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Influence of past and current social environment on the mate
choice of Poecilia formosa, Poecilia mexicana and Poecilia latipinna
Conny Hinz
The
evolution of sex, its origin and maintenance are part of the major
puzzle of modern evolutionary biology. Compared to asexual
reproduction, sex is a costly and at first sight ineffective mechanism,
since it involves disadvantages like the production of males, leading
to a reduced overall number of offspring. This leads to the question
why the majority of species reproduces sexually.
The coexistence of the gynogenetic Amazon Molly (Poecilia formosa) and its sexual host species (P. latipinna and P. mexicana)
represents a suitable model to explain how sexuality can persist
despite its costs. For my diploma project I investigated which factors,
especially on the behavioral level, might regulate the stability of the
mating system by addressing the following main questions:
• Do males from populations dominated by Poecilia formosa differ in mate choice decisions from males from populations in which P. formosa is rare?
• Does the social environment influence conspecific and heterospecific sperm transfer in Poecilia latipinna males and what are the consequences for the fertilization success in Poecilia formosa?
• Which association preferences do males show when confronted with shoals of different compositions?
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