Synchronized courtship in fiddler crabs

Backwell, Patricia R. Y.; Jennions, Michael D.; Passmore, N. I.; Christy, John H.

doi:10.1038/34076

Cited by 114 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…In Uca perplexa, video analyses revealed that subtle differences in male movements influence female choice. Males that were visited by females in the field completed the downward component of the chela wave more rapidly than their neighbors, and the interval between the end of one wave and the start of the next was shorter (Backwell et al 1998). A subsequent study found similar results: the waves of males that were visited by females were distinct from those that females passed by (Murai & Backwell 2006).…”

Section: Motor Skill In Arthropodssupporting

confidence: 70%

Female mate choice based upon male motor performance

2010

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Section: Motor Skill In Arthropodssupporting

confidence: 70%

Female mate choice based upon male motor performance

2010

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“…Males tend to produce waves that are in close synchrony with each other [23]. Female U. annulipes preferentially approach males with faster wave rates, greater wave leadership (slightly earlier waves during a synchronous bout) and larger claws [16,17,23]. In combination with studies on the closely related U. mjoebergi [18], we assume here that females show a direct preference for higher wave rates.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Courting males cluster around the female and wave their one greatly enlarged claw. Males tend to produce waves that are in close synchrony with each other [23]. Female U. annulipes preferentially approach males with faster wave rates, greater wave leadership (slightly earlier waves during a synchronous bout) and larger claws [16,17,23].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Keeping up appearances: male fiddler crabs wave faster in a crowd

2011

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Courtship displays are often energetically and temporally costly as well as highly conspicuous to predators. Selection should therefore favour signalling tactics that minimize courtship costs while maintaining or increasing signal attractiveness. In fiddler crabs, males court females by waving their one greatly enlarged claw in a highly conspicuous and costly display. Here, we investigate whether courting males adjust their wave rate, and therefore the cost of courtship, to the current level of competition. We show that display rate increases as competition increases and that when competition is removed, males reduce their display rate by 30 per cent. These results suggest that male fiddler crabs actively reduce the cost of courtship by adjusting their wave rate in response to the immediate level of competition.

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“…For instance, fiddler crabs (genus Uca) wave their claws in social (mostly reproductive) contexts and show complex forms of timing in these claw-waving displays (Backwell, Jennions, Passmore, & Christy, 1998;Kahn, Holman, & Backwell, 2014). Complementarily, non-temporal social information influences timing patterns of waving displays in this genus of Crustacea by modulating the temporal frequency of waving depending on the audience (Pope, 2000).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of temporal interaction: A comparative approach to social timing

Ravignani

Kotz

2017

Preprint

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Increasing empirical research shows a deep connection between timing processes and neural processing of social information. An integrative theoretical framework for prospective studies in humans was recently proposed, linking timing to sociality. A similar framework guiding research in non-human animals is desirable, ideally encompassing as many taxonomic groups and sensory modalities as possible in order to embrace the diversity of social and timing behaviour across species. Here we expand on a previous theoretical account, introducing this debate to animal behaviour. We suggest adopting an evolutionary perspective on social timing in animals: i.e. a comparative approach to probe the link between temporal and social behaviour across a broad range of animal species. This approach should advance our understanding of animal social timing that is, how social behaviour and timing are mutually affected, and possibly of its evolutionary history in our own lineage. We conclude by identifying outstanding questions and testable hypotheses in animal social timing.

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Synchronized courtship in fiddler crabs

Cited by 114 publications

References 1 publication

Female mate choice based upon male motor performance

Female mate choice based upon male motor performance

Keeping up appearances: male fiddler crabs wave faster in a crowd

Evolution of temporal interaction: A comparative approach to social timing

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