Josefin Sundin

Male mate choice relies on major histocompatibility complex class I in a sex-role-reversed pipefish

Mate choice for compatible genes is often based on genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). Although MHC‐based mate choice is commonly observed in female choice, male mate choice remains elusive. In particular, if males have intense paternal care and are thus the choosing sex, male choice for females with dissimilar MHC can be expected. Here, we investigated whether male mate choice relies on MHC class I genes in the sex‐role reversed pipefish Syngnathus typhle. In a mate choice experiment, we determined the relative importance of visual and olfactory cues by manipulating visibility and olfaction. We found that pipefish males chose females that maximize sequence‐based amino acid distance between MHC class I genotypes in the offspring when olfactory cues were present. Under visual cues, large females were chosen, but in the absence of visual cues, the choice pattern was reversed. The use of sex‐role reversed species thus revealed that sexual selection can lead to the evolution of male mate choice for MHC class I genes.

Male broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle do not locate females by smell

Broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle were used to investigate whether males used scent in their search for mates. When the males in an experiment had access to olfactory cues only, they did not locate females better than they located males. Thus, S. typhle, was less successful in mate search when visual cues were absent.

Behavioral adjustments of a pipefish to bacterial Vibrio challenge

Animals can profit from increasing temperatures by prolonged breeding seasons and faster growth rates. However, these fitness benefits are traded off against higher parasite load and increased virulence of temperature-sensitive pathogens. In thermally stratified habitats, behavioral plasticity can allow hosts to choose the optimal temperature to enhance individual fitness and to escape parasite pressure. To test this idea, we performed a temperature choice experiment with the host–parasite system of the sex-role reversed broad-nosed pipefish (Syngnathus typhle) and its bacterial pathogen Vibrio spp. In this species, pregnant males are expected to face a trade-off between shortening their brooding period in warm water and decreasing the effect of the infection in cold water. We found that exposure to Vibrio changed the temperature preference for both pregnant and nonpregnant males, as well as females compared to nonchallenged fish that tended to prefer warm water. This study shows that behavioral plasticity is one option for avoidance of higher bacterial prevalence, as expected due to rising ocean temperatures.

Straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion and broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle avoid eelgrass overgrown with filamentous algae

In a habitat choice experiment straight-nosed pipefish Nerophis ophidion and broad-nosed pipefish Syngnathus typhle avoided eelgrass Zostera marina covered with filamentous algae. Both juveniles as well as brooding adult males of the two species clearly preferred to position themselves in Z. marina without growth of filamentous algae.

Maximum thermal limits of coral reef damselfishes are size dependent and resilient to near-future ocean acidification

ABSTRACT Theoretical models predict that ocean acidification, caused by increased dissolved CO2, will reduce the maximum thermal limits of fishes, thereby increasing their vulnerability to rising ocean temperatures and transient heatwaves. Here, we tested this prediction in three species of damselfishes on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Maximum thermal limits were quantified using critical thermal maxima (CTmax) tests following acclimation to either present-day or end-of-century levels of CO2 for coral reef environments (∼500 or ∼1000 µatm, respectively). While species differed significantly in their thermal limits, whereby Dischistodus perspicillatus exhibited greater CTmax (37.88±0.03°C; N=47) than Dascyllus aruanus (37.68±0.02°C; N=85) and Acanthochromis polyacanthus (36.58±0.02°C; N=63), end-of-century CO2 had no effect (D. aruanus) or a slightly positive effect (increase in CTmax of 0.16°C in D. perspicillatus and 0.21°C in A. polyacanthus) on CTmax. Contrary to expectations, early-stage juveniles were equally as resilient to CO2 as larger conspecifics, and CTmax was higher at smaller body sizes in two species. These findings suggest that ocean acidification will not impair the maximum thermal limits of reef fishes, and they highlight the critical role of experimental biology in testing predictions of theoretical models forecasting the consequences of environmental change. Summary: Despite a widespread perception that end-of-century ocean acidification will reduce the thermal limits of fishes, we show that critical thermal maxima of coral reef damselfishes are robust to this stressor.

