Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Male preference for colourful females affected by male size in a marine fish

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

It is becoming increasingly clear that mate preferences are not static, but can vary as a function of ecological conditions and the state of the choosing individual. This applies not only to females, the sex that has usually been the subject in research on mate preferences, but also to males. Under certain conditions, males should be selective in their choice of breeding partner. In the two-spotted goby, Gobiusculus flavescens, a small marine fish, breeding females develop conspicuous yellow-orange bellies, which they actively display to males during courtship. We have recently shown that males prefer more colourful females as mates. In this study, we test if the size of a male affects his preference for colourful females. Using three-compartment mate-choice aquaria, we recorded the interest shown by a male in two females differing in coloration but similar in size. Large and small males were equally eager to court females, but only large males showed a greater interest in the more colourful females. We suggest that small males are unselective because they usually obtain few mating opportunities, as a result of being unsuccessful in mate attraction or male contest competition. This study provides the first demonstration that the size of a male affects his preference for female colour.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 3a, b.
Fig. 4a, b.
Fig. 5a, b.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Amundsen T (2000a) Why are female birds ornamented? Trends Ecol Evol 15:149–155

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Amundsen T (2000b) Female ornaments: genetically correlated or sexually selected? In: Espmark Y, Amundsen T, Rosenqvist G (eds) Animal signals. Tapir Academic Press, Trondheim, pp 133–154

  • Amundsen T, Forsgren E (2001) Male mate choice selects for female coloration in a fish. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:13155–13160

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Amundsen T, Forsgren E, Hansen LTT (1997) On the function of female ornaments: male bluethroats prefer colourful females. Proc R Soc Lond B 264:1579–1586

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Andersson M (1994) Sexual selection. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ

  • Backwell PRY, Passmore NI (1996) Time constraints and multiple choice criteria in the sampling behaviour and mate choice of the fiddler crab, Uca annulipes. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 38:407–416

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baird TA (1988) Abdominal windows in straight-tailed razor fish, Xyrichthys martinicensis: an unusual female sex character in a polygynous fish. Copeia 1988:496–499

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglund A (1993) Risky sex: male pipefishes mate at random in the presence of a predator. Anim Behav 46:169–175

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglund A, Rosenqvist G (2001) Male pipefish prefer ornamented females. Anim Behav 61:345–350

    Google Scholar 

  • Berglund A, Rosenqvist G, Svensson I (1986) Mate choice, fecundity and sexual dimorphism in two pipefish species (Syngnatidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 19:301–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisazza A, Marconato A (1988) Female mate choice, male-male competition and parental care in the river bullhead, Cottus gobio L. (Pisces, Cottidae). Anim Behav 36:1352–1360

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisazza A, Pilastro A (1997) Small male mating advantage and reversed size dimorphism in poeciliid fishes. J Fish Biol 50:397–406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bisazza A, Grapputo A, Nigro L (1997) Evolution of reproductive strategies and male sexual ornaments in poeciliid fishes as inferred by mitochondrial 16 rRNA gene phylogeny. Ethol Ecol Evol 9:55–67

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisazza A, Marconato A, Marin G (1989) Male competition and female choice in Padogobius martensi (Pisces, Gobiidae). Anim Behav 38:406–413

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjelvenmark J (1998) Reproductive trade-offs in the two-spotted goby, Gobiusculus flavescens. MSc Thesis, Göteborg University

  • Bjelvenmark J, Forsgren E (2003) Effects of mate attraction and male-male competition on paternal care in a goby. Behaviour (in press)

  • Blount JD, Houston DC, Møller AP (2000) Why egg yolk is yellow. Trends Ecol Evol 15:47–49

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • JD, Surai PF, Nager RG, Houston DC, Møller AP, Trewby ML, Kennedy MW (2002) Carotenoids and egg quality in the lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus: a supplemental feeding study of maternal effects. Proc R Soc Lond B 269:29–36

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bonduriansky R (2001) The evolution of male mate choice in insects: a synthesis of ideas and evidence. Biol Rev 76:305–339

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Burley N (1977) Parental investment, mate choice, and mate quality. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 74:3476–3479

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clutton-Brock TH, Parker GA (1992) Potential reproductive rates and the operation of sexual selection. Q Rev Biol 67:437–456

    Google Scholar 

  • Collins SP (1981) Littoral and benthic investigations on the west coast of Ireland. XIII. The biology of Gobiusculus flavescens (Fabricius) on the Connemare coast. Proc R Ir Acad 81b:63–87

    Google Scholar 

  • Coté IM, Hunte W (1989) Male and female mate choice in the redlip blenny: why big is better. Anim Behav 1989:78–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowley PH, Travers SE, Linton MC, Cohn SL, Sih A, Sargent RC (1991) Mate density, predation risk, and the seasonal sequence of mate choices: a dynamic game. Am Nat 137:567–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cunningham EJA, Birkhead TR (1998) Sex roles and sexual selection. Anim Behav 56:1311–1321

