Evolution of Parental Care in Convict Cichlids: Offspring Survival & Horizontal Transmission of Microbes

Presentation Type

Poster/Portfolio

Presenter Major(s)

Biomedical Sciences, Chemistry

Mentor Information

Jodee Hunt

Department

Biology

Location

Kirkhof Center KC31

Start Date

11-4-2012 9:00 AM

Keywords

Life Science

Abstract

Parents can benefit young by transmitting beneficial microbes, a phenomenon unexamined in fishes. We bred convict cichlids, divided broods and placed half with female and half with male parents. To identify bacteria, we collected samples of embryos, slime-coats of parents, and fry. We extracted bacterial DNA, isolated and amplified 16s rDNA (PCR), and differentiated among taxa (DGG electrophoresis stained with SYBR Green; UV transillumination image). We compared percent survival of offspring receiving male vs female care (paired-sample t-test); male vs female parental behavior (sign-rank test); and bacterial composition of male & female parents, offspring, and aquarium water (Gel2K). We created hierarchical clusters for each group (nearest-neighbor & Jaccard distance) and tested whether groupings were non-random. Parents cared for offspring after broods were split (unknown when trials began), and embryo survival did not differ significantly if cared for by female vs. male parents.

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Apr 11th, 9:00 AM

Evolution of Parental Care in Convict Cichlids: Offspring Survival & Horizontal Transmission of Microbes

Kirkhof Center KC31

Parents can benefit young by transmitting beneficial microbes, a phenomenon unexamined in fishes. We bred convict cichlids, divided broods and placed half with female and half with male parents. To identify bacteria, we collected samples of embryos, slime-coats of parents, and fry. We extracted bacterial DNA, isolated and amplified 16s rDNA (PCR), and differentiated among taxa (DGG electrophoresis stained with SYBR Green; UV transillumination image). We compared percent survival of offspring receiving male vs female care (paired-sample t-test); male vs female parental behavior (sign-rank test); and bacterial composition of male & female parents, offspring, and aquarium water (Gel2K). We created hierarchical clusters for each group (nearest-neighbor & Jaccard distance) and tested whether groupings were non-random. Parents cared for offspring after broods were split (unknown when trials began), and embryo survival did not differ significantly if cared for by female vs. male parents.