Non-independent mate choice in a fiddler crab: a case of stimulus enhancement |
| |
Authors: | Richard N C Milner Michael D Jennions Patricia R Y Backwell |
| |
Institution: | (1) Evolution, Ecology and Genetics, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT, 0200, Australia |
| |
Abstract: | Non-independent mate selection occurs when the choice behavior of a female is altered by the interactions between other females
and males. In the fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi, males court mate-searching females by waving their one greatly enlarged claw. When a female approaches a male, he initiates
high-intensity waving. We conducted one natural mate choice experiment and two mate choice experiments using custom-built
robotic crabs. We show that the decision of one female to approach a group of males increases the probability that another
female will approach and visit a male from the same group. We suggest that this behavior is best explained by the ‘stimulus
enhancement’ hypothesis, where the presence of a female near a group of males makes them more likely to be detected by other
females due to an increase in male display rate. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 SpringerLink 等数据库收录! |
|