Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>)
Mate choice that is based on behavioural traits is a common feature in the animal kingdom. Using the Trinidadian guppy, a species with mutual mate choice, we investigated whether males use female swimming activity—a behavioural trait known to differ consistently among individuals in many species—as...
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/2/147 |
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| author | David Bierbach Ronja Wenchel Stefan Gehrig Serafina Wersing Olivia L. O’Connor Jens Krause |
| author_facet | David Bierbach Ronja Wenchel Stefan Gehrig Serafina Wersing Olivia L. O’Connor Jens Krause |
| author_sort | David Bierbach |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mate choice that is based on behavioural traits is a common feature in the animal kingdom. Using the Trinidadian guppy, a species with mutual mate choice, we investigated whether males use female swimming activity—a behavioural trait known to differ consistently among individuals in many species—as a trait relevant for their mate choice. In the first experiment, we assessed male and female activity in an open field test alone (two repeated measures) and afterwards in heterosexual pairs (two repeated measures). In these pairs, we simultaneously assessed males’ mating efforts by counting the number of sexual behaviours (courtship displays and copulations). Male and female guppies showed consistent individual differences in their swimming activity when tested both alone and in a pair, and these differences were maintained across both test situations. When controlling for male swimming behaviour and both male and female body size, males performed more courtship displays towards females with higher swimming activity. In a second experiment, we tested for a directional male preference for swimming activity by presenting males video animations of low- and high-active females in a dichotomous choice test. In congruence with experiment 1, we found males to spend significantly more time in association with the high-active female stimulus. Both experiments thus point towards a directional male preference for higher activity levels in females. We discuss the adaptive significance of this preference as activity patterns might indicate individual female quality, health or reproductive state while, mechanistically, females that are more active might be more detectable to males as well. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:55:42Z |
| format | Article |
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| issn | 2079-7737 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:55:42Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
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| spelling | doaj.art-88458bd508dd493fab2f05bf8d0443d92023-12-11T16:55:10ZengMDPI AGBiology2079-77372021-02-0110214710.3390/biology10020147Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>)David Bierbach0Ronja Wenchel1Stefan Gehrig2Serafina Wersing3Olivia L. O’Connor4Jens Krause5Department of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, GermanyFaculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 42, 10115 Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Biology and Ecology of Fishes, Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries, Müggelseedamm 310, 12587 Berlin, GermanyMate choice that is based on behavioural traits is a common feature in the animal kingdom. Using the Trinidadian guppy, a species with mutual mate choice, we investigated whether males use female swimming activity—a behavioural trait known to differ consistently among individuals in many species—as a trait relevant for their mate choice. In the first experiment, we assessed male and female activity in an open field test alone (two repeated measures) and afterwards in heterosexual pairs (two repeated measures). In these pairs, we simultaneously assessed males’ mating efforts by counting the number of sexual behaviours (courtship displays and copulations). Male and female guppies showed consistent individual differences in their swimming activity when tested both alone and in a pair, and these differences were maintained across both test situations. When controlling for male swimming behaviour and both male and female body size, males performed more courtship displays towards females with higher swimming activity. In a second experiment, we tested for a directional male preference for swimming activity by presenting males video animations of low- and high-active females in a dichotomous choice test. In congruence with experiment 1, we found males to spend significantly more time in association with the high-active female stimulus. Both experiments thus point towards a directional male preference for higher activity levels in females. We discuss the adaptive significance of this preference as activity patterns might indicate individual female quality, health or reproductive state while, mechanistically, females that are more active might be more detectable to males as well.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/2/147animal personalityswimming activitymale mate choicemating preferences<i>Poecilia reticulata</i> |
| spellingShingle | David Bierbach Ronja Wenchel Stefan Gehrig Serafina Wersing Olivia L. O’Connor Jens Krause Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) Biology animal personality swimming activity male mate choice mating preferences <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> |
| title | Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) |
| title_full | Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) |
| title_short | Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (<i>Poecilia reticulata</i>) |
| title_sort | male sexual preference for female swimming activity in the guppy i poecilia reticulata i |
| topic | animal personality swimming activity male mate choice mating preferences <i>Poecilia reticulata</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-7737/10/2/147 |
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