Female mate choice and male red coloration in a natural three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) population

Abstract

Under laboratory conditions, female three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) show a mating preference for intensely red-colored males. We verified this female choice in the field by observing a freshwater stickleback population in its natural habitat. During the egg collection phase, individual courting males were localized with the aid of a dummy of a ripe female, caught and photographed under standardized conditions, and released. After males had stopped collecting eggs, we counted the number of eggs in the nests. The more intense a male's red breeding coloration, the more eggs he received. Simultaneous female choice experiments in the laboratory suggested that ripe females of this population preferred redder males. Breeding activities of the males in the field were clustered and seem to be synchronized within clusters. At one of the breeding sites, more intense red males were in better physical condition, but this was not the case at another site. Although several synchronized breeding cycles were observed, the majority of males seem to complete only one breeding cycle.

The male blue crab,Callinectes sapidus, uses both chromatic and achromatic cues during mate choice

“…Together, these data provide evidence that males may use claw color to identify sexually mature female blue crabs. Examples of color cues indicating sexual maturity are found in many species and are most often described in males (Kodric-Brown, 1985;Frischknecht, 1993;Bakker and Mundwiler, 1994), but are being increasingly documented in females (McLennan, 1995;McLennan, 2000;Amundsen and Forsgren, 2001). Additionally, our color measurements show similarities between immature males and immature females (Figs1 and 4).…”

“…Baldwin and S. Johnsen Clotfelter, 2007). Connections between coloration and mate attractiveness have been documented in several species of fish (Frischknecht, 1993;Bakker and Mundwiler, 1994;Evans and Norris, 1996) and birds (Hill and Montgomerie, 1994;Saks et al, 2003). Such results imply that both male and female blue crab claw coloration could be indicative of individual quality.…”

The importance of color in mate choice of the blue crab Callinectes sapidus

“…Male guppies fed a carotenoid-enriched diet produced more saturated red and orange patches, which increased their attractiveness to females (Kodric-Brown, 1989). Similar studies have linked diet, color and mate attractiveness in three-spine sticklebacks [Gasterosteus aculeatus (Frischknecht, 1993;Bakker and Mundwiler, 1994)], firemouth cichlids [Cichlasoma meeki (Evans and Norris, 1996)], and in several species of birds such as house finches [Carpoducus mexicanus (Hill and Montgomerie, 1994)] and greenfinches [Carduelis chloris (Saks et al, 2003)]. The results of these studies suggest that the blue and red colors of both male and female blue crabs could be indicative of foraging ability and thereby quality if carotenoids are a limited resource.…”

Signalling function of long wavelength colours during agonistic male-male interactions in the wrasse Coris julis

“…Colour signals in fish often indicate an individual's physical abilities (Andersson & Iwasa 1996) and are generally displayed in the context of social interactions, such as territorial fights (Stacey & Chiszar 1978, Baube 1997, Seehausen et al 1997, Siebeck 2004, the establishment and enforcement of dominance hierarchies (Bakker & Sevenster 1983) and female mate choice (Bakker & Mundwiler 1994). The available light spectrum is dependent on the optical properties of water, with long and short wavelength colours being attenuated the strongest due to absorption and scattering of incident light (Jerlov 1968, Lythgoe 1979.…”