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Genetics of cannibalism in a viviparous fish and its relationship to population density

Nature volume 251, pages 138–140 (1974)Cite this article

Abstract

THE success of viviparous species is a result of their capacity to produce small numbers of advanced offspring with high survivorship potential. Cannibalism, which would appear to be antithetical to this adaptation, is widespread among viviparous fishes1–3. I have examined the genetics of cannibalism and the significance of its density-dependent mechanism in teleosts of the genus Poeciliopsis. A five-membered unisexual–bisexual complex has evolved in this genus through hybridisation of a cannibalistic species, Poeciliopsis monacha, with the noncannibalistic species, P. lucida. Hybridisation of these two species formed P. monacha-lucida4, a diploid unisexual; backcrosses of this diploid form with each of its progenitors resulted in the evolution of two triploid unisexuals: P. monacha-2 lucida and P. 2 monacha-lucida5. All these rely on males of the bisexual species for fertilisation.

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Author notes

  1. ROGER E. THIBAULT

    Present address: Department of Zoology and Entomology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50010

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecology Section, U-43, Biological Sciences Group, University of Connecticut, Storrs, Connecticut, 06268

    ROGER E. THIBAULT

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  1. ROGER E. THIBAULT
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THIBAULT, R. Genetics of cannibalism in a viviparous fish and its relationship to population density. Nature 251, 138–140 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1038/251138a0

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