A study of tactical and sexual dimorphism in cognition with insights for sexual conflict. (December 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Griebling, Hannah J.; Rios-Cardenas, Oscar; Abbott, Jessica; Morris, Molly R.
• Is Part Of: Animal behaviour. Volume 170(2020)
• Page Start: 43
• Page End: 50
• Publication Date: 2020-12
• Subjects: alternative reproductive tactic -- animal cognition -- fish cognition -- intralocussexual conflict -- learning performance -- maternal effect -- swordtail fish; Animal behavior -- Periodicals; 591.5
• DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2020.10.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-3472

Abstract

Abstract : The sexes may have different optima in cognitive traits due to differences in life history strategies and the expense of investing in metabolically costly brain tissue. However, given genetic correlations, each sex could be constrained from reaching its cognitive optimum due to intralocus sexual conflict. We compared learning performance of two male alternative reproductive tactics and females from known genotypes (both sire and dam) in the livebearing fish Xiphophorus multilineatus . We predicted that females' learning performance would align with the learning performance of their sire's genotype due to genetic correlation of cognitive traits. Using a classical conditioning assessment (associating a flashing light with a food reward), we detected mating tactic dimorphism in learning performance, with the behaviourally plastic sneaker males outperforming the behaviourally fixed courter males. Unexpectedly, females sired by the faster-learning sneaker males performed significantly worse than sneaker males. We also detected an influence of brain size on female learning performance. Previous studies have found that females invest more in offspring sired by courter males, and we therefore hypothesize that maternal effects could potentially mitigate the influence of sexual conflict on a cognitive trait. Highlights: Swordtail fish showed tactical and sexual dimorphism in learning performance. There was no evidence for a genetic correlation across the sexes for learning. This suggests no intralocus sexual conflict on investment in cognition. Maternal effects on the slower learning tactic may mitigate genetic correlation. Our results support the presence of direct selection on female cognitive traits.