Dataset Information

Why pair? Evidence of aggregative mating in a socially monogamous marine fish (Siganus doliatus, Siganidae).

ABSTRACT: Many species live in stable pairs, usually to breed and raise offspring together, but this cannot be assumed. Establishing whether pairing is based on mating, or an alternative cooperative advantage, can be difficult, especially where species show no obvious sexual dimorphism and where the act of reproduction itself is difficult to observe. In the tropical marine fishes known as rabbitfish (Siganidae), half of extant species live in socially monogamous, territorial pairs. It has been assumed that partnerships are for mating, but the reproductive mode of pairing rabbitfish is currently unconfirmed. Using passive acoustic telemetry to track movements of fishes belonging to one such species (Siganus doliatus), we provide the first evidence that paired adult fish undertake highly synchronized migrations with multiple conspecifics on a monthly cycle. All tagged individuals migrated along the same route in three consecutive months and were absent from home territories for 2-3 days just after the new moon. The timing and directionality of migrations suggest that S. doliatus may form spawning aggregations, offering the potential for exposure to multiple reproductive partners. The finding raises fundamental questions about the basis of pairing, mate choice and partnership longevity in this family.

SUBMITTER: Fox RJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4593683 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Why pair? Evidence of aggregative mating in a socially monogamous marine fish (Siganus doliatus, Siganidae).

Fox Rebecca J RJ Bellwood David R DR Jennions Michael D MD

Royal Society open science 20150916 9

Many species live in stable pairs, usually to breed and raise offspring together, but this cannot be assumed. Establishing whether pairing is based on mating, or an alternative cooperative advantage, can be difficult, especially where species show no obvious sexual dimorphism and where the act of reproduction itself is difficult to observe. In the tropical marine fishes known as rabbitfish (Siganidae), half of extant species live in socially monogamous, territorial pairs. It has been assumed tha ...[more]

PMID: 26473049

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Project description:Pair-bonded primates have uniquely enduring relationships and partners engage in a suite of behaviors to maintain these close bonds. In titi monkeys, pair bond formation has been extensively studied, but changes across relationship tenure remain unstudied. We evaluated differences in behavioral indicators of pair bonding in newly formed (~6 months paired, n = 9) compared to well-established pairs (average 3 years paired, n = 8) of titi monkeys (Callicebus cupreus) as well as sex differences within the pairs. We hypothesized that overall males would contribute more to maintenance than females, but that the pattern of maintenance behaviors would differ between newly formed and well-established pairs. Each titi monkey (N = 34) participated in a partner preference test (PPT), where the subject was placed in a middle test cage with grated windows separating the subject from the partner on one side and an opposite-sex stranger on the other side. During this 150-min behavioral test, we quantified four key behaviors: time in proximity to the partner or stranger as well as aggressive displays toward the partner or stranger. Overall, we found different behavioral profiles representing newly formed and well-established pair-bond relationships in titi monkeys and male-biased relationship maintenance. Males spent ∼40% of their time in the PPT maintaining proximity to the female partner, regardless of relationship tenure. Males from well-established bonds spent less time (14%) near the female stranger compared to males from newly formed bonds (21%) at the trend level. In contrast, females from well-established bonds spent less (23%) time near the male partner in the PPT compared to females from newly formed bonds (47%). Aggressive displays were more frequent in newly formed bonds compared to well-established bonds, especially for females. Scan sampling for homecage affiliation showed that newly formed pairs were more likely to be found tail twining than well-established pairs.

Project description:When females copulate with multiple males, pre- and post-copulatory sexual selection may interact synergistically or in opposition. Studying this interaction in wild populations is complex and potentially biased, because copulation and fertilization success are often inferred from offspring parentage rather than being directly measured. Here, I simulated 15 species of socially monogamous birds with varying levels of extra-pair paternity, where I could independently cause a male secondary sexual trait to improve copulation success, and a sperm trait to improve fertilization success. By varying the degree of correlation between the male and sperm traits, I show that several common statistical approaches, including univariate selection gradients and paired t-tests comparing extra-pair males to the within-pair males they cuckolded, can give highly biased results for sperm traits. These tests should therefore be avoided for sperm traits in socially monogamous species with extra-pair paternity, unless the sperm trait is known to be uncorrelated with male trait(s) impacting copulation success. In contrast, multivariate selection analysis and a regression of the proportion of extra-pair brood(s) sired on the sperm trait of the extra-pair male (including only broods where the male sired ≥1 extra-pair offspring) were unbiased, and appear likely to be unbiased under a broad range of conditions for this mating system. In addition, I investigated whether the occurrence of pre-copulatory selection impacted the strength of post-copulatory selection, and vice versa. I found no evidence of an interaction under the conditions simulated, where the male trait impacted only copulation success and the sperm trait impacted only fertilization success. Instead, direct selection on each trait was independent of whether the other trait was under selection. Although pre- and post-copulatory selection strength was independent, selection on the two traits was positively correlated across species because selection on both traits increased with the frequency of extra-pair copulations in these socially monogamous species.

Dataset Information

Why pair? Evidence of aggregative mating in a socially monogamous marine fish (Siganus doliatus, Siganidae).

Publications

Why pair? Evidence of aggregative mating in a socially monogamous marine fish (Siganus doliatus, Siganidae).

Similar Datasets

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