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| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive interference | 3/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reproductive_interference | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:16:39.962893+00:00 | kb-cron |
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) – Atlantic salmon that were once native to Lake Ontario were reintroduced to the lake to study their spawning interactions with other species of fish, including the chinook salmon, coho salmon, and brown trout. Chinook salmon interacted with Atlantic salmon the most, where male chinooks attempted to court female Atlantic salmon. Male chinooks also chased away, and in some interactions, behaved aggressively towards other Atlantic salmon that approached female Atlantic salmon. A male brown trout was also observed to court a female Atlantic salmon. Misdirected courtship towards the Atlantic salmon can cause problems in waters that the Atlantic salmon currently occupy, and towards conservation efforts to reintroduce the Atlantic salmon to Lake Ontario. Implications of misdirected courtship on the Atlantic salmon can cause the delay or prevention of spawning, and the hybridisation of the Atlantic salmon with other species.
=== Heterospecific mating attempts === Heterospecific mating attempts occur when males attempt to mate with females of a different species, regardless of whether courtship occurs. During each mating attempt, sperm transfer may or may not occur. Both sexes have costs when a heterospecific attempts to mate. Costs associated with heterospecific mating attempts include wasted energy, time, and potentially gametes if sperm transfer occurs. There is also a risk of injury and increased risk of predation for both sexes.
==== Examples ====
Cepero's grasshopper (Tetrix ceperoi) and the slender groundhopper (Tetrix subulata) – Naturally the distribution of the Cepero’s grasshopper and slender groundhopper overlap; however, they rarely co-exist. The reproductive success of the Cepero’s grasshopper decreases when housed within the same enclosure as high numbers of the slender groundhopper. The reduction of reproductive success stems from an increase in mating attempts by the Cepero's grasshopper towards the slender groundhopper, which may be due to their larger body size. However, these mating attempts are generally unsuccessful as the mate recognition of female slender groundhoppers are reliable, which may be due to the different courtship displays of the two species. The reduced reproductive success can cause the displacement in one of the species, potentially a factor as to why the species rarely co-exist despite sharing similar habitat preferences.
Italian agile frog (Rana latastei) - The distribution of Italian agile frog and the agile frog (Rana dalmatina) overlap naturally in ponds and drainage ditches. In the areas of overlap, the abundance of agile frogs is higher than Italian agile frogs. When there is a higher abundance of agile frogs, the mating between Italian agile frogs is interfered with. Male agile frogs attempt to displace male Italian agile frogs during amplexus, which is a type of mating position where the male grasps onto the female. The Italian agile frog and agile frog have been seen in amplexus when co-existing. The mating attempts by the agile frog reduces the reproductive success of the Italian agile frog. The Italian agile frog also produces a lower number of viable eggs in the presence of the agile frog, potentially due to sperm competition between the male Italian agile frog and agile frog. Species and sex-recognition errors among true toads are very well studied. Toads are known to have amplexus with species from other genera in the same family, and species belonging to other families. Hybridization cases have also been reported among toads.
=== Erroneous female choice === Erroneous female choice refers to mistakes made by females when differentiating males of the same species from males of a different species. Female choice may occur at different stages of mating, including male courtship, copulation, or after copulation. Female choice can depend on the availability of appropriate males. When there are less available conspecific males, females may make more mistakes as they become less ‘choosy’.
==== Examples ====
Striped ground cricket (Allonemobius fasciatus) and Southern ground cricket (Allonemobius socius) - The striped ground cricket and the Southern ground cricket are closely related species that have an overlapping distribution. Both crickets use calling songs in order to identify and locate potential mates. The songs of the two species have a different frequency and period. Females of both species show little preference between the songs from conspecific and heterospecific males. The minor preference disappears if the intensity of the calls are altered. The lack of ability to differentiate between the two songs can result in erroneous female choice. Erroneous female choice has costs, including energy wastage, and increases in predation risk when searching for a conspecific. Additionally, it is highly costly when the mistake leads to heterospecific mating, which involves the wastage of gametes. However, the cost of erroneous female choice may be small for the striped ground and Southern ground cricket due to their high abundance. The lack of ability to differentiate between the calling songs is proposed to be due to the weak selective pressure on the females.
=== Heterospecific mating === Heterospecific mating is when two individuals from different species mate. After the male transfers his sperm into the heterospecific female, different processes can occur that may change the outcome of the copulation. Heterospecific mating may result in the production of a hybrid in some pairings. Costs associated to heterospecific mating include the wastage of time, energy, and gametes.