Female preferences for male traits and territory characteristics in the cichlid fish Tropheus moorii

Abstract

Female mate preferences for male traits and resource characteristics affect trait evolution and diversification. Here, we test the effects of male body traits and territory characteristics on within-population female preferences and on population–assortative mating in the cichlid Tropheus moorii. Within-population preferences of females were independent of male body size, coloration and territory size but were strongly dependent on territory quality and co-varied with male courtship activity. Courtship activity of individual males was contingent on the quality of their assigned territory, and therefore, courtship may not only indicate intrinsic male quality. On the basis of these results we suggest that female preferences for high-quality territories reinforce the outcome of malemale competition and ensure male mating success. Mating preferences of females for males of their own color variant (ascertained in a previous experiment) were not overturned when males of another color variant were presented in a superior territory, indicating that within- and between-population mate preferences of females depend on different cues.

Asymmetric dominance and asymmetric mate choice oppose premating isolation after allopatric divergence

“…2008; Schaedelin and Taborsky 2010; Hermann et al. 2015). Given that experimental manipulation of territory characteristics can override conspecific female preferences (Dijkstra et al.…”

“…Within populations, the mating success of males depends on their territories (Yanagisawa and Nishida 1991; Hermann et al. 2015), which raises the possibility that competition for territories among males of differentiated color morphs affects patterns of assortative mating in secondary contact. Three color morphs were tested against each other (Fig 1…”

“…In the resource-based and lek-like mating systems of many cichlid species, territories, nest sites, or display sites defended by males play a critical role in determining male mating success (McKaye et al 1990;Genner et al 2008;Schaedelin and Taborsky 2010;Hermann et al 2015). Given that experimental manipulation of territory characteristics can override conspecific female preferences (Dijkstra et al 2008), the strength of behavioral isolation in secondary contact may depend on how the competitive abilities of differentiated taxa interact with their sexual preferences.…”

Shifting barriers and phenotypic diversification by hybridisation

“…Within each experiment, individuals were used only once and 10 successful trials were completed. The experimental setup was identical to experiment 1 in Hermann et al (2015). Briefly, each trial consisted of a 4-day acclimation period, during which males and females were separated by mesh partitions, and a 4-day period with two 'access sessions' per day, during which females could interact with one male at a time and behaviour was scored for 30 min following the first interaction of the pair.…”

Preface: Advances in cichlid research: behavior, ecology, and evolutionary biology

“…Hermann et al (2015) examined the effect of male body coloration and male territory characteristics on the mate preferences of female Tropheus moorii in the context of sexual selection within and reproductive isolation between populations. Pisanski et al (2015) report a lack of sound production during competitive and sexual interactions of the cooperatively breeding Neolamprologus pulcher, which contrasts with evidence for acoustic communication in other cichlids and demonstrates that the evolution of complex social behavior in cichlids does not rely on acoustic signaling.…”