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Behavioral Ecology Vol. 12 No. 2: 182-191
© 2001 International Society for Behavioral Ecology

Male versus female mate searching in fiddler crabs: a comparative analysis

Catherine E. deRiveraa and Sandra L. Vehrencampb

a Department of Biology, 0355, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, California 92093-0355, USA b Cornell Lab of Ornithology, 159 Sapsucker Woods Road, Ithaca, New York 14850-1999, USA

Address correspondence to C.E. deRivera, who is now at the Department of Biology, Hobart & William Smith Colleges, 337 Pulteney St., Geneva, NY 14456, USA. E-mail: derivera{at}hws.edu .

We present a comparative analysis of mate searching in fiddler crabs, genus Uca. Several ecological factors determine which sex will search for mates and how complex male signaling will be. Female searching is most tightly correlated with mating in male burrows. Female searching is associated with high burrow density, small body size, and large soil size. These factors explain variation in a female's need for male-defended incubation sites. Female searching also is correlated with short eyestalks. In species in which females search for mates, males use a more complex mate attraction signal than in species in which males search.

Key words: courtship display, density, mate signaling, mobility game, operational sex ratio, searching sex, Uca.


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