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Trophic niche divergence among colour morphs that exhibit alternative mating tactics.

ABSTRACT: Discrete colour morphs associated with alternative mating tactics are assumed to be ecologically equivalent. Yet suites of behaviours linked with reproduction can also favour habitat segregation and exploitation of different prey among morphs. By contrast, trophic polymorphisms are usually attributed to morphs exhibiting habitat or prey selectivity. An alternative hypothesis is that habitat variation generates a trophic polymorphism driven by differences in morph reproductive behaviour, the spatial dispersion of morphs in a landscape and their exposure to different prey types. In this scenario, morphs are allowed to vary in habitat or diet selectivity (e.g. specialist or generalist) as they do in behaviour, rather than being assumed to exhibit equivalent levels of ecological specialization. We test this hypothesis using male Urosaurus ornatus lizards that exhibit a discrete dewlap colour polymorphism that reflects alternative mating tactics. We found blue morphs specialize on prey at higher trophic levels, yellow males display plasticity in trophic and morphological attributes and orange males are trophic generalists. Our results also demonstrate that morph diet differences are enhanced in resource-limited habitats. We conclude that discrete behavioural morphs may also diverge in morphology and trophic niche. Jointly, these processes may enhance speciation rates in colour polymorphic taxa.

SUBMITTER: Lattanzio MS

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4852626 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Trophic niche divergence among colour morphs that exhibit alternative mating tactics.

Lattanzio Matthew S MS Miles Donald B DB

Royal Society open science 20160413 4

Discrete colour morphs associated with alternative mating tactics are assumed to be ecologically equivalent. Yet suites of behaviours linked with reproduction can also favour habitat segregation and exploitation of different prey among morphs. By contrast, trophic polymorphisms are usually attributed to morphs exhibiting habitat or prey selectivity. An alternative hypothesis is that habitat variation generates a trophic polymorphism driven by differences in morph reproductive behaviour, the spat ...[more]

PMID: 27152203

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Project description:BackgroundIntense competition for access to females can lead to males exploiting different components of sexual selection, and result in the evolution of alternative mating strategies (AMSs). Males of Poecilia parae, a colour polymorphic fish, exhibit five distinct phenotypes: drab-coloured (immaculata), striped (parae), structural-coloured (blue) and carotenoid-based red and yellow morphs. Previous work indicates that immaculata males employ a sneaker strategy, whereas the red and yellow morphs exploit female preferences for carotenoid-based colours. Mating strategies favouring the maintenance of the other morphs remain to be determined. Here, we report the role of agonistic male-male interactions in influencing female mating preferences and male mating success, and in facilitating the evolution of AMSs.ResultsOur study reveals variation in aggressiveness among P. parae morphs during indirect and direct interactions with sexually receptive females. Two morphs, parae and yellow, use aggression to enhance their mating success (i.e., number of copulations) by 1) directly monopolizing access to females, and 2) modifying female preferences after winning agonistic encounters. Conversely, we found that the success of the drab-coloured immaculata morph, which specializes in a sneak copulation strategy, relies in its ability to circumvent both male aggression and female choice when facing all but yellow males.ConclusionsStrong directional selection is expected to deplete genetic variation, yet many species show striking genetically-based polymorphisms. Most studies evoke frequency dependent selection to explain the persistence of such variation. Consistent with a growing body of evidence, our findings suggest that a complex form of balancing selection may alternatively explain the evolution and maintenance of AMSs in a colour polymorphic fish. In particular, this study demonstrates that intrasexual competition results in phenotypically distinct males exhibiting clear differences in their levels of aggression to exclude potential sexual rivals. By being dominant, the more aggressive males are able to circumvent female mating preferences for attractive males, whereas another male type incorporates subordinate behaviours that allow them to circumvent male aggression and female mating preferences. Together, these and previous results indicate that exploiting different aspects of social interactions may allow males to evolve distinct mating strategies and thus the long term maintenance of polymorphisms within populations.

Project description:Ecological theory attempts to predict how impacts for native species arise from biological invasions. A fundamental question centres on the feeding interactions of invasive and native species: whether invasion will result in increased interspecific competition, which would result in negative consequences for the competing species, or trophic niche divergence, which would facilitate the invader's integration into the community and their coexistence with native species. Here, the feeding interactions of a highly invasive fish, topmouth gudgeon Pseudorasbora parva, with three native and functionally similar fishes were studied to determine whether patterns of either niche overlap or divergence detected in mesocosm experiments were apparent between the species at larger spatial scales. Using stable isotope analysis, their feeding relationships were assessed initially in the mesocosms (1000 L) and then in small ponds (<400 m(2) ) and large ponds (>600 m(2) ). In the mesocosms, a consistent pattern of trophic niche divergence was evident between the sympatric fishes, with niches shifting further apart in isotopic space than suggested in allopatry, revealing that sharing of food resources was limited. Sympatric P. parva also had a smaller niche than their allopatric populations. In eight small ponds where P. parva had coexisted for several years with at least one of the fish species used in the mesocosms, strong patterns of niche differentiation were also apparent, with P. parva always at a lower trophic position than the other fishes, as also occurred in the mesocosms. Where these fishes were sympatric within more complex fish communities in the large ponds, similar patterns were also apparent, with strong evidence of trophic niche differentiation. Aspects of the ecological impacts of P. parva invasion for native communities in larger ponds were consistent with those in the mesocosm experiments. Their invasion resulted in divergence in trophic niches, partly due to their reduced niche widths when in sympatry with other species, facilitating their coexistence in invaded ecosystems. Our study highlights the utility of controlled mesocosm studies for predicting the trophic relationships that can develop from introductions of non-native species into more complex ecosystems and at larger spatial scales.

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Trophic niche divergence among colour morphs that exhibit alternative mating tactics.

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Trophic niche divergence among colour morphs that exhibit alternative mating tactics.

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