The relative importance of orange spot coloration and total length of males in female guppy mate preference |
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Authors: | Kenji Karino Yoko Urano |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Biology, Tokyo Gakugei University, Nukui-kita 4-1-1, Koganei, Tokyo 184-8501, Japan |
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Abstract: | Female mate choice by multiple male traits is an important current topic in animal behavior. However, the relative importance
among the multiple cues in female choice is not explored in most cases. Female guppies Poecilia reticulata use both the color saturation of orange spots and the total length of males as mate choice criteria. In the present study,
we used digitally modified video playbacks to examine the relative importance of these two male traits to female mate preferences.
We initially examined the effective difference in the color saturation of orange spots as well as that in total length between
two stimulus male images. Females only showed a strong preference for a bright male image (compared to the dull image) when
the difference in color saturation was large (91% versus 25%). Conversely, females only exhibited a preference for larger
size when they were presented a choice between two relatively small male images (total length 26.0 mm versus 23.0 mm). When
two male images in which both the two traits were modified were presented to females, they prioritized male images possessing
higher color saturation of orange spots, indicating the color saturation of male orange spots to be a more important factor
than the total length in their mate choice. The color saturation of orange spots may convey more reliable information about
the males to the females than their total lengths. These findings imply that females may rank multiple male criteria depending
on relative benefits or costs derived from their mate choice based on each criterion. |
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Keywords: | Female mate choice Sexually selected traits Carotenoid-based coloration Sexual selection Digitally modified videos |
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