| To advance breeding protocols for endangered species, I used the guppy to investigate the relative importance of inbreeding and mate choice on fitness. While inbreeding and mate choice had no effect on mother reproduction, they did affect offspring size. Mate choice resulted in larger infant offspring, while inbreeding had no effect at this stage. In contrast, inbreeding decreased juvenile and female adult offspring size, while mate choice had no effect. Only adult male offspring experienced concurrent effects of inbreeding and mate choice, with more pronounced effects of the latter. Although the levels of inbreeding depression documented were low, this study provides the first evidence that mate choice can have stronger effects on fitness than inbreeding. Moreover, mate choice benefits may offset inbreeding depression when both occur within the same trait. This calls to question current breeding protocols which focus on genetic diversity, and make no considerations for mate choice. |
