Male fish use prior knowledge about rivals to adjust their mate choice

Abstract

Mate choice as one element of sexual selection can be sensitive to public information from neighbouring individuals. Here, we demonstrate that males of the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana gather complex social information when given a chance to familiarize themselves with rivals prior to mate choice. Focal males ceased to show mating preferences when being observed by a rival (which prevents rivals from copying mating decisions), but this effect was only seen when focal males have perceived rivals as sexually active. In addition, focal males that were observed by a familiar, sexually active rival showed a stronger behavioural response when rivals were larger and thus, more attractive to females. Our study illustrates an unparalleled adjustment in the expression of mating preferences based on social cues, and suggests that male fish are able to remember and strategically exploit information about rivals when performing mate choice.

Social recognition is context dependent in single male prairie voles

“…Social recognition has been studied across many taxa (Gheusi et al 1994; Tate et al 2006; Bierbach et al 2011; Jarcho et al 2011; Sheehan & Tibbetts 2011; Bos & d’Ettorre 2012), but perhaps no animals have contributed to a deep understanding of social recognition more than rodents (Bielsky et al 2005; Choleris et al 2009; Albers 2012; Bychowski & Auger 2012; Wacker & Ludwig 2012). The paradigms developed in rodents that test social recognition are robust (Halpin 1974; Johnston 1993; Ferguson et al 2002), often yielding reliable and predictable outcomes under controlled conditions (Macbeth et al 2009a).…”

Casanovas are liars: behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk, and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in live-bearing fishes

“…We tested each focal male only once; however, owing to the limited number of males available from our stocks, some males were also used as audience males after they had served as a focal male, but never on the same day and not in the same dyadic constellation. As familiarity among males affects the strength of audience effects in P. mexicana 9 , focal and audience males were taken from different stock tanks.…”

“…In the Atlantic molly, Poecilia mexicana , for instance, males temporarily decrease their sexual activity and cease showing mating preferences when another male is eavesdropping 9, 18, 21, 36, 37 . It has been hypothesized that those audience-induced changes in male mating behavior prevent rivals from copying mate choice decisions 19, 32 .…”

The effect of observers on behavior and the brain during aggressive encounters

“…This skill, called transitive inference allows analysis of a social hierarchy from incomplete information based solely on observed interactions. Since visual social signals are readily accessible to bystanders, the presence of additional receivers as bystanders can have important effects on signaling behavior [9-12]. Siamese fighting fish ( Betta splendens ) males, for example, monitor aggressive interactions between neighboring males and use information about relative fighting ability in subsequent aggressive encounters [13-14].…”