the context
of changed environmental conditions, namely the absence of light, hypoxia, and toxic hydrogen sulfide in the cave. |
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