The interaction of MHC – mediated mate choice and plastic immune challenge on mate choice behavior in Syngnathus typhle and Nerophis ophidion
Ansvariga forskare: Olivia Roth, Gunilla Rosenqvist och Anders Berglund
When olfactory cues were provided, male Syngnathus typhle choose females with a compatible MHC class I genotype to provide an increased MHC diversity in their offspring. In addition S.typhle females choose males according to their own immune status. If females were immune-challenged they chose males that were sham-injected.
If females were sham-injected they chose males that were immune challenged. We subsequently investigated what drives mate choice, the more genotypic specificity component (MHC) or the phenotypic plastic component (immune challenge) or whether we find a condition-dependent interaction of the two traits.
Kontakt
Olivia Roth
Helmholtz Institut für Ozeanforschung
GEOMAR
Evolutionary Ecology of Marine Fishes
Düsternbrookerweg 20
D-24105 Kiel
Research at the station
