DIFFERENCES IN MATING BEHAVIOR BETWEEN TWO ALLOPATRIC POPULATIONS OF A NEOTROPICAL SCORPION

PERETTI, ALFREDO V.; OLIVERO, PAOLA A.; MATTONI, CAMILO I.

ZOOLOGY

ELSEVIER GMBH

Año: 2017 p. 71 - 78

0944-2006

Courtship and mating behavior generally evolve rapidly in diverging populations and species. The adaptation to different environments may cause behavioral divergence in characteristics involved in mate choice. Our objective in this study was to compare the sexual behavior of two distant populations of the scorpion Bothriurus bonariensis. This species has a broad distribution in South America, inhabiting Central Argentina, Uruguay and Southeastern Brazil. It is known that in this species there is a divergence in morphological patterns (body size, coloration, allometry and fluctuating asymmetry indexes) among distant populations. Considering the differences in environmental conditions between localities, we compare the sexual behavior in intra-populations and inter-populations matings from Central Argentina and Southern Uruguay populations. We found significant differences in patterns of mating, including differences in the frequency of occurrence and duration of important stimulatory courtship behaviors. In addition, most inter-population matings were unsuccessful. In this framework, the differences in reproductive behavior could represent a principle of reproductive isolation between populations, which coincides with their already known morphological differences. This is the first study comparing the sexual behavior of allopatric populations of scorpions and provide new data about the degree of intraspecific geographical divergence in sexual behavior of B. bonariensis.