Evaluating the evolutionary mechanisms maintaining alternative mating strategies in a simulated bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) population.

ABSTRACT: The coexistence of distinct alternative mating strategies (AMS) is often explained by mechanisms involving trade-offs between reproductive traits and lifetime fitness; yet their relative importance remains poorly understood. Here, we used an established individual-based, spatially explicit model to simulate bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus) in the Skagit River (Washington, USA) and investigated the influence of female mating preference, sneaker-specific mortality, and variation in age-at-maturity on AMS persistence using global sensitivity analyses and boosted regression trees. We assumed that two genetically fixed AMS coexisted within the population: sneaker males (characterized by younger age-at-maturity, greater AMS-specific mortality, and lower reproductive fitness) and territ

SUBMITTER: Bernos TA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10082177 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature