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Reproductive behavior analysis in the annual killifish Austrolebias nigripinnis (Regan, 1912) (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae)

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Abstract

Annual killifish have an annual life cycle unique among vertebrates. Adults lay desiccation-resistant eggs in the soil of the temporary pools they inhabit. Courtship behavior of some Neotropical killifish consists of a series of displays performed by males and females that ends in the total or partial burial of the couple. However, little information exists on their reproductive isolation mechanisms, including a detailed analysis of courtship signals. In this study, we analyzed the courtship behavior of a Neotropical annual killifish (Austrolebias nigripinnis) within a comparative frame. The most frequent units in males were lateral (44%) and sigmoid displays (26%), where males exhibit morphological and color patterns to females. Females showed a high frequency (44%) of quiescence, suggesting that this unit may have an evaluative role during courtship. Behavioral units recognized in this species show some differences with other related species (i.e., Austrolebias affinis), mainly in frequency and duration, but also in sequence. Although the results of this work cannot determine if these differences constitute reproductive isolation mechanisms, it provides fundamental elements to try to establish kinship relationships and solve the complexity implicit in the definition of species.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the two anonymous referees who helped to improve very much previous versions of the manuscript. To Juan Barreneche, Sebastián Serra, and Alejandro Duarte for their help in field sampling. The Ethology Section of the University provided the space and technology for experiments. DL and ML belong to Sistema Nacional de Investigadores (SNI-ANII).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias, Laboratorio Zoología de Vertebrados, UdelaR, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Juan Carlos Segovia & Marcelo Loureiro

  2. Departamento de Biología Pesquera, DINARA, MGAP, Montevideo, Uruguay

    Daniel García

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  1. Juan Carlos Segovia
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  2. Marcelo Loureiro
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  3. Daniel García
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Correspondence to Daniel García.

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All ethical guidelines were followed and the experimentation protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the University under the number 240012-000025-22.

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Segovia, J.C., Loureiro, M. & García, D. Reproductive behavior analysis in the annual killifish Austrolebias nigripinnis (Regan, 1912) (Cyprinodontiformes: Rivulidae). acta ethol 26, 239–246 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-023-00426-4

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