Cognitive ability is heritable and predicts the success of an alternative mating tactic

Smith, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3285-0379, Philips, A and Reichard, M, 2015. Cognitive ability is heritable and predicts the success of an alternative mating tactic. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 282 (1809): 20151046. ISSN 0962-8452

Preview

Text 14523_Smith.pdf - Published version Download (414kB) | Preview

Abstract

The ability to attract mates, acquire resources for reproduction, and successfully outcompete rivals for fertilizations may make demands on cognitive traits—the mechanisms by which an animal acquires, processes, stores and acts upon information from its environment. Consequently, cognitive traits potentially undergo sexual selection in some mating systems. We investigated the role of cognitive traits on the reproductive performance of male rose bitterling (Rhodeus ocellatus), a freshwater fish with a complex mating system and alternative mating tactics. We quantified the learning accuracy of males and females in a spatial learning task and scored them for learning accuracy. Males were subsequently allowed to play the roles of a guarder and a sneaker in competitive mating trials, with reproductive success measured using paternity analysis. We detected a significant interaction between male mating role and learning accuracy on reproductive success, with the best-performing males in maze trials showing greater reproductive success in a sneaker role than as a guarder. Using a cross-classified breeding design, learning accuracy was demonstrated to be heritable, with significant additive maternal and paternal effects. Our results imply that male cognitive traits may undergo intra-sexual selection.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences
Creators:	Smith, C., Philips, A. and Reichard, M.
Publisher:	Royal Society Publishing
Date:	22 June 2015
Volume:	282
Number:	1809
ISSN:	0962-8452
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1098/rspb.2015.1046 DOI 26041347 PubMed ID
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	15 Aug 2019 15:29
Last Modified:	15 Aug 2019 15:29
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/37349

Actions (login required)

Edit View

Statistics

Views

Downloads