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Heterospecific interactions and the proliferation of sexually dimorphic traits.

ABSTRACT: Sexual selection is expected to promote speciation by fostering the evolution of sexual traits that minimize reproductive interactions among existing or incipient species. In species that compete for access to, or attention of, females, sexual selection fosters more elaborate traits in males compared to females. If these traits also minimize reproductive interactions with heterospecifics, then species with enhanced risk of interactions between species might display greater numbers of these sexual dimorphic characters. We tested this prediction in eight families of North American birds. In particular, we evaluated whether the number of sexually dimorphic traits was positively associated with species richness at a given site or with degree of sympatry with congeners. We found no strong evidence of enhanced sexual dimorphism with increasing confamilial species richness at a given site. We also found no overall relationship between the number of sexually dimorphic traits and overlap with congeners across these eight families. However, we found patterns consistent with our prediction within Anatidae (ducks, geese and swans) and, to a lesser degree, Parulidae (New World warblers). Our results suggest that sexually selected plumage traits in these groups potentially play a role in reproductive isolation.

SUBMITTER: Pfennig KS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3955385 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Heterospecific interactions and the proliferation of sexually dimorphic traits.

Pfennig Karin S KS Hurlbert Allen H AH

Current zoology 20120201 3

Sexual selection is expected to promote speciation by fostering the evolution of sexual traits that minimize reproductive interactions among existing or incipient species. In species that compete for access to, or attention of, females, sexual selection fosters more elaborate traits in males compared to females. If these traits also minimize reproductive interactions with heterospecifics, then species with enhanced risk of interactions between species might display greater numbers of these sexua ...[more]

PMID: 24639684

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Project description:BackgroundPelvic brooding is a form of uni-parental care, and likely evolved in parallel in two lineages of Sulawesi ricefishes. Contrary to all other ricefishes, females of pelvic brooding species do not deposit eggs at a substrate (transfer brooding), but carry them until the fry hatches. We assume that modifications reducing the costs of egg carrying are beneficial for pelvic brooding females, but likely disadvantageous in conspecific males, which might be resolved by the evolution of sexual dimorphism via sexual antagonistic selection. Thus we hypothesize that the evolution of pelvic brooding gave rise to female-specific skeletal adaptations that are shared by both pelvic brooding lineages, but are absent in conspecific males and transfer brooding species. To tackle this, we combine 3D-imaging and morphometrics to analyze skeletal adaptations to pelvic brooding.ResultsThe morphology of skeletal traits correlated with sex and brooding strategy across seven ricefish species. Pelvic brooding females have short ribs caudal of the pelvic girdle forming a ventral concavity and clearly elongated and thickened pelvic fins compared to both sexes of transfer brooding species. The ventral concavity limits the body cavity volume in female pelvic brooders. Thus body volumes are smaller compared to males in pelvic brooding species, a pattern sharply contrasted by transfer brooding species.ConclusionsWe showed in a comparative framework that highly similar, sexually dimorphic traits evolved in parallel in both lineages of pelvic brooding ricefish species. Key traits, present in all pelvic brooding females, were absent or much less pronounced in conspecific males and both sexes of transfer brooding species, indicating that they are non-beneficial or even maladaptive for ricefishes not providing extended care. We assume that the combination of ventral concavity and robust, elongated fins reduces drag of brooding females and provides protection and stability to the egg cluster. Thus ricefishes are one of the rare examples where environmental factors rather than sexual selection shaped the evolution of sexually dimorphic skeletal adaptations.

Dataset Information

Heterospecific interactions and the proliferation of sexually dimorphic traits.

Publications

Heterospecific interactions and the proliferation of sexually dimorphic traits.

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