Synchronous waving in two species of fiddler crabs |
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| Authors: | Patricia Backwell Michael Jennions Keiji Wada Minoru Murai John Christy |
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| Affiliation: | (1) Tropical Biosphere Research Centre, University of the Ryukyus, 4322 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 905-02, Japan;(2) School of Botany and Zoology, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia;(3) Department of Biological Sciences, Nara Women’s University, Nara 630-8506, Japan;(4) Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 2072, Balboa, Republic of Panama |
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| Abstract: | In the fiddler crabs Uca saltitanta and Uca perplexa, males attract mates by waving their enlarged claws. We show that in both species waving is closely synchronised between neighbouring males in clusters, both in the presence of mate-searching females and in their absence. Wandering females visit those males in the cluster that produce more waves at faster wave rates. In U. perplexa, they also selectively visit those males that produce the greatest number of leading waves. Synchronous waving may be the result of a precedence effect causing male competition to produce leading signals. |
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