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Dryad

Immune challenge affects reproductive behaviour in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

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Jul 26, 2023 version files 3.90 KB

Abstract

Immunocompetence and reproductive success are among the most important determinants of fitness in animals. However, energetic and metabolic constraints create conflict between these two priorities. The trade-off between immunity and reproductive fitness has been the subject of great scientific interest over many decades. While a number of studies exploring the relationship between immune activity and reproductive fitness/behaviour have been conducted using birds and mammals inoculated with bacterial endotoxin (LPS), relatively few have focussed on fish. This presents a conspicuous gap in our understanding of how immune activity affects reproduction in vertebrates more generally. Fish have been experimentally neglected in this area due, in part, to the claim that fish are largely resistant to the immune effects of endotoxins, and thus presumably suffer negligible behavioural effects. While the immune response to endotoxins may differ somewhat between fish and terrestrial vertebrates, the findings here suggest that they are nonetheless susceptible to significant behavioural effects with respect to reproduction. In this study, we show that although immune challenge does not suppress general activity in male guppies, it significantly reduces reproductive effort. As such, it is important to expand the examination of these processes to a greater diversity of vertebrate species, including fish.