Effects of acoustic pollution on the sexual behaviour of male guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
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2024-05
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Benemérita Universidad Autónoma de Puebla
Abstract
"Human activity is considered a selective force acting on other species’ traits. Man-made noise has become an increasingly invasive element in the environment, and the impact of this pollutant involves physiological, ecological, and behavioural changes in organisms. Among the latter, reproductive behaviours are particularly relevant because they directly relate to fitness. Here, I studied how noise pollution affects the sexual behaviour of a livebearer fish, the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). In the laboratory, intermittent white noise was used to simulate acoustic pollution and examine its long-term and immediate effects on the repertoire of sexual behaviours of male guppies. For long-term effects, I compared individuals exposed during four days to a noise or a control treatment and evaluated their behaviour before and after exposure; for immediate effects, I compared the behaviour of individuals during real time exposure to noisy and control treatments. I measured the latency to initiate sexual behaviour, frequency of gonopodial swings and gonopodial thrusts, frequency and duration of sigmoid displays, and towards which female such behaviours were directed. Contrary to our predictions, there were no immediate effects of noise on any of the assessed traits".
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