Female fecundity traits in wild populations of African annual fish: the role of the aridity gradient

0461415 - ÚBO 2017 RIV US eng J - Journal Article
Vrtílek, Milan - Reichard, Martin
Female fecundity traits in wild populations of African annual fish: the role of the aridity gradient.
Ecology and Evolution. Roč. 6, č. 16 (2016), s. 5921-5931. ISSN 2045-7758. E-ISSN 2045-7758
R&D Projects: GA ČR GBP505/12/G112; GA ČR(CZ) GAP506/11/0112
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : annual killifish * egg size * interpopulation variation * intrapopulation variability * life expectancy * reproductive allocation
Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour
Impact factor: 2.440, year: 2016

The evolution of life history is shaped by life expectancy. Life-history traits coevolve, and optimal states for particular traits are constrained by trade-offs with other life-history traits. Life histories contrast among species, but may also diverge intraspecifically, at the level of populations. We studied the evolution of female reproductive allocation strategy, using natural populations of two sympatric species of African annual fishes, Nothobranchius furzeri and Nothobranchius orthonotus. These species inhabit pools in the Mozambican savanna that are formed in the rainy season and persist for only 2–10 months. Using 207 female N. furzeri from 11 populations and 243 female N. orthonotus from 14 populations, we tested the effects of genetic background (intraspecific lineage) and life expectancy (position on the aridity gradient determining maximum duration of their temporary habitat) on female fecundity traits. First, we found that variation in female body mass was small within populations, but varied considerably among populations. Second, we found that fecundity was largely defined by female body mass and that females spawned most of their eggs in the morning. Third, we found that the trade-off between egg size and egg number varied among lineages of N. furzeri and this outcome has been
confirmed by data from two separate years. Overall, we demonstrate that local
conditions were important determinants for Nothobranchius growth and fecundity
and that eggs size in arid region was less limited by female fecundity than in humid region.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0261009