It turns out the answer lies in the presence of another fish, the small but aggressive mosquitofish. Find out more here and read the original article in the journal Ecology, here.
Guppies are exceptionally good at establishing in places outside of Trinidad, yet they have consistently failed to colonise Florida. I collaborated with colleagues from the University of Florida and Dr Doug Fraser to work out why.
It turns out the answer lies in the presence of another fish, the small but aggressive mosquitofish. Find out more here and read the original article in the journal Ecology, here.
0 Comments
We are looking for a local part-time research assistant (paid) to work for 2 months (March and April 2020) on projects on fish behaviour and environmental change in Trinidad. The projects will focus on predatory pike cichlids (Crenicichla frenata) and their guppy (Poecilia reticulata) prey.
You will assist a small research team from the University of Bristol run behavioural experiments in the field at the University of West Indies, St Augustine campus, and help with catching fish in the streams and rivers of the Northern Range. We are looking for someone resident to T&T who is enthusiastic, has an interest in ecology and evolution, is prepared to spend 2-3 days per week in the field, sometimes working long hours, and ideally has previous experience of fieldwork. Being a competent driver with valid licence and being 25+ years old (for hire car insurance reasons) would be good but not essential. If you are interested, please contact me, Dr Amy Deacon ([email protected]), with a copy of your CV, a covering letter detailing your motivation for applying and contact details of at least one referee. Any queries about the position should also be directed to Dr Deacon. Deadline: Monday 10th February 2020 (midnight). Amy had the pleasure of awarding her Zoology Research Project student Naomi Favrod-Coune with the Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club Elisha Tikasingh Prize for Best Performance in Zoology at this year's Faculty of Science and Technology Prize Giving Ceremony. Naomi also won the Environmental Management Prize for the Best Zoology Project, for her work on the exploratory behaviour of wild and ornamental guppies. Congratulations Naomi - and all the best for the future!
Imagine for a moment that you are a small fish living in a stream in the Northern Range. Your life is full of danger as you are prey to many other animals: fierce predatory fishes such as wolf fish or pike cichlids, ambush-hunting giant prawns, and even surprise aerial attacks from kingfishers and kiskadees. As if this wasn’t enough, new observations from the streams of the Arima Valley suggest that small fish, such as guppies and jumping guabine, have yet another type of predator to worry about: giant predatory fishing spiders!
Researchers at the University of St Andrews have made a shock discovery; that restricting a normally multiply mating fish to monogamous mating does not impair their colonisation ability. Their findings show that releasing just one or two fish into the wild may be enough to trigger an aquatic invasion. In a paper published this month in the journal BMC Ecology, researchers from the University of St Andrews tested whether forcing female guppies to be monogamous would impede their ability to establish viable populations. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is a successful invasive species throughout the tropics. In the wild it employs a 'multiple mating' strategy, and resulting broods commonly contain offspring sired by up to five different fathers. Previous studies have shown that mating with multiple partners carries a range of benefits, including increased genetic and phenotypic diversity of offspring, and inbreeding avoidance -which are potentially advantageous for a species attempting to colonise a new environment. However, as part of this latest study, female guppies were either allowed to mate with four males, or were restricted to one partner. Pregnant females were then left to establish populations in large tanks in the laboratory. After one year, the two treatments were compared. Dr Amy Deacon explains: "One of our key findings was that mating history did not predict establishment success, which was 88% in both treatments". What's more the researchers had expected that inbreeding depression might be evident in the behaviour of fish in the monogamous treatment, which would suggest that their ability to persist once established could be limited. However, this was not the case; newborn and adult male offspring of both treatments were equally good at avoiding predators and at courting females. These results suggest that even when denied the option of multiple mating, singly-mated female guppies can produce viable populations, at least at the founder stage. The ability to colonise even when multiple mating is restricted may prove to be critical during introductions, where a few individuals are released into enclosed water bodies before finding their way into natural ecosystems. For example, guppies are commonly introduced into rivers or ponds as unwanted pets, or into troughs or wells for mosquito control, but later tend to spread to new habitats during floods or monsoons. Once established in rivers and streams, aquatic invaders are notoriously difficult to eradicate. The findings of this study reinforce the message that although seemingly harmless, releasing just one or two individuals can lead to a potentially invasive population. The full text (open access) article can be viewed at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6785/14/18 Authored by me, this press released was edited and issued by the University of St Andrews Press Office. Coverage in the media includes: http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/scientists-discover-that-monogamy-does-not-curb-colonisation-by-guppies.24607524 http://phys.org/news/2014-06-invasion-monogamous-fish.html http://cryptozoologynews.blogspot.com/2014/06/invasion-of-monogamous-fish.html |
NewsA place to post relevant stories and updates Archives
December 2022
Categories
All
|