Male mate preference and size-assortative mating in convict cichlids: A role for female aggression?

Many monogamous species demonstrate size-assortative mating patterns within natural populations. To better understand the role of intersexual selection in this process, we examined the effect of male preference for female body size in the convict cichlid (Amatitlania siquia). We provided males with a choice between females that differed in size, relative to each other and in relation to the focal male. Based on previous work, we expected males to prefer the largest available female mates across all treatments. Surprisingly, males spent more time near the smaller of two available females, but only when the other female was larger than the male. Additionally, males spent little time with either of two potential female mates when both females were larger than the male. We hypothesized that while males might prefer the largest of available females, female behavior might limit males from acting on this preference. To test this, males were force paired with a smaller or larger female. Pair formation only occurred when the female was smaller than the male, and females that were larger than their male counterparts showed significantly more aggression when compared to smaller females. Together, these data suggest that in the absence of intrasexual competition, male mate preference for large females in convict cichlids might be limited by female aggression.

Bloch AN ，Estela VJ ，Leese JM ，Itzkowitz M ... -  《-》

You can't always get what you want: size assortative mating by mutual mate choice as a resolution of sexual conflict.

Baldauf SA ，Kullmann H ，Schroth SH ，Thünken T ，Bakker TC ... -  《BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY》

Rapid assessment of female preference for male size predicts subsequent choice of spawning partner in a socially monogamous cichlid fish.

Although size-assortative mating in convict cichlids, Amatitliana nigrofasciata, is supposed to result from mutual mating preference for larger individuals, female choice in relation to male size remains ambiguous. We revisited the evidence for directional preference for larger males in female convict cichlids using a classical two-way choice apparatus in which each female could decide to spend time in front of a small male or a large one. We found evidence for female preference for large males, as assessed from association preference during a 4-hour period following encounter. Furthermore, females decided to spawn in front of the initially preferred male more often than expected by chance. Our results thus confirm the existence of a directional preference for large males in female convict cichlids, and indicate that association preference measured over a short period of time can provide a quick and reliable proxy for reproductive preference in this species.

Dechaume-Moncharmont FX ，Cornuau JH ，Keddar I ，Ihle M ，Motreuil S ，Cézilly F ... -  《-》

Temporal variation in size-assortative mating and male mate choice in a spider with amphisexual care.

Moura RR ，Gonzaga MO 《-》

Experimental evidence for asymmetric mate preference and aggression: behavioral interactions in a woodrat (Neotoma) hybrid zone.