Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Reduction of the association preference for conspecifics in cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies, Poecilia mexicana

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allan JR, Pitcher TJ (1986) Species segregation during predator evasion in cyprinid fish shoals. Freshw Biol 16:653–659

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barnard CJ, Thompson DBA, Stephens H (1982) Time budgets, feeding efficiency and flock dynamics in mixed species flocks of lapwings, golden plovers and gulls. Behaviour 80:44–69

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt de Perera T (2004a) Spatial parameters encoded in the spatial map of the blind Mexican cave fish, Astyanax fasciatus. Anim Behav 68:291–295

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burt de Perera T (2004b) Fish can encode order in their spatial map. Proc R Soc Lond B 271:2131–2134

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisazza A, Marin G (1995) Sexual selection and sexual size dimorphism in the eastern mosquitofish Gambusia holbrooki (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Ethol Ecol Evol 7:169–183

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown C, Warburton K (1997) Predator recognition and anti-predator responses in the rainbowfish Melanotaenia eachamensis. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 41:61–68

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Couldridge VCK, Alexander GJ (2002) Color patterns and species recognition in four closely related species of Lake Malawi cichlid. Behav Ecol 13(1):59–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crapon de Caprona M-D, Ryan MJ (1990) Conspecific mate recognition in swordtails, Xiphophorus nigrensis and X. pygmaeus: olfactory and visual cues. Anim Behav 29:290–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Godin J-GJ (1986) Antipredator function of shoaling in teleost fishes: a selective review. Nat Can 113:241–250

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon MS, Rosen DE (1962) A cavernicolous form of the Poeciliid fish Poecilia sphenops from Tabasco, Mexico. Copeia 1962:360–368

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greig-Smith PW (1981) The role of alarm responses in the formation of mixed-species flocks of heathland birds. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 8:7–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hankison SJ, Morris MR (2003) Avoiding a compromise between sexual selection and species recognition: female swordtail fish assess multiple species-specific cues. Behav Ecol 14:282–287

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffery WR (2001) Cavefish as a model system in evolutionary and developmental biology. Dev Biol 231:1–12

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jeffery WR (2005) Adaptive evolution of eye degeneration in the Mexican blind cavefish. J Heredity 96:185–196

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jordan R, Kellogg K, Juanes F, Stauffer J Jr (2003) Evaluation of female mate choice cues in a group of Lake Malawi Mbuna (Cichlidae). Copeia 2003:181–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kiester RA (1979) Conspecifics as cues: a mechanism for habitat selection in the Panamanian grass anole (Anolis auratus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 5:323–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kodric-Brown A, Strecker U (2001) Responses of Cyprinodon maya and C. labiosus females to visual and olfactory cues of conspecific and heterospecific males. Biol J Linn Soc 74:541–548

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Körner KE, Schlupp I, Plath M, Loew ER (2006) Spectral sensitivity of mollies: comparing surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies, Poecilia mexicana. J Fish Biol (In press)

  • Krause J, Godin J-GJ (1994) Shoal choice in the banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanous, Teleostei, Cyprinodontidae): effects of predation risk, fish size, species composition and size of shoals. Ethology 98:105–116

    Google Scholar 

  • Kyriacou CP, Hall JC (1982) The function of courtship song rhythms in Drosophila. Anim Behav 30:784–801

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landeau L, Terborgh J (1986) Oddity and the ‘confusion effect’ in predation. Anim Behav 34:1372–1380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan DA, Ryan MJ (1997) Responses to conspecific and heterospecific olfactory cues in the swordtail Xiphophorus cortezi. Anim Behav 54:1077–1088

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLennan DA, Ryan MJ (1999) Interspecific recognition and discrimination based upon olfactory cues in northern swordtails. Evolution 53(3):880–888

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McRobert SP, Bradner J (1998) The influence of body coloration on shoaling preferences in fish. Anim Behav 56:611–615

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Magurran AE (1990) The adaptive significance of schooling as an anti-predator defense in fish. Ann Zool Fennici 27:51–66

