Mate Choice in Aidablennius Sphynx (Teleostei, Blenniidae); Females Prefer Nests Containing More Eggs

Behaviour ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 119 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 243-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Videler ◽  
Sarah B.M. Kraak
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Brood Size ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Male Display ◽  
Concrete Blocks ◽  
Empty Tube ◽  
Aidablennius Sphynx

AbstractCriteria for female mate choice were investigated in a natural population of a Mediterranean blenny, Aidablennius sphynx. Removable test tubes in concrete blocks were offered as nests. Each tube was guarded by a male and females laid eggs in the tubes. Nests with larger broods received significantly more spawning females. The numbers of eggs laid increased with brood size from empty nests to intermediate brood sizes, but this tendency is reversed if nests contain very large broods. Nests with and without broods were exchanged experimentally among males. The number of eggs a male received, after an empty tube was replaced by a tube with eggs, was significantly higher. Conversely, the number of eggs received after a tube with eggs was replaced by an empty tube, was significantly lower. Male display did not increase the probability that females spawned. Male size did not correlate with the numbers of eggs received. It is discussed that female preference for large broods might be adaptive because the number of eggs present in the nest is probably a reliable predictor of the survival chances of the eggs.

scholarly journals Does divergence in female mate choice affect male size distributions in two cave fish populations?

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Tobler ◽  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Martin Plath
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Mate

Sexual selection by female choice can maintain male traits that are counter selected by natural selection. Alteration of the potential for sexual selection can thus lead to shifts in the expression of male traits. We investigated female mate choice for large male body size in a fish ( Poecilia mexicana ) that, besides surface streams, also inhabits two caves. All four populations investigated, exhibited an ancestral visual preference for large males. However, only one of the cave populations also expressed this female preference in darkness. Hence, the lack of expression of female preference in darkness in the other cave population leads to relaxation of sexual selection for large male body size. While P. mexicana populations with size-specific female mate choice are characterized by a pronounced male size variation, the absence of female choice in one cave coincides with the absence of large bodied males in that population. Our results suggest that population differences in the potential for sexual selection may affect male trait variation.

scholarly journals Sexual selection of male parental care in giant water bugs

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 150720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ya Ohba ◽  
Noboru Okuda ◽  
Shin-ichi Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Water Bugs ◽  
Selection Of

Paternal care can be maintained under sexual selection, if it helps in attracting more mates. We tested the hypothesis in two giant water bug species, Appasus major and Appasus japonicus , that male parental care is sexually selected through female preference for caring males. Females were given an opportunity to choose between two males. In the first test of female mate choice, one male carried eggs on its back, while the other did not. The egg status was switched between these two males in the second test. The experiment revealed that females of both species preferred caring males (i.e. egg-bearing) to non-caring males. Nonetheless, the female mate preference for egg-bearing males was stronger in A. major than in A. japonicus . Our results suggest that sexual selection plays an important role in maintaining elaborate paternal care in giant water bugs, but the importance of egg-bearing by males in female mate choice varies among species.

scholarly journals Male-male interactions select for conspicuous male colouration in damselflies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Md Kawsar Khan ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Choice Experiment ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Juvenile Males ◽  
First Time

AbstractMale ornamentation, such as conspicuous male colouration, can evolve through female mate choice. Alternatively, in species without overt female mate preference, conspicuous male colouration can evolve via intrasexual selection to resolve male-male competition or to prevent costly male-male mating attempts. Here, we investigated the drivers of conspicuous male colouration in an ontogenetic colour changing damselfly, Xanthagrion erythroneurum, where the juvenile males are yellow and change colour to red upon sexual maturity. We first showed that red males were chromatically and achromatically more conspicuous than the yellow males. We then quantified the condition of the males and showed that red males were larger and in better condition than yellow males. We tested female preference in a choice experiment where we artificially manipulated male colour, and found that females did not choose mates based on male colouration. We further tested whether the male colouration affected male-male interactions. We presented red and yellow males in the breeding arena, and found that red males received less intra- and interspecific aggression than yellow males. Our study experimentally showed, for the first time, that male conspicuousness is not a target of female mate choice in damselflies. Intra- and interspecific male-male interactions therefore appear to be the driver of conspicuous male colouration in damselflies.

