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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Fish populations are increasingly being subjected to anthropogenic changes to
their sensory environments. The impact of these changes on inter- and intra-specific
communication, and its evolutionary consequences, has only recently started to receive
research attention. A disruption of the sensory environment is likely to impact communication,
especially with respect to reproductive interactions that help to maintain species
boundaries. Aquatic ecosystems around the world are being threatened by a variety of environmental stressors, causing dramatic losses of biodiversity and bringing urgency to
the need to understand how fish respond to rapid environmental changes. Here, we discuss
current research on different communication systems (visual, chemical, acoustic, electric)
and explore the state of our knowledge of how complex systems respond to environmental
stressors using fish as a model. By far the bulk of our understanding comes from
research on visual communication in the context of mate selection and competition for
mates, while work on other communication systems is accumulating. In particular, it is
increasingly acknowledged that environmental effects on one mode of communication
may trigger compensation through other modalities. The strength and direction of
selection on communication traits may vary if such compensation occurs. However, we
find a dearth of studies that have taken a multimodal approach to investigating the
evolutionary impact of environmental change on communication in fish. Future research
should focus on the interaction between different modes of communication, especially
under changing environmental conditions. Further, we see an urgent need for a better
understanding of the evolutionary consequences of changes in communication systems
on fish diversity.
Description
Keywords
Evolution Environmental change Sensory systems Sexual selection Phenotypic plasticity Adaptation
Citation
Evolutionary Ecology, 25, 623-640