    Google Scholar 

  • Magurran AE, Seghers BH, Shaw PW, Carvalho GR (1995) The behavioural diversity and evolution of guppy, Poecilia reticulata populations in Trinidad. Adv Study Behav 24:155–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Möller D (2001) Aspekte zur Populationsgenetik des eingeschlechtlichen Amazonenkärpflings Poecilia formosa (GIRARD 1859) unter Berücksichtigung der genetischen parentalen Art, dem Breitflossenkärpfling Poecilia latipinna (LESUEUR 1821) und dem Atlantikkärpfling Poecilia mexicana (STEINDACHNER 1863). Ph.D. thesis, University of Hamburg

  • Morgan MJ and Godin J-GJ (1985) Antipredator Benefits of Schooling Behaviour in a Cyprinodontid Fish, the Banded Killifish (Fundulus diaphanus). Z Tierpsychol 70:236–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (1969) Zur vergleichenden Ethologie verschiedener Mollienesia-Arten einschlieβlich einer Höhlenform von Mollienesia sphenops. Behaviour 33:1–37

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (1970) Morphologische Untersuchungen an einer Höhlenform von Mollienesia sphenops (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Z Morphol Tiere 68:323–342

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (1974) Rückbildung aggressiver Verhaltensweisen bei einer Höhlenform von Mollienesia sphenops (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Z Tierpsychol 35:66–84

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (1979) Zur Genetik und biologischen Bedeutung des Aggressionsverhaltens von Poecilia sphenops (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Z Tierpsychol 50:399–422

    Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (1993) Schooling behaviour in population-hybrids of Astyanax fasciatus and Poecilia mexicana (Pisces, Characidae and Poeciliidae). In: Schröder H, Bauer J, Schartl M (eds) Trends in ichthyology: an international perspective. Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, pp 297–303

    Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J (2001) A review on morphological and behavioural changes in the cave molly Poecilia mexicana from Tabasco, Mexico. Environ Biol Fisches 50:263–275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parzefall J, Gagelmann U, Schartl M (1997) Aggressive behaviour and optomotor response in different populations of Poecilia mexicana (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Mem Biospeol 24:63–69

    Google Scholar 

  • Persaud KN, Galef BG (2003) Female Japanese quail aggregate to avoid sexual harassment by conspecific males: a possible cause of conspecific cueing. Anim Behav 65:89–94

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peters N, Peters G, Parzefall J, Wilkens H (1973) Über degenerative und konstruktive Merkmale bei einer phylogenetisch jungen Höhlenform von Poecilia sphenops (Pisces, Poeciliidae). Int Rev Gesamten Hydrobiol 58:417–436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Petrie M (1994) Improved growth and survival of offspring of peacock with more elaborate trains. Nature 371:598–599

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pilastro A, Benetton S, Bisazza A (2003) Female aggregation and male competition reduce the costs of sexual harassment in mosquitofish. Anim Behav 65:1151–1159

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitcher TJ, Parrish JK (1993) Functions of shoaling behaviour in teleosts. In: Pitcher TJ (ed) Behaviour of teleost fishes, 2nd edn. Chapman and Hall, London, pp 363–437

    Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Parzefall J, Schlupp I (2003a) The role of sexual harassment in cave and surface dwelling populations of the Atlantic molly, Poecilia mexicana (Poeciliidae, Teleostei). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 54:303–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Körner KE, Parzefall J, Schlupp I (2003b) Persistence of a visually mediated mating preference in the cave molly, Poecilia mexicana (Poeciliidae, Teleostei). Subterran Biol 1:93–97

    Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Parzefall J, Körner KE, Schlupp I (2004a) Sexual selection in darkness? Female mating preferences in surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies, Poecilia mexicana (Poeciliidae, Teleostei). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 55:596–601

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Brümmer A, Schlupp I (2004b) Sexual harassment in a live-bearing fish (Poecilia mexicana): influence of population-specific male mating behaviour. Acta Ethol 7:65–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Heubel KU, García de León FJ, Schlupp I (2005) Cave molly females (Poecilia mexicana) like well-fed males. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 58:144–151

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Plath M, Seggel U, Burmeister H, Heubel KU, Schlupp I (2006) Choosy males from the underground: male mating preferences in surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana). Naturwissenschaften 93:103–109

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ratcliffe LM, Grant PR (1983) Species recognition in Darwin’s finches (Geospiza, Gould). I. Discrimination by morphological cues. Anim Behav 31:1139–1153

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reed JM, Dobson AP (1993) Behavioural constraints and conservation biology: conspecific attraction and recruitment. Trends Ecol Evol 8:253–256

