Female receptivity affects subsequent mating effort and mate choice in male guppies

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.007

Animal Behaviour

Volume 140, June 2018, Pages 73-79

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2018.04.007 Get rights and content

Highlights

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We tested for changes in male behaviour after different previous mating success.
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Mating history significantly affected males' subsequent effort and choosiness.
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High mating success decreased subsequent male effort and increased male choosiness.
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Males adjust their behaviour based on their condition and recent mating success.

High mating effort leads to choosiness because each mating event reduces future reproductive potential. Many studies have shown that males adjust their sexual behaviour relative to female fecundity and encounter rate. However, little is known about the effects of a male's past mating experiences. We used guppies, Poecilia reticulata, to investigate how males change their sexual behaviour after experiencing high or low mating success. Each male was tested with two differently sized unreceptive females before and after encountering either four indiscriminate receptive virgin females or four nonreceptive pregnant females. Males that experienced high mating success with receptive females decreased their courtship displays but increased the frequency of sneaky behaviour, whereas low mating success males previously repetitively rejected by nonreceptive females showed an increase in courtship and a decrease in sneaky copulation attempts. Mating history also influenced male choosiness, with successful males showing stronger preferences for larger females than unsuccessful males. This overall adjustment in behaviour may be attributed to a reduction of resources, such as energy and gametes, as well as prior social interaction with receptive and nonreceptive females. Males that adjust their effort and choosiness based on their recent mating history and their own condition could optimize reproductive trade-offs.

Section snippets

Population and Fish Maintenance

Guppies inseminate females either by performing a courting sigmoid display and subsequently inseminating the female with her cooperation, or by means of sneaky behaviour without previously courting her (Liley, 1966). Although each male uses both tactics, as these are not fixed alternative reproductive strategies, the proportion of courtship to forced attempts can be influenced by different environmental factors (Auld et al., 2015, Endler, 1987, Farr and Herrnkind, 1974, Godin, 1995, Jirotkul,

Results

Changes in male behaviour varied between tests depending on whether the males' prior experience was with receptive or nonreceptive females. Mating effort increased after males experienced nonreceptive females, and consequently low mating success, whereas mating effort was reduced when males experienced receptive females and higher mating success (Table 1). This occurred both for the number of courtships displayed (t₃₈ = 2.21, P = 0.03) and the total duration of courtship displays (W = 301.5, P = 0.006)

Discussion

Male guppies that experienced receptive or nonreceptive females modified their sexual behaviour depending upon the nature of their recent mating history. After interacting with receptive females and experiencing high mating success, males decreased courtship effort but increased sneaky behaviour; they were also choosier after interacting with receptive females. Although our treatments resulted in experimental males experiencing very different mating success, we were unable to distinguish

Acknowledgments

We are very thankful to Xandy Kranz and Priti Singh for assistance with the maintenance of the fish. We are also grateful to Andreas Svensson for helpful discussions and advice. Financial support for this research was provided by the Australian Research Council (DP110101421 to J.A.E.), the School of Life and Environmental Sciences of Deakin University and Vicerrectoría de Investigación y Estudios de Posgrado of BUAP.

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View full text

Female receptivity affects subsequent mating effort and mate choice in male guppies

Highlights

Section snippets

Population and Fish Maintenance

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgments

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Trends in Ecology & Evolution

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

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Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Animal Behaviour

Sexual voyeurs and copiers: Social copying and the audience effect on male mate choice in the guppy

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Do male Trinidadian guppies adjust their alternative mating tactics in the presence of a rival male audience?

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Ethological studies on Lebistes reticulatus (Peters). I. An analysis of the male courtship pattern

Behaviour

Effects of age and experience on male mate choosiness

Ethology

The evolution of male mate choice in insects: A synthesis of ideas and evidence

Biological Reviews

Sex-biased movement in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Oecologia

Mechanisms underlying shoal composition in the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata

Oikos

Exploring simultaneous allocation to mating effort, sperm production, and body growth in male guppies

Behavioral Ecology

Expression of pre- and postcopulatory traits under different dietary conditions in guppies

Behavioral Ecology

Ejaculate cost and male choice

American Naturalist

Female size influences mate preferences of male guppies

Ethology

Female behaviour mediates male courtship under predation risk in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology

Behavioral responses of a sex-role reversed pipefish to a gradient of perceived predation risk

Behavioral Ecology

Changes in male mate choice in a sexually cannibalistic orb-web spider (Araneae: Araneidae)

Behaviour