Sperm competition risk affects male mate choice copying |
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Authors: | David Bierbach Claudia Kronmarck Carmen Hennige-Schulz Stefan Stadler Martin Plath |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Ecology & Evolution, J.W. Goethe University Frankfurt, Siesmayerstrasse 70-72, 60054 Frankfurt am Main, Germany;(2) Unit of Evolutionary Biology & Systematic Zoology, Institute of Biochemistry & Biology, University of Potsdam, Karl-Liebknecht-Str. 24-25, 14476 Potsdam, Germany |
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Abstract: | Mate choice copying was mostly described as a strategy employed by females to assess the quality of potential mates, but also
males can copy other males’ mate choice. An open question in this context is whether and how copying males evaluate sperm
competition risk, as mating with a female that has already copulated with another male obviously sets the stage for intense
sperm competition (i.e., in species with internal fertilization). Using the livebearing Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana) as a model, we asked (a) whether males of that species indeed copy other males’ choices, and if they do so, (b) whether
copying males strategically adjust their behavior to sperm competition risk. We used an approach where focal males could first
choose to associate with a large or a small stimulus female. Mate choice tests were then repeated after an “observation phase”
during which either no model male was present (treatment 1, control) or the previously non-preferred female could be seen
associating (treatment 2) or physically interacting (treatment 3) with a model male. We found that, after the observation
phase, males spent considerably more time with the previously non-preferred female in treatment (2), i.e., they copied the
model male’s choice. This effect was much weaker during treatment (3) where sexual interactions between the model male and
the formerly non-preferred female were allowed. Males, therefore, seem to adjust their copying behavior strategically to the
perceived risk of sperm competition. |
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