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riesch R, Arndt M, Plath M (2005) Non-visual localisation of a conspecific male by surface- and cave-dwelling Atlantic molly females (Poecilia mexicana, Poeciliidae, Teleostei). Nat Croat 14:1–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Riesch R, Schlupp I, Plath M (2006) Influence of male competition on male mating behaviour in the cave molly, Poecilia mexicana. J Ethol 24:27–31

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ryan MJ, Rand AS (1993) Species recognition and sexual selection as a unitary problem in animal communication. Evolution 47:647–657

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schlupp I, Ryan MJ (1996) Mixed-species shoals and the maintenance of a sexual–asexual mating system in mollies. Anim Behav 52:885–890

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seehausen O, Van Alphen JJM, Witte F (1997) Cichlid fish diversity threatened by eutrophication that curbs sexual selection. Science 277:1808–1811

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sherman PW, Reeve HK, Pfennig DW (1997) Recognition systems. In: Krebs JR, Davies NB (eds) Behavioural ecology: an evolutionary approach, 4th edn. Blackwell, London, pp 69–96

    Google Scholar 

  • Stamps JA (1988) Conspecific attraction and aggregation in territorial species. Am Nat 131:329–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Theodorakis CW (1989) Size segregation and the effects of oddity on predation risk in minnow schools. Anim Behav 38:496–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tobler M, Schlupp I, Heubel KU, Riesch R, Garcia de Leon FJ, Giere O, Plath M (2006) Life on the edge: hydrogen sulfide and the fish communities of a Mexican cave and surrounding waters. Extremophiles (in press) DOI 10.1007/s00792-006-0531-2

  • Turner GF, Pitcher TJ (1986) Attack abatement: a model for group protection by combined avoidance and dilution. Am Nat 128:228–240

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber A, Proudlove GS, Parzefall J, Wilkens H, Nalbant TT (1998) Pisces (Teleostei): Morphology, systematic diversity, distribution and ecology of stygobitic fishes. In: Juberthie C, Decu V (eds) Encyclopaedia Biospeologica, Tome II. Société de Biospéologie, Moulis, Bucarest, pp 835–1373

  • Wilkens H (1988) Evolution and genetics of epigean and cave Astyanax fasciatus (Characidae, Pisces). Evol Biol 23:271–367

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilkens H, Strecker U (2003) Convergent evolution of the cavefish Astyanax (Characidae, Teleostei): genetic evidence from reduced eye-size and pigmentation. Biol J Linn Soc 80:545–554

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolf N (1985) Odd fish abandon mixed-species groups when threatened. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 17:47–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto Y, Jeffery WR (2000) Central role for the lens in cavefish eye degeneration. Science 289:631–633

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yamamoto Y, Stock DW, Jeffery WR (2004) Hedgehog signalling controls eye degeneration in blind cavefish. Nature 431:844–847

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Jakob Parzefall for helpful discussions and for stimulating our research. We also thank the Mexican Government for issuing permits to collect fish (Permiso de pesca de fomento numbers: 291002-613-1577 and DGOPA/5864/260704/-2408). Deborah McLennan and an anonymous reviewer provided extremely helpful comments on the manuscript. The fish team of the aquarium at the University of Hamburg provided animal care. Financial support came from DFG (PL 470/1-1; SCHL 344/10-2).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Zoology, University of Oklahoma, 730 Van Vleet Oval, Norman, OK, 73019, USA

    Rüdiger Riesch, Ingo Schlupp, Michael Tobler & Martin Plath

  2. Biozentrum Grindel, Universität Hamburg, Martin-Luther-King Platz 3, 20146, Hamburg, Germany

    Rüdiger Riesch & Martin Plath

  3. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Winterthurerstr. 190, 8057, Zürich, Switzerland

    Ingo Schlupp & Michael Tobler

  4. Unit of Evolutionary Biology and Systematic Zoology, Department of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476, Potsdam, Germany

    Martin Plath

Authors
  1. Rüdiger Riesch
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ingo Schlupp
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Michael Tobler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Martin Plath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rüdiger Riesch.

Additional information

Communicated by C. St. Mary

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Riesch, R., Schlupp, I., Tobler, M. et al. Reduction of the association preference for conspecifics in cave-dwelling Atlantic mollies, Poecilia mexicana . Behav Ecol Sociobiol 60, 794–802 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0223-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-006-0223-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation