Data from: Up, down, and all around: Courtship behavior deviants and genetic divergence in the reef-dwelling bioluminescent ostracod, Photeros annecohenae (Myodocopida: Cypridinidae)
Data files
Jul 10, 2026 version files 52.50 KB
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Displaystats.R
1.15 KB
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Gerrish_displaydata.csv
33.32 KB
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Gerrish_LHEK.xlsx
13.73 KB
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Gerrish_sitedata.csv
717 B
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Morphologystats.R
974 B
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README.md
2.62 KB
Abstract
Species that have complex courtship behaviors are some of the most evolutionarily diverse lineages observed in nature. Because many traits can be quantified and used to document variation among species, organisms that use complex courtship behaviors provide model systems for testing the influence of ecology on lineage diversification and trait evolution. We used courtship behavior, morphology, and genetic trait data to evaluate changes in male Photeros annecohenae over an intermediate range of geographic distances along reef habitats of the Mesoamerican barrier reef of Belize. We found significant differences in observed behavioral, morphological, and genetic traits across isolated populations of P. annecohenae resulting from both isolation by distance (IBD) and isolation by barrier (IBB). Furthermore, we describe a newly discovered downward-displaying behavioral variant population of P. annecohenae nested within the upward-displaying populations. The morphological, behavioral, and genetic variability documented for P. annecohenae across the 196 km seagrass mosaic of the Mesoamerican reef system offers novel insight toward our understanding of the speciation continuum and the role of complex behavioral courtship in promoting divergence within taxa.
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.kh18932m7
Description of the data and file structure
Files and variables
File: Gerrish_displaydata.csv
Description: Data represents data extracted from video analysis of luminescent displays for Photeros annecohenae captured from field-collected videos at 11 sites along the Belize, CA reef seagrass habitats.
Variables
- IND: Individual display
- Site: geographic location (reference geographic data for lat/lon)
- Pulse: Pulse number in numerical order (1 = first pulse of display, 2 = second pulse of display ...) This numbering is used both for analysis as total pulse #/display and to align matching pulse numbers in repeated measure statistical analysis for comparing displays.
- D: duration of pulse in seconds
- I: duration from one pulse to the next. The value at pulse 2 represents the time between the start of pulse 1 and the start of pulse 2.
File: Gerrish_LHEK.xlsx
Description: Morphological data in mm for length, width, eye, and keel dimensions. Length measured from rostrom to distal portion of the keel. Width is measured at the widest central part of the body. Eye width is measured at the widest black ommatidium width of the eye. Keel is measured from the furthest distal part of the keel to the line that separates the keel and body visible under light microscopy.
Variables
- Length, width, eye, and keel are all in mm
File: Gerrish_sitedata.csv
Description: Site data includes date sampled, the site numbers assigned, their lat/lon, relative named islands in proximity to sites, and categorical information on seagrass density, estimated average seagrass height (cm), and estimated water depth ranges for collection locations.
Code/software
All data are visualized in Excel and imported into R for analyses.
FILE: Displaystats.R - Includes the statistical tests used to test pulse duration and interpulse duration differences using repeated measures least squares means.
FILE: Morphologystats.R - Includes the statistical tests used to test Length/height correlations and statistical significance between sizes across sites.
Access information
Other publicly accessible locations of the data:
- geographic data are also deposited in NCBI with the genetic data
Data were derived from the following sources:
- field measurements and video analyses.
This data set includes geographic, morphological, and behavioral data for Photeros annecohenae collected from shallow grassbeds off the coast of Belize, CA. Samples were collected at 11 locations for which latitude and longitude are provided.
Body length, body width, eye width, and keel width data were collected for 15 Photeros annecohenae individuals from each site. Individuals from each population were measured on a Nikon SMZ-800 microscope and aligned with body length, width, eye width, and keel size, as used in Gerrish and Morin 2016.
Courtship displays of multiple individuals from each population were recorded using a Sony A7S low-light camera with a 25 mm Canon lens, recording in 4K on a Shogun recorder. The camera was housed in a Nauticam custom underwater housing with a dome port (Settings: 30FPS; blue light; 124,000-260,000 iso; manual focus). Displays were included in analysis if clean first and last pulses were captured and in focus. Ten displays from each site were analyzed for the number of pulses, pulse duration, and inter-pulse interval. Pulse duration was quantified as time (seconds) from initial observed luminescence to no luminescence observed. Inter-pulse interval was quantified from the beginning of one pulse to the start of the following pulse.