Differences in predation intensity experienced by organisms can lead to divergent natural selection, driving evolutionary change. Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) exhibit larger caudal regions and higher burst-swimming capabilities when coexisting with higher densities of predatory fish. It is hypothesized that a trade-off between steady (constant-speed cruising; important for acquiring ...

The shape of performance curves and their plasticity define how individuals and populations respond to environmental variability. In theory, maximum performance decreases with an increase in performance breadth. However, reversible acclimation may counteract this generalist-specialist trade-off, because performance optima track environmental conditions so that there is no benefit of generalist ...

Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are a large group of environmental pollutants that can interfere with the endocrine system function of organisms at very low levels. One compound of great concern is trenbolone, which is widely used as a growth promoter in the cattle industry in many parts of the world. The aim of this study was to test how short-term (21-day) exposure to an environmentally...

The effects of male and female body size, and correlated characteristics, on male mating behaviour were investigated in the western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. Because larger females typically have larger broods in Gambusia sp., it was predicted that males would attempt more copulations with larger females. Two-way ANOVA showed that female body size was a significant predictor of male mating...

Biological invasions rank among the main global threats for biodiversity. The Eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) is considered one of the 100 world worst invasive species due to its high adaptation capability to new environments. Using the restriction-site-associated DNA tags (RADtags), introduced European locations were compared against native US mosquitofish populations to analyse geno...

in this study, cadmium (cd) accumulation was studied in an experimental aquatic exposure. mosquitofish (gambusia affinis) were acutely exposed for 96 h to a high concentration of cd (12 mg/l) and were chronically exposed to a low concentration of cd(0.4 mg/l) for 30 days. cd accumulation profiles differed between the two cd exposures. the cd concentation in g. affinis tissues increased linearly...

I tested the effects of male body size on male mating behavior and reproductive success in the western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis. In two separate behavioral experiments (male–male competition and no-competition), I tested the predictions that (1) larger males out-compete smaller males for mates and (2) small males increase their number of mating attempts in the absence of a larger competit...

Ecological invasions, where non-native species spread to new areas, grow to high densities and have large, negative impacts on ecological communities, are a major worldwide problem. Recent studies suggest that one of the key mechanisms influencing invasion dynamics is personality-dependent dispersal: the tendency for dispersers to have a different personality type than the average from a source...