Honesty of agonistic signalling and effects of size and motivation asymmetry in contests |
| |
Authors: | J S Kotiaho R V Alatalo J Mappes S Parri |
| |
Institution: | Department of Biological and Environmental Science, Konnevesi Research Station, University of Jyv?skyl?, Finland, FI
|
| |
Abstract: | Game theoretical models predict that the main function of fighting behaviour is to assess the relative fighting ability of
opponents. The sequential assessment game has often been used to investigate contests, while honest signalling theory has
received much less attention. With the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata we investigated whether male agonistic signalling can reveal honest information about fighting ability, and how size and motivation
asymmetries affect male fighting behaviour. We also determined whether male–male competition affects the courtship behaviour
of the males. We found that agonistic drumming activity is an honest indicator of male fighting ability, and that relative
size asymmetry and motivation to fight both contribute to the fighting ability. We also found that male–male competition decreases
the courtship drumming rate of subdominant males, suggesting that male–male competition limits the opportunities for female
choice. We conclude that sequential assessment and honest signalling may both be used in settling contests, and that they
may be used simultaneously.
Received: 10 December 1998 / Received in revised form: 23 June 1999 / Accepted: 5 July 1999 |
| |
Keywords: | Female choice Fighting success Honest signalling Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata Sequential assessment Sexual selection |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|