Abstract
Sexual selection is a possible mechanism of speciation. This could be true even in systems where female mate choice has not been clearly observed, because pre-existing biases may be expressed if female decision-making results in male trait evolution. In some mollies, males have enlarged dorsal fins and courtship display is the prevailing mating process. In others, male dominance is thought to play a greater role. We tested females of a species in the latter group, Poecilia mexicana, for consistent preference related to dorsal fin morphology. We found that females were biased toward larger dorsal fins. This latent preference could be an important driver in trait evolution.
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Acknowledgements
We thank the Fisheries Department within the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of Belize, and the Monkey Bay Ecological Reserve for making this work possible. We also thank Margaret Ptacek for her helpful advice, and two thoughtful reviewers who devoted substantial time to improvement of this manuscript. Finally, we acknowledge Princeton University, where this work was completed.
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Jordan, R., Howe, D., Knight, T. et al. Female choice linked to male dorsal fin height in a shortfin molly. J Ethol 24, 301–304 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-006-0196-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10164-006-0196-4