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Mate preference, species recognition and multimodal communication in heterogeneous environments

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Abstract

Mate selection in heterogeneous sensory environments may be challenging. Assessing the suitability of potential partners may be compromised if individual characteristics cannot be assessed reliably across all encountered conditions. The problem is particularly acute in a species recognition context if matings with heterospecific partners yield lower fitness than matings with conspecific partners of low quality. Multimodal communication may circumvent this problem by transmitting redundant information on several channels that are not affected by the same degradation processes (Backup hypothesis). We addressed this issue in two hybridizing newts (Lissotriton helveticus and L. vulgaris) for which visual species recognition is disrupted in water stained by humic acids, a common family of compounds produced by decaying vegetation. Because these species also use olfaction for sexual communication, we predicted that species recognition was maintained in stained water when olfactory information was available. Results did not support the prediction of the backup hypothesis. Species recognition was observed in the clear water treatment only, and the olfactory channel seemed to carry only limited additional information. Two mechanisms may account for the small contribution of olfaction to species recognition. (1) Females may have a lower sensory capacity to discriminate between olfactory than between visual signals. (2) Divergence between olfactory signals may be lower than divergence between visual signals. Resorting to multimodal communication does not seem to allow efficient discrimination across all environmental conditions. Therefore, we predict that hybridization rate would vary between habitats depending on water color.

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Acknowledgments

This study was conducted with the approval of Préfecture de Maine-et-Loire (permit 15/2013) and in accordance with the current laws in France. It was funded by ANR-2011-BSV7-001 Project SENSHYBLE.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. GECCO, University of Angers, Angers, France

    Jean Secondi, Gwendolen Rodgers, Florence Bayle & Stéphane Sourice

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

    Gwendolen Rodgers, Florence Bayle & Marc Théry

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  1. Jean Secondi
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Correspondence to Jean Secondi.

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Secondi, J., Rodgers, G., Bayle, F. et al. Mate preference, species recognition and multimodal communication in heterogeneous environments. Evol Ecol 29, 217–227 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-014-9744-5

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