Two‐current choice flumes for testing avoidance and preference in aquatic animals

Aquatic chemical ecology is an important and growing field of research that involves understanding how organisms perceive and respond to chemical cues in their environment. Research assessing the preference or avoidance of a water source containing specific chemical cues has increased in popularity in recent years, and a variety of methods have been described in the scientific literature. Two-current choice flumes have seen the greatest increase in popularity, perhaps because of their potential to address the broadest range of research questions. Here, we review the literature on two-current choice flumes and show that there is a clear absence of standardised methodologies that make comparisons across studies difficult. Some of the main issues include turbulent flows that cause mixing of cues, inappropriate size of choice arenas for the animals, short experiments with stressed animals, failure to report how experiment- and researcher-biases were eliminated, general underreporting of methodological details, underutilisation of collected data, and inappropriate data analyses. In this review we present best-practice guidelines on how to build, test and use two-current choice flumes to measure the behavioural responses of aquatic animals to chemical cues, and provide blueprints for flume construction. The guidelines include steps that can be taken to avoid problems commonly encountered when using two-current choice flumes and analysing the resulting data. This review provides a set of standards that should be followed to ensure data quality, transparency, and replicability in future studies in this field.

Direct and indirect effects of chemical contaminants on the behaviour, ecology and evolution of wildlife

Chemical contaminants (e.g. metals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals) are changing ecosystems via effects on wildlife. Indeed, recent work explicitly performed under environmentally realistic conditions reveals that chemical contaminants can have both direct and indirect effects at multiple levels of organization by influencing animal behaviour. Altered behaviour reflects multiple physiological changes and links individual- to population-level processes, thereby representing a sensitive tool for holistically assessing impacts of environmentally relevant contaminant concentrations. Here, we show that even if direct effects of contaminants on behavioural responses are reasonably well documented, there are significant knowledge gaps in understanding both the plasticity (i.e. individual variation) and evolution of contaminant-induced behavioural changes. We explore implications of multi-level processes by developing a conceptual framework that integrates direct and indirect effects on behaviour under environmentally realistic contexts. Our framework illustrates how sublethal behavioural effects of contaminants can be both negative and positive, varying dynamically within the same individuals and populations. This is because linkages within communities will act indirectly to alter and even magnify contaminant-induced effects. Given the increasing pressure on wildlife and ecosystems from chemical pollution, we argue there is a need to incorporate existing knowledge in ecology and evolution to improve ecological hazard and risk assessments.

No effect of elevated carbon dioxide on reproductive behaviors in the three-spined stickleback

Ocean acidification, the reduction in ocean pH resulting from anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), has been predicted to alter the behavior of fishes. During experimental exposure to CO ...

Scientific misconduct: the elephant in the lab. A response to Parker et al

In a recent Opinion article, Parker et al. [1] highlight a range of important issues and provide tangible solutions to improve transparency in ecology and evolution (E&E). We agree wholeheartedly with their points and encourage the E&E community to heed their advice. However, a key issue remains conspicuously unaddressed: Parker et al. assume that ‘deliberate dishonesty’ is rare in E&E, yet evidence suggests that occurrences of scientific misconduct (i.e., data fabrication, falsification, and/or plagiarism) are disturbingly common in the life sciences [2].

Hypoxia delays mating in the broad-nosed pipefish

Abstract Courtship is an important part of the reproductive process, ensuring reproductive compatibility and conveying individual quality. One factor in aquatic environments that has the potential to influence courtship behaviours and mating propensity is the level of dissolved oxygen. Furthermore, hypoxic areas are currently spreading due to anthropogenic disturbance, such as eutrophication. In marine environments, hypoxia often occurs in shallow coastal regions that are particularly important areas for reproduction. Here, we investigated how types of reproductive behaviour were affected by mild hypoxia using the well-studied broad-nosed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle. More precisely, we investigated the impact of acute hypoxia on the reproductive behaviour preceding mating, and on the probability of mating, as well as on the latency until these occurred. We found that the latency period to courting and copulation occurring was prolonged in the low-oxygen environment. However, the total time spent courting as well as the probability of mating was unaffected by hypoxia. Other types of reproductive behaviour found in this species, such as dancing, and the unique male pouch-flap behaviour, were also unaffected by the low-oxygen treatment. We conclude that although latency to courting and copulating was prolonged in the hypoxic environment, most reproductive behaviour investigated was unaffected by hypoxia. Thus, hypoxia commonly occurring in shallow coastal regions has the potential to delay certain components of reproduction, but overall the broad-nosed pipefish shows robustness to hypoxic conditions.