Size‐dependent mating preference of the male fiddler crab Austruca perplexa

Abstract

In many animals, females prefer large males to small males, which allow large males to be choosier than small males when selecting a mate. We investigated the courtship intensity of small‐ and large‐sized male fiddler crabs (Austruca perplexa) by examining their claw‐waving rates (waves/min) towards small‐ and large‐sized females. We found that large males showed a greater preference for large females by producing more waves/min towards them, whereas small males did not show any apparent preference for either large or small females. Moreover, the waving rate of large males was positively correlated with female size, but there was no correlation between waving rate and female size in small males. These results indicate that large males in a population become choosier and show strong mate choice, which is most likely due to their greater preference among females.

Effect of egg cannibalism on mating preferences and reproductive fitness of Menochilus sexmaculatus Fabricius (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

“…An individual's mate preference is thus a result of a combination of multiple traits including the quality of their potential mate (Hebets et al, 2008;Schultzhaus et al, 2017). Quality of the individual is known to be affected by multiple factors such as age (Avent et al, 2008;Anjos-Duarte et al, 2011), size (Downhower and Brown, 1980;Tina and Muramatsu, 2015;Locatello . CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license made available under a (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is…”

Temporal variations in the air, soil, and fiddler crab (Austruca perplexa) burrow temperatures in southern Thailand

“…They are active on the surface during diurnal low tide. Males wave their major claws towards the wandering females to attract them towards the breeding burrows for mating (Tina et al 2018;Tina 2020;Tina and Muramatsu 2020). If a female selects a male, she approaches the male and enters the male burrow.…”

“…They are active on the surface and show various activities (e.g., feeding, fighting, waving, burrowing, grooming, etc.) during low tide (Tina et al 2016, Tina 2020Tina and Muramatsu, 2020).…”

Meta‐analytical evidence that males prefer virgin females

“…For example, males in several taxa preferentially mate with more fecund females (Cotton et al., 2015; Jones et al., 2001), as doing so provides fitness benefits. Males may also prefer females based on size (Herdman et al., 2004; Reading & Backwell, 2007; Tina & Muramatsu, 2020), age (Muller et al., 2006; Xu & Wang, 2009), or nutritional state (Baruffaldi & Andrade, 2015; Henneken et al., 2015).…”