Repeatability of Male Mate Choice in the Mosquitofish, <i>Gambusia holbrooki</i>

Hoysak, Drew J.; Godin, Jean‐Guy J.

doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.2007.01413.x

Cited by 50 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…This result is consistent with previous dichotomous-test studies finding preference for larger females in poeciliids (Bisazza, Marconato & Marin, 1989; Herdman, Kelly & Godin, 2004; Hoysak & Godin, 2007; Jeswiet & Godin, 2011; Plath et al, 2006) and indicates that absolute preference functions are an accurate tool to study individual preferences. Because preference functions can be used to compare preferences between individuals, they can also be used to address a more specific and broader range of questions than is possible using only dichotomous choice tests.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

“…The cylinder in the center of the tank had solid walls, while the two outer cylinders were perforated with seven circular holes 6 mm in diameter to allow for chemical and mechanosensory signals. Chemical and mechanosensory signals have been found to be important factors in poeciliid mating behavior, influencing the repeatability of individual preferences as well as the overall preference (Coleman, 2011; Hoysak & Godin, 2007; Plath et al, 2006; Rüschenbaum & Schlupp, 2012). All three cylinders were 8.5 cm long by 8.5 cm wide, and tall enough to stick through the water.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have demonstrated male preference for larger females in many species (Abrahams, 1993; Bisazza, Marconato & Marin, 1989; Dosen & Montgomerie, 2004a; Gumm & Gabor, 2005; Herdman, Kelly & Godin, 2004; Hoysak & Godin, 2007; Jeswiet & Godin, 2011; Plath et al, 2006; Ptacek & Travis, 1997). This is likely a result of the strong correlation between female size and fecundity (Herdman, Kelly & Godin, 2004; Hughes, 1985; Marsh-Matthews et al, 2005; Milton & Arthington, 1983; Reznick & Endler, 1982; Riesch et al, 2009b), suggesting that size is used as a signal of female quality and has played a role in the evolution of male mate choice.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

Schlupp

2013

PeerJ

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While female mate preference is very well studied, male preference has only recently begun to receive significant attention. Its existence is found in numerous taxa, but empirical research has mostly been limited to a descriptive level and does not fully address the factors influencing its evolution. We attempted to address this issue using preference functions by comparing the strength of male preference for females of different sizes in nine populations of four poeciliid species. Due to environmental constraints (water toxicity and surface versus cave habitat), females from these populations vary in the degree to which their size is correlated to their fecundity. Hence, they vary in how their size signals their quality as mates. Since female size is strongly correlated with fecundity in this subfamily, males were sequentially presented with conspecific females of three different size categories and the strength of their preference for each was measured. Males preferred larger females in all populations, as predicted. However, the degree to which males preferred each size category, as measured by association time, was not correlated with its fecundity. In addition, cave males discriminated against smaller females more than surface males. Assuming that male preference is correlated with female fitness, these results suggest that factors other than fecundity have a strong influence on female fitness in these species.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 92%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

Schlupp

2013

PeerJ

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“…Our study is unique in that we not only experimentally identified a behaviour that is more likely to be performed in the presence of preferred males than in other social contexts, but we also experimentally showed that males respond to the signal. Historically, the detection and repeatability of male mate preference in barrier trials that prevent olfactory communication has been difficult (Herdman et al 2004, Hoysak & Godin 2007). The detection of male mate choice in X. cortezi , without the aid of olfactory cues, underscores the importance of headstands/pecks as a visual signal in mate selection.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Head over heels: an examination of a possible mating signal in female swordtails, Xiphophorus cortezi

Fernandez

Toth

2008

Animal Behaviour

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Females of many species display overt behavioural signs that provide information to males about their willingness to mate. We have observed female swordtails (Xiphophorus cortezi) performing "headstands" and/or "pecks" toward the substrate of their tank in the presence of males. To determine if this behaviour is an attempt at foraging, a mating signal, or a sign of aggression or stress, we exposed satiated individual female swordtails to either no fish, a female or a male fish and measured association time and frequency of headstand/pecking behaviours. Females did not perform these behaviours when there was no other fish in the tank. Although they spent equal amounts of time associating with either a male or female stimulus fish, they only performed headstands/pecks in the presence of males. Furthermore, in dichotomous choice tests with large and small males, females preferred to associate with large males and performed significantly more headstands/pecks in their presence. Finally, males were simultaneously exposed to videos of a free-swimming female and the same female intermittently pecking the bottom of the tank in order to examine their response to the signal. Larger males spent more time with and performed more courtship behaviours towards the pecking female, whereas smaller males spent more time associating with and courting the freely swimming female. These results suggest that headstands/pecks performed by female swordtails in the presence of males may be a signal of a female's willingness to mate and that the size of a male affects his response to this signal.

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“…Test females that showed side biases during the first mate‐choice test, that is, those that spent more than 80% of their choosing time on the same side, even though we had switched the position of the stimulus cages, were excluded from the analysis in accordance with other studies (Dosen & Montgomerie, ; Hoysak & Godin, ; Kniel, Dürler, et al., ; Kniel, Schmitz, et al., ; Kniel et al., ; Schlupp & Ryan, ; Williams & Mendelson, ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of the model in mate‐choice copying in female zebra finches

2017

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Previous studies have shown that zebra finch females copy the mate choice of other females by choosing a mate of the same phenotype as the one chosen by another female (model). Little is known about the influence of the model female on the mate choice of the observing female. Therefore, we investigated the role of the model female in mate‐choice copying by manipulating her phenotype. Test females could choose between an unadorned male and an artificially adorned male, that is, wearing a red feather on the forehead. During a 2h observation period, test females could observe a single male in one cage and a male–female pair in another cage. In treatment one, the single male was unadorned and both the male and the female of the pair (model female) were adorned. In treatment two, the single male was adorned, the male of the pair unadorned and the model female adorned. Afterwards, test females could again choose between two new males, one adorned and one unadorned. In treatment one, test females first showed no preference for one of the two males, but avoided adorned males after the observation period. In treatment two, test females lost an initial preference for unadorned males after the observation period. In both treatments, test females did not copy the mate choice of the adorned model female. Adorned model females seemed to have a negative influence on the attractiveness of their mates' phenotype. Test females might have recognised model females as females of a different phenotype within their species which are adapted to different environmental conditions, or even have recognised model females as a female of another species. Our study demonstrates the important role of the model female in the complex public information network in zebra finches.

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Repeatability of Male Mate Choice in the Mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki

Cited by 50 publications

References 59 publications

Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

Poeciliid male mate preference is influenced by female size but not by fecundity

Head over heels: an examination of a possible mating signal in female swordtails, Xiphophorus cortezi

The role of the model in mate‐choice copying in female zebra finches

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