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Behavioral Ecology Advance Access published online on February 29, 2008
Behavioral Ecology, doi:10.1093/beheco/arm154
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Individual variation in male mating preferences for female coloration in a polymorphic cichlid fish

Michele E.R. Pierottia,b,c, Mairi E. Knightd, Simone Immlere, Nicola J. Barsonf, George F. Turnera and Ole Seehausenb,c

a Molecular Ecology and Evolution Group, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Hull, Cottingham Road, Hull HU6 7RX, UK b Aquatic Ecology and Macroevolution, Institute of Zoology, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland c EAWAG Center for Ecology, Evolution and Biogeochemistry, 79 Seestrasse, CH-6047 Kastanienbaum, Switzerland d Terrestrial Ecology Research Group, School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK e Evolution & Behaviour Research Group, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Western Bank S10 2TN, Sheffield, UK f Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, Department of Biology, University of Oslo, PO Box 1066 Blindern, N-0316 Oslo, Norway

Address correspondence to M.E.R. Pierotti. E-mail: michele.pierotti{at}eawag.ch.


  Abstract

Female color polymorphisms are common in the cichlid species radiations of Lake Victoria and Lake Malawi. According to theory, when a population harbors variation in sex-determining factors, polymorphism in female-linked coloration might generate individual variation in male mating preferences for female color morphs. We tested whether individual males exhibit consistent mating preferences for female color morphs in the Lake Malawi cichlid Pseudotropheus (Maylandia) ‘zebra gold’, a species polymorphic for female coloration and sex determination. We also explored whether male mating preferences could be predicted by maternal coloration or were acquired by imprinting on siblings' coloration. We found large individual variation in the strength and direction of male preferences for sex-linked female color patterns. Male mating preferences could be predicted by the mother's color morph and were not affected by visual imprinting. These findings represent the first evidence of male choice on sex-linked female coloration in a Lake Malawi cichlid. Our analysis indicates a strong genetic component to male preference for female coloration and large individual variation in the strength and direction of male mating preferences. Within-population variation in innate mating preferences might have important implications in cichlid fish species radiations.

Key words: cichlid, male preferences, mate choice, sex determination, sex ratio.

Received 24 October 2006; revised 10 December 2007; accepted 11 December 2007.


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P. D. Dijkstra, S. van Dijk, T. G.G. Groothuis, M. E.R. Pierotti, and O. Seehausen
Behavioral dominance between female color morphs of a Lake Victoria cichlid fish
Behav. Ecol., May 1, 2009; 20(3): 593 - 600.
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