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An ultraviolet signal generates a conflict between sexual selection and species recognition in a newt

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Abstract

Whether sexual selection and species recognition involve distinct preferences and signals is still debated. Earlier work showed that traits under sexual selection can reduce the efficiency of species recognition but remains uncertain on how frequently such a conflict occurs. We can, however, hypothesise that overlapping distributions of sexual signals may enhance the hybridization risk in many species. We tested this hypothesis in a newt, Lissotriton vulgaris, which hybridises with Lissotriton helveticus. The two species also share an ultraviolet (UV) colour trait, which influences male attractiveness in L. vulgaris, though this trait is probably not functional for sexual communication in L. helveticus. We predicted that the shared trait would affect species recognition when UV radiation is present in the environment. We staged binary choice preference tests under UV+ and UV− conditions. In the UV+ treatment, female preference depended on the values of the shared UV trait and total brightness, regardless of male species identity. Thus, species recognition was enhanced or reversed depending on the difference in the male trait. Females preferred no male type in the UV− treatment, likely explained by our design, which alternated different sensory environments, and the limited prior exposure of subjects to the other species’ morph. We conclude that the presence of this shared trait used in sexual communication contributes to the production of hybrids in syntopic ponds. To our knowledge, this is the first experimental evidence of the influence of an UV sexual signal modulating species recognition.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to Jérémy Dupuis, Stéphane Sourice and Cyril Le Corre for assistance at various stages of this work, Anders Ödeen for his help in finding photoreceptor sensitivities and Gwendolen Rodgers for comments on the manuscript. This study was partly funded by ANR-2011-BSV7-001-01 and ANR-2011-BSV7-001-02 Project SENSHYBLE.

Ethical statement

This work conforms to the legal requirements of the country. Captures and experiments have been carried out accordingly to the permit delivered by Préfecture du Maine et Loire in 2010 (permit no. 12/2010).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université d’Angers, GECCO, 2 Boulevard Lavoisier, 49045, Angers, France

    Jean Secondi

  2. Department of Ecology and Biodiversity Management, UMR 7179, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 1 Avenue du Petit Château, 91800, Brunoy, France

    Marc Théry

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  1. Jean Secondi
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Correspondence to Jean Secondi.

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Communicated by E. Fernandez-Juricic

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Secondi, J., Théry, M. An ultraviolet signal generates a conflict between sexual selection and species recognition in a newt. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 68, 1049–1058 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1717-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-014-1717-8

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