Pubblicazione scientifica

Male and female preferences for nest characteristics under paternal care

FILONE TECNOLOGICO	TEMA
trasformazione e commercializzazione

RIASSUNTO

Abstract

Nests play a critical role for offspring development across the animal kingdom. Nest quality may contribute to the builder's extended phenotype and serve as an ornament during mate choice. We examined male and female nest choice in the common goby (Pomatoschistus microps), a benthic fish with male‐only parental care where females deposit eggs in male‐built nests. Using prebuilt nest models, we independently manipulated two candidate nest quality traits: (a) nest entrance width with a role in oxygen ventilation, and (b) extent of sand cover with a role in camouflage. In simultaneous choice trials, male gobies exhibited no preference for any nest model type. This suggests that initial characteristics of a nesting substrate have minor importance for males, which usually remodel the nest. Females were given a choice between two males occupying either entrance‐ or cover‐manipulated nests. The same pair of males was then exposed to a second female but now with alternated nest types assigned. Most females were consistent in choosing the same, typically the heavier male of the two regardless of nest properties. However, the females that chose the same nest regardless of the male preferred low over high sand coverage and narrow over wide nest entrance. Our results indicate that females base their mating decision on a combination of male phenotype and nest traits. While we found no indication that females are attracted to highly decorated nests, our study is the first in fishes to disentangle a preference for narrow (and thus more protective) nest entrances independent of nest coverage.

DATA

Data di pubblicazione: 17/06/2019

AUTORI

PARSSINEN VARPU
KALB NADINE
VALLON MARTIN
ANTHES NILS
HEUBEL KATJA

ENTE DI AFFERENZA

DEPT BIOSCIENCES UNIV HELSINKI HELSINKI FINLAND
TVARMINNE ZOOLOGICAL STATION UNIV HELSINKI HANKO FINLAND
DEPT BIOLOGY LUND UNIV LUND SWEDEN
INST EVOLUTION & ECOLOGY UNIV TUBINGEN TUBINGEN GERMANY
DEPT BIOLOGY UNIV TUBINGEN TUBINGEN GERMANY

RIVISTA

Ecology and Evolution, 9(13), 7780-7791

IMPACT FACTOR

2,540

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