Increased eye size is favoured in Trinidadian killifish experimentally transplanted into low light, high competition environments.

Abstract

Intraspecific variation in vertebrate eye size is well known. Ecological factors such as light availability are often correlated with shifts in relative eye size. However, experimental tests of selection on eye size are lacking. Trinidadian killifish (Anablepsoides hartii) are found in sites that differ in predation intensity. Sites that lack predators are characterized by lower light, high killifish densities, low resource availability, and intense competition for food. We previously found that killifish in sites that lack predators have evolved a larger "relative" eye size (eye size corrected for body size) than fish from sites with predators. Here, we used transplant experiments to test how selection operates on eye size when fish that are adapted to sites with predators are translocated into sites where predators are absent. We observed a significant "population × relative eye size" interaction; the relationship between relative eye size and a proxy for fitness (rates of individual growth) was positive in the transplanted fish. The trend was the opposite for resident fish. Such results provide experimental support that larger eyes enhance fitness and are favoured in environments characterized by low light and high competition.