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin C (1871) The descent of man, and selection in relation to sex. Murray, London

  • Dominey WJ, Blumer LS (1984) Cannibalism in early life history stages in fishes. In: Hausfater G, Hrdy SB (eds) Infanticide: comparative and evolutionary perspectives. Aldine, New York, pp 43–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Emlen ST, Oring LW (1977) Ecology, sexual selection, and the evolution of mating systems. Science 197:215–223

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • FitzGerald GJ (1992) Filial cannibalism in fishes: why do parents eat their offspring? Trends Ecol Evol 7:7–10

    Google Scholar 

  • Foote CJ (1988) Male mate choice dependent on male size in salmon. Behaviour 106:63–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren E (1992) Predation risk affects mate choice in a gobiid fish. Am Nat 140:1041–1049

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren E (1997) Female sand gobies prefer good fathers over dominant males. Proc R Soc Lond B 264:1283–1286

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Forsgren E, Kvarnemo C, Lindström K (1996) Mode of sexual selection determined by resource abundance in two sand goby populations. Evolution 50:646–654

    Google Scholar 

  • Godin JGJ, Briggs SE (1996) Female mate choice under predation risk in the guppy. Anim Behav 51:117–130

    Google Scholar 

  • Gordon JCD (1983) Some notes on small kelp forest fish collected from Saccorhiza polyschides bulbs on the Isle of Cumbrae Scotland. Ophelia 22:173–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Gotthard K, Nylin S, Wiklund C (1999) Mating system evolution in response to search costs in the speckled wood butterfly, Pararge aegeria. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 45:424–429

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gray DA (1999) Intrinsic factors affecting female choice in house crickets: time cost, female age, nutritional condition, body size, and size-relative reproductive investment. J Insect Behav 12:691–700

    Google Scholar 

  • Harari AR, Handler AM, Landolt PJ (1999) Size-assortative mating, male choice and female choice in the curculionid beetle Diaprepes abbreviatus. Anim Behav 58:1191–1200

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Harvey PH (2002) Evolution: when females are brighter than males. Curr Biol 12:R24–R25

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hedrick AV, Dill LM (1993) Mate choice by female crickets is influenced by predation risk. Anim Behav 46:193–196

    Google Scholar 

  • Hingle A, Fowler K, Pomiankowski A (2001) Size-dependent mate preference in the stalk-eyed fly Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni. Anim Behav 61:589–595

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Houde AE (2001) Sex roles, ornaments, and evolutionary explanation. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 98:12857–12859

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Iersel JJA van (1953) An analysis of the male parental behaviour of the male three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.). Behaviour 3 [Suppl]:1–159

  • Jennions MD, Petrie M (1997) Variation in mate choice and mating preferences: a review of causes and consequences. Biol Rev 72:283–327

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jennions MD, Backwell PRY, Passmore NI (1995) Repeatability of mate choice: the effect of size in the African painted tree frog, Hyperolius marmoratus. Anim Behav 49:181–186

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnsen S (1945) Studies on variation in fish in Northern European Waters. Bergens Mus Årbok Naturvitensk Rekke 4:30–49

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone RA, Reynolds JD, Deutsch JC (1996) Mutual mate choice and sex differences in choosiness. Evolution 50:1382–1391

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones IL, Hunter FM (1993) Mutual sexual selection in a monogamous seabird. Nature 362:238–239

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones IL, Hunter FM (1999) Experimental evidence for mutual inter- and intrasexual selection favouring a crested auklet ornament. Anim Behav 57:521–528

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kirkpatrick M, Barton NH (1997) The strength of indirect selection in female mating preferences. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 94:1282–1286

    Google Scholar 

  • Kokko H, Johnstone RA (2002) Why is mutual mate choice not the norm? Operational sex ratios, sex roles and the evolution of sexually dimorphic and monomorphic signalling. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B 357:319–330

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kokko H, Monaghan P (2001) Predicting the direction of sexual selection. Ecol Lett 4:159–165

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kraak SBM, Bakker TCM (1998) Mutual mate choice in sticklebacks: attractive males choose big females, which lay big eggs. Anim Behav 56:859–866

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kunzler R, Bakker TCM (2000) Pectoral fins and paternal quality in sticklebacks. Proc R Soc Lond B 267:999–1004

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kvarnemo C, Ahnesjö I (1996) The dynamics of operational sex ratios and competition for mates. Trends Ecol Evol 11:404–408

