Male lagoon gobies, Knipowitschia panizzae, prefer more ornamented to larger females

Abstract

Female ornamentation may be directly sexually\ud selected, by male choice or female competition, or occurs as\ud the result of a genetic correlation, arising from sexual selection\ud on males. However, increasing evidence supports the\ud former hypothesis, suggesting that males actively choose\ud their partner preferring traits indicative of female quality. In\ud the lagoon goby, Knipowitschia panizzae, a polygynous\ud species whose males perform parental care to eggs, body\ud length and the size of a sex-specific yellow patch on the\ud belly are known to be reliable indicators of female fecundity.\ud In this paper, we tested, using dummies, the male’s mating\ud preferences for female body and yellow belly patch sizes.\ud The two experimental trials in which a single female trait\ud was variable showed that males prefer a larger belly patch\ud and a larger body size, indicating that both these characters\ud are selected by male mate choice. However, when faced with\ud dummies exhibiting an inverse combination of body and\ud belly patch sizes (experiment 3), males significantly preferred\ud the smaller ones with larger yellow belly patches. A\ud calculation of dummy theoretical fecundity reveals that in\ud the first two experiments, males would have received an\ud immediate benefit from their choice in terms of egg number,\ud whereas in the third one, males chose partners that would\ud have provided them with fewer eggs. The male lagoon goby\ud preference for females with larger belly patches, regardless\ud of their size, suggests that this trait, in addition to indicating\ud fecundity, conveys information about other aspects of female\ud and/or egg quality

Sexual selection and its evolutionary consequences in female animals

“…In the paternally caring brook stickleback ( Culaea inconstans ), males and females differ substantially in visual appearance, and males prefer to initiate courtship with females bearing distinctive colouration that signals readiness to mate (McLennan, ). In the lagoon goby ( Knipowitschia panizzae ), in which fathers care for one clutch at a time, females develop conspicuous yellow colouration only when sexually receptive, and the extent of colouration relative to body size honestly advertises individual fecundity (Massironi, Rasotto & Mazzoldi, ; Pizzolon, Rasotto & Mazzoldi, ). Temporary visual displays are particularly widespread among female lizards, in which they signal not only receptiveness but often, at other times, unreceptiveness (Baird, ; Table S7).…”

The evolution of male mate choice and female ornamentation: a review of mathematical models

“…2003 ; Griggio et al. 2005 ; Pizzolon et al. 2008 ), such as large body size (e.g., Olsson 1993 ; Verrell 1995 ; Ptacek and Travis 1997 ; Arntzen 1999 ; Werner and Lotem 2003 ; Wong and Jennions 2003 ; Herdman et al.…”

Female ornamentation and egg carotenoids of six sympatric gobies

“…In the Mediterranean lagoon goby Knipowitschia panizzae (Verga) a species closely related to Pomatoschistus spp. and G. flavescens (Huyse et al , 2004), gravid females attain a yellow patch on the belly skin that is attractive to males (Massironi et al , 2005; Pizzolon et al , 2008). Skin‐based belly colouration also occurs in Pomatoschistus quagga (Heckel), another close Mediterranean relative (Zander, 1982).…”

“…For male choice of ornamented females to evolve, males should gain some benefit from being choosy. In K. panizzae , more colourful females lay larger clutches, and choosy males are therefore rewarded with more offspring (Massironi et al , 2005; Pizzolon et al , 2008). In G. flavescens , there is no strong relationship between belly colouration and clutch size, but more colourful females lay eggs with higher carotenoid concentration (Svensson et al , 2006).…”