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Sex-specific maternal effects in a viviparous fish
Loeske E B Kruuk1, Julianne Livingston2, Andrew Kahn2
1Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 0200, Australia School of Biological Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH9 3FL, UK loeske.kruuk@anu.edu.au.
Biology Letters
|August 21, 2015
Summary
Maternal effects on offspring traits like size and development differ significantly between male and female mosquitofish. This suggests sex-specific selection drives the evolution of maternal influences, impacting offspring development uniquely.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary biology
- Behavioral ecology
- Quantitative genetics
Background:
- Maternal effects significantly influence offspring phenotype, but their consistency across sexes is poorly understood.
- Variation among mothers can be substantial, yet sex-specific patterns are rarely investigated.
- Understanding sex-specific maternal effects is crucial for evolutionary studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze maternal effects on development time, adult size, and male sexual traits in mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki).
- To determine if maternal effects are consistent between sons and daughters.
- To assess the implications of sex-specific maternal effects for evolutionary trajectories.
Main Methods:
- Quantified maternal effects on offspring development time, adult size, and gonopodium length in mosquitofish.
- Analyzed sex-specific patterns of maternal influence across these traits.
- Investigated correlations between maternal effects on different traits within each sex.
Main Results:
- Substantial maternal effects were observed for all measured traits, particularly male gonopodium length.
- Significant trade-offs were found between maternal effects on development rate and adult size within each sex.
- No consistency was detected in maternal effects between sons and daughters.
Conclusions:
- Maternal effects on offspring traits are sex-specific in mosquitofish, indicating independent evolutionary paths for sons and daughters.
- Sex-specific selection likely drives the evolution of maternal effects.
- Ignoring sex-specific maternal effects can lead to underestimation of their overall variation and evolutionary significance.
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