The inheritance of quantitative fitness traits in guppies, Poecilia reticulata (Pisces: Poeciliidae). II. Tests for inbreeding effects

Abstract

We tested for the effects of a single generation of full-sib inbreeding on quantitative sexual behaviour patterns whose contributions to the reproductive success of male guppies, Poecilia reticulata, are known. The parental stocks were derived recently from natural populations in Trinidad and from an introduced population in Haiti. Contrary to an earlier report in which behavioural levels were correlated with level of heterozygosity, no overall additive effects of breeding system were found. However, significant breeding × father interactions suggest that breeding system can have an effect, but that different genotypes respond in different manners. The data support earlier findings of Y-linkage of major sexual behaviour patterns in inbred strains of guppies. The magnitude of autosomal influences on male sexual behaviour was consistent over three independent data sets, but the mode of action of autosomal factors appears to be very complex. © 1984, The Genetical Society of Great Britain.