Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient
Abstract This study examined reproductive traits and growth rates of Heterandria bimaculata (Poeciliidae) in Cusuco National Park (CNP), a cloud forest reserve in northern Honduras, Central America. In CNP, H. bimaculata occurs in the absence of other fish species and major invertebrate predators al...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia
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| Series: | Neotropical Ichthyology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252016000100003&lng=en&tlng=en |
| _version_ | 1819204660527890432 |
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| author | Charles T. Olinger Brandon K. Peoples Emmanuel A. Frimpong |
| author_facet | Charles T. Olinger Brandon K. Peoples Emmanuel A. Frimpong |
| author_sort | Charles T. Olinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study examined reproductive traits and growth rates of Heterandria bimaculata (Poeciliidae) in Cusuco National Park (CNP), a cloud forest reserve in northern Honduras, Central America. In CNP, H. bimaculata occurs in the absence of other fish species and major invertebrate predators along an approximately 1000 m elevation gradient. This allowed for the examination of trait variation along the gradient without the confounding effects of interspecific interactions or habitat patchiness. Heterandria bimaculata exhibited traits characteristic of a low-predation environment: balanced sex ratio, slow growth, late maturity and large female size. Females produced more, smaller eggs from upstream to downstream, but overall reproductive allocation remained constant along the gradient. Maximum male length and annual growth rates increased from upstream to downstream, but female growth showed no trend. The patterns of growth and reproductive allocation tradeoff are consistent with predicted response to a longitudinally-increasing productivity gradient in which food resources become more abundant downstream. Macrobrachium and Bellastoma could have caused some predation, but were sparse and patchily distributed. Fish density remained fairly constant among elevations; if food resources were limiting in upstream habitats, per-capita resource availability would be lower and density-dependent competition would drive selection for larger but fewer, more competitive offspring. Future work should quantify longitudinal changes in productivity and conduct experiments to decouple the effects of stream order and fish density dependence. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:39:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-eda911739d054560902a7fb0dbd68d07 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1982-0224 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-23T04:39:21Z |
| publisher | Sociedade Brasileira de Ictiologia |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Neotropical Ichthyology |
| spelling | doaj.art-eda911739d054560902a7fb0dbd68d072022-12-21T17:59:49ZengSociedade Brasileira de IctiologiaNeotropical Ichthyology1982-022414110.1590/1982-0224-20150050S1679-62252016000100003Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradientCharles T. OlingerBrandon K. PeoplesEmmanuel A. FrimpongAbstract This study examined reproductive traits and growth rates of Heterandria bimaculata (Poeciliidae) in Cusuco National Park (CNP), a cloud forest reserve in northern Honduras, Central America. In CNP, H. bimaculata occurs in the absence of other fish species and major invertebrate predators along an approximately 1000 m elevation gradient. This allowed for the examination of trait variation along the gradient without the confounding effects of interspecific interactions or habitat patchiness. Heterandria bimaculata exhibited traits characteristic of a low-predation environment: balanced sex ratio, slow growth, late maturity and large female size. Females produced more, smaller eggs from upstream to downstream, but overall reproductive allocation remained constant along the gradient. Maximum male length and annual growth rates increased from upstream to downstream, but female growth showed no trend. The patterns of growth and reproductive allocation tradeoff are consistent with predicted response to a longitudinally-increasing productivity gradient in which food resources become more abundant downstream. Macrobrachium and Bellastoma could have caused some predation, but were sparse and patchily distributed. Fish density remained fairly constant among elevations; if food resources were limiting in upstream habitats, per-capita resource availability would be lower and density-dependent competition would drive selection for larger but fewer, more competitive offspring. Future work should quantify longitudinal changes in productivity and conduct experiments to decouple the effects of stream order and fish density dependence.http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252016000100003&lng=en&tlng=enCentral AmericaFecundityGrowth rateLivebearerOffspring size |
| spellingShingle | Charles T. Olinger Brandon K. Peoples Emmanuel A. Frimpong Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient Neotropical Ichthyology Central America Fecundity Growth rate Livebearer Offspring size |
| title | Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| title_full | Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| title_fullStr | Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| title_short | Reproductive life history of Heterandria bimaculata (Heckel, 1848) (Poeciliinae: Poeciliidae) in the Honduran interior highlands: trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| title_sort | reproductive life history of heterandria bimaculata heckel 1848 poeciliinae poeciliidae in the honduran interior highlands trait variation along an elevational gradient |
| topic | Central America Fecundity Growth rate Livebearer Offspring size |
| url | http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-62252016000100003&lng=en&tlng=en |
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