Female Preference for Nests With Eggs Is Based On the Presence of the Eggs Themselves

Behaviour ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 131 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ton G.G. Groothuis ◽  
Sarah B.M. Kraak
Keyword(s):  
Fish Species ◽  
Visual Cues ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Closed Container ◽  
Test Female ◽  
Male Display ◽  
Display Behaviour ◽  
Aidablennius Sphynx

AbstractIn many fish species of which males care for eggs in a nest, including Aidablennius sphynx, females prefer to mate with males that already guard eggs. In this paper we present two aquarium experiments with this Mediterranean blenny to determine whether the females actually use the presence of eggs as a cue or depend on male display behaviour signalling the presence of eggs. In experiment 1 the test-female was presented with two nests, one with eggs and one without eggs, and only one male in a closed container between the two nests. This male only served to stimulate the female. In all tests females preferred to lay eggs in the nest already containing eggs. This shows that females of this species can base their choice on the presence of the eggs alone. In experiment 2 the test-female was presented with two males in nests of which only one had eggs. Transparent partitions deprived the female of the opportunity to inspect the nest contents. The male with and the male without eggs did not differ in time spent displaying towards the female, and the female did not show a preference for either male, based on visual cues or odours. After removal of the partitions the female visited both nests. The nest she visited first was equally likely to be the nest without eggs as the nest with eggs. In contrast, the female finally deposited eggs preferentially in the nest with eggs. We conclude that in this experiment females did not base their preference for males with eggs on male behaviour, but on the nest contents after inspection. This does not exclude an influence of male behaviour under other conditions. Furthermore, females generally deposit their eggs adjacent to as many as possible of the eggs already present, suggesting that females can localize and possibly estimate the amount of eggs already present.

Genetic similarity, not male size, influences female mate choice in the agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis)

2006 ◽  
Vol 54 (5) ◽  
pp. 319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marissa L. Parrott ◽  
Simon J. Ward ◽  
Peter D. Temple-Smith
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Genetic Relatedness ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Small Male ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Simultaneous Choice ◽  
Antechinus Agilis ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Species Specific

Our research investigates the effects of genetic relatedness between mates and male size on female mate choice in the agile antechinus (Antechinus agilis). Females were provided with a simultaneous choice between one large and one small male, with a minimum 5 g (~20% of male weight) difference between males, in specially designed mate-choice enclosures. Genetic relatedness between males and females was determined using highly polymorphic, species-specific, microsatellite markers. Male size did not influence mate choice, with approximately equal numbers of large and small males chosen. Females chose males that were more genetically dissimilar to themselves significantly more times and showed significantly more sexual and non-exploratory behaviours near the genetically dissimilar males. The results show that, when free female mate choice is possible, female agile antechinus choose males on the basis of genetic relatedness, rather than male size.

scholarly journals Looking for sexual selection in the female brain

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2348-2356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly E. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Choice Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Preference Responses ◽  
Preference Behaviour

Female mate choice behaviour has significant evolutionary consequences, yet its mechanistic origins are not fully understood. Recent studies of female sensory systems have made great strides in identifying internal mechanisms governing female preferences. Only recently, however, have we begun to identify the dynamic genomic response associated with mate choice behaviour. Poeciliids provide a powerful comparative system to examine genomic responses governing mate choice and female preference behaviour, given the great range of mating systems: from female mate choice taxa with ornamental courting males to species lacking male ornamentation and exhibiting only male coercion. Furthermore, they exhibit laboratory-tractable preference responses without sexual contact that are decoupled from reproductive state, allowing investigators to isolate mechanisms in the brain without physiological confounds. Early investigations with poeciliid species ( Xiphophorus nigrensis and Gambusia affinis ) have identified putative candidate genes associated with female preference response and highlight a possible genomic pathway underlying female social interactions with males linked functionally with synaptic plasticity and learning processes. This network is positively correlated with female preference behaviour in the female mate choice species, but appears inhibited in the male coercive species. This behavioural genomics approach provides opportunity to elucidate the fundamental building blocks, and evolutionary dynamics, of sexual selection.

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