Life history of mollies

Rüdiger Riesch (Ph. D. student)

Mainly I am interested in two aspects of Poecilia-life history evolution:

(A) What life history traits contribute to the stability in a sexual/asexual mating complex of fishes (Amazon mollies, Poecilia formosa & Sailfin mollies, Poecilia latipinna). To understand how stable coexistence in the P. latipinna/ P. formosa–mating complex can be maintained, it is important to obtain thorough information concerning life-history traits of both species. For my dissertation project, I address the following questions: (1) Are there differences in the life histories of P. formosa and P. latipinna? (2) How do life history traits relate to the maintenance of the stable coexistence in the P. latipinna/ P. formosa–mating complex?

(B) What life history adaptations allow for colonization of extreme habitats? In Tabasco, southern Mexico, two populations of the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) have invaded a toxic (H₂S-rich) and a non-toxic cave. In this system I am studying toxic (H₂S) and non-toxic surface- and cave-habitats to investigate how extreme environments (darkness and toxicity) have selected for different life history traits.

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