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvarnemo C, Forsgren E (2000) The influence of potential reproductive rate and variation in mate quality on male and female choosiness in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 48:378–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kvarnemo C, Simmons LW (1998) Male potential reproductive rate influences mate choice in a bushcricket. Anim Behav 55:1499–1506

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström K (1988) Male-male competition for larger nest sites in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Oikos 53:67–73

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström K (1992) The effect of resource holding potential, nest size and information about resource quality on the outcome of intruder-owner conflicts in the sand goby. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 30:53–58

    Google Scholar 

  • Lindström K (1998) Effects of costs and benefits of brood care on filial cannibalism in the sand goby. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 42:101–106

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lindström K, Hellström M (1993) Male size and parental care in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Ethol Ecol Evol 5:97–106

    Google Scholar 

  • Lopez S (1999) Parasitized female guppies do not prefer showy males. Anim Behav 57:1129–1134

    Google Scholar 

  • Luttbeg B, Towner MC, Wandesforde-Smith A, Mangel M, Foster S (2001) State-dependent mate-assessment and mate-selection behavior in female threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus, Gasterosteiformes: Gasterosteidae). Ethology 107:545–558

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Magnhagen C (1992) Alternative reproductive behaviour in the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps: an ontogenetic gradient. Anim Behav 44:182–184

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnhagen C (1994) Sneak or challenge: alternative spawning tactics in non-territorial male common gobies. Anim Behav 47:1212–1215

    Google Scholar 

  • Magnhagen C, Kvarnemo C (1989) Big is better: the importance of size for reproductive success in male Pomatoschistus minutus (Pallas) (Pisces:Gobiidae). J Fish Biol 35:755–763

    Google Scholar 

  • McLain DK, Boromisa RD (1987) Male choice, fighting ability, assortative mating and the intensity of sexual selection in the milkweed longhorn beetle, Tetraopes tetraophthalmus (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 20:239–246

    Google Scholar 

  • Milinski M, Bakker TCM (1992) Costs influence sequential mate choice in sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Proc R Soc Lond B 250:229–233

    Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP, Biard C, Blount JD, Houston DC, Ninni P, Saino N, Surai PF (2000) Carotenoid-dependent signals: indicators of foraging efficiency, immunocompetence or detoxification ability? Avian Poult Biol Rev 11:137–159

    Google Scholar 

  • Nakajima M, Taniguchi N (2002) Genetic control of growth in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Aquaculture 204:393–405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olsson M (1993) Male preference for large females and assortative mating for body size in the sand lizard (Lacerta agilis). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 32:337–341

    Google Scholar 

  • Owens IPF, Thompson DBA (1994) Sex differences, sex ratios and sex roles. Proc R Soc Lond B 258:93–99

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Parker GA (1983) Mate quality and mating decisions. In: Bateson P (ed) Mate choice. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 141–166

  • Parker GA, Simmons LW (1996) Parental investment and the control of sexual selection: predicting the direction of sexual competition. Proc R Soc Lond B 263:315–321

    Google Scholar 

  • Pélabon C, Borg ÅA, Bjelvenmark J, Forsgren E, Barber I, Amundsen T (2003) Do male two-spotted gobies prefer large fecund females? Behav Ecol (in press)

  • Petterson A, Lignell Å (1999) Astaxanthin deficiency in eggs and fry of Baltic salmon (Salmo salar) with the M74 syndrome. Ambio 28:43–47

    Google Scholar 

  • Pilastro A, Giacomello E, Bisazza A (1997) Sexual selection for small size in male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Proc R Soc Lond B 264:1125–1129

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitafi KD, Simpson R, Stephen JJ, Day TH (1990) Adult size and mate choice in seaweed flies (Coelopa frigida). Heredity 65:91–98

    Google Scholar 

  • Potts GW, McGuigan KM (1986) Preliminary survey of the distribution of postlarval fish associated with inshore reefs and with special reference to Gobiusculus flavescens (Fabricius). Prog Underwater Sci 11:15–25

    Google Scholar 

  • Poulin R (1994) Mate choice decisions by parasitized female upland bullies, Gobiomorphus breviceps. Proc R Soc Lond B 256:183–187

    Google Scholar 

  • Ptasek MB, Travis J (1997) Male choice in the sailfin molly Poecilia latipenna. Evolution 51:1217–1231

    Google Scholar 

  • Real LA (1990) Search theory and mate choice. I. Models of single-sex discrimination. Am Nat 136:376–404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Real LA (1991) Search theory and mate choice. II. Mutual interaction, assortative mating, and equilibrium variation in male and female fitness. Am Nat 138:901–917

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JD (1993) Should attractive individuals court more—theory and a test. Am Nat 141:914–927

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reynolds JD, Gross MR (1992) Female mate preference enhances offspring growth and reproduction in a fish, Poecilia reticulata. Proc R Soc Lond B 250:57–62

