Upstream guppies (Poecilia reticulata, Peters, 1859) go against the flow

Autores/as

  • Ryan Simon Mohammed The University of the West Indies, Department of Life Sciences
  • Cock van Oosterhout University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences
  • Bettina Schelkle Cardiff University, School of Biosciences
  • Joanne Cable Cardiff University, School of Biosciences
  • Mark McMullan University of East Anglia, School of Environmental Sciences

Palabras clave:

Guppy, rheotaxis, swimming behaviour, migration, natural selection

Resumen

Guppies (Poecilia reticulata Peters 1859) in lakes and from captive-bred populations are predicted to show little rheotaxis compared to conspecifics in a stream environment that are regularly exposed to flash floods associated with involuntary downstream migration. Here we test this hypothesis using an artificial stream, examining guppies of two wild riverine populations, one lake population, and one ornamental strain. Guppies from the most upstream riverine habitat show the most pronounced rheotaxis and are less likely to be swept downstream during flooding events. However, there is no significant difference between guppies from the lowland riverine habitat, the Pitch Lake and ornamental strain. We propose that station-keeping behaviours are most strongly selected in the upstream population because large spatial differences exist in ecology and environment between up- and downstream habitats. Given that these sites are separated by barrier waterfalls that prevent compensatory upstream migration, natural selection operates particularly strong against upstream guppies that have been displaced downstream during flooding events.

Publicado

09/01/2012

Cómo citar

Mohammed, R. S., van Oosterhout, C., Schelkle, B., Cable, J., & McMullan, M. (2012). Upstream guppies (Poecilia reticulata, Peters, 1859) go against the flow. Biota Neotropica, 12(3). Recuperado a partir de //www.biotaneotropica.org.br/BN/article/view/1014

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