    Google Scholar 

  • Rogers W, Barlow GW (1991) Sex differences in mate choice in a monogamous biparental fish, the Midas cichlid (Cichlasoma citrinellum). Ethology 87:249–261

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenqvist G (1990) Male mate choice and female-female competition for mates in the pipefish Nerophis ophidion. Anim Behav 39:1110–1115

    Google Scholar 

  • Roulin A (1999) Nonrandom pairing by male barn owls (Tyto alba) with respect to a female plumage trait. Behav Ecol 10:688–695

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sæther SA, Fiske P, Kålås JA (2001) Male mate choice, sexual conflict and strategic allocation of copulations in a lekking bird. Proc R Soc Lond B 268:2097–2102

    Google Scholar 

  • Sargent RC (1985) Territoriality and reproductive tradeoffs in the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Behaviour 93:217–226

    Google Scholar 

  • Sargent RC, Gebler JB (1980) Effects of nest site concealment on hatching success, reproductive success, and parental behaviour of the threespine stickleback, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 7:137–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Sargent RC, Gross MR, Berghe EP van den (1986) Male mate choice in fishes. Anim Behav 34:545–550

    Google Scholar 

  • Schantz T von, Bensch S, Grahn M, Hasselquist D, Wittzell H (1999) Good genes, oxidative stress and condition-dependent sexual signals. Proc R Soc Lond B 266:1–12

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Simmons LW (1995) Relative parental expenditure, potential reproductive rates, and the control of sexual selection in katydids. Am Nat 145:797–808

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skolbekken R, Utne AC (2001) Parental investment of male two-spotted goby, Gobiusculus flavescens (Fabricius). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 261:137–157

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Svensson PA, Barber I, Forsgren E (2000) Shoaling behaviour of the two-spotted goby. J Fish Biol 56:1477–1487

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Travis J (1994) Size-dependent behavioral variation and its genetic control within and among populations. In: Boake CRB (ed) Quantitative genetic studies of behavioral evolution. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 165–187

  • Utne ACW (1995) Experimental investigations of habitat choice in fish. PhD Thesis, University of Bergen

  • Utne ACW, Aksnes DL (1994) An experimental study on the influence of feeding versus predation risk in the habitat choice of juvenile and adult two-spotted goby Gobiusculus flavescens. J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 179:69–79

    Google Scholar 

  • Utne ACW, Aksnes DL, Giske J (1993) Food, predation risk and shelter: an experimental study of the distribution of adult two-spotted goby Gobiusculus flavescens (Fabricius). J Exp Mar Biol Ecol 166:203–216

    Google Scholar 

  • Verakunpiriya V, Mushiake K, Kawano K, Watanabe T (1997) Supplemental effect of astaxanthin in broodstock diets on the quality of yellowtail eggs. Fish Sci 63:816–823

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verrell PA (1995) Males choose larger females as mates in the salamander Desmognathus santeetlah. Ethology 99:162–171

    Google Scholar 

  • Wearing-Wilde J (1996) Mate choice and competition in the barklouse Lepinotus patruelis (Psocoptera: Trogiidae): the effect of diet quality and sex ratio. J Insect Behav 9:599–612

    Google Scholar 

  • Widemo F, Sæther SA (1999) Beauty is in the eye of the beholder: causes and consequences of variation in mating preferences. Trends Ecol Evol 14:26–31

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zander CD (1982) Zur Morphologie und Biologie einiger seltener Grundeln des Mittelmeeres (Pisces, Gobiodei, Gobiidae). Senckenbergiana Mar 14:1–8

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Sylve Robertsson for constructing excellent field equipment, and Iain Barber, Jens Bjelvenmark and Åsa Borg for assistance in catching fish. Uwe Berger, Lotta Kvarnemo, Christophe Pélabon, Ingebrigt Uglem, Fredrik Widemo, two anonymous reviewers and the "Ethology Lunch Bunch" at NTNU provided valuable comments on previous drafts. The study was financially supported by grants from the EU Large Scale Facilities Program at Kristineberg Marine Research Station (T.A.) and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council (E.F.), and was conducted in accordance with Swedish laws on animal research.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, 7491, Trondheim, Norway

    Trond Amundsen & Elisabet Forsgren

  2. Department of Marine Ecology, Göteborg University, Fiskebäckskil, 450 34, Göteborg, Sweden

    Elisabet Forsgren

Authors
  1. Trond Amundsen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elisabet Forsgren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Trond Amundsen.

Additional information

Communicated by H. Kokko

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Amundsen, T., Forsgren, E. Male preference for colourful females affected by male size in a marine fish. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 54, 55–64 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0593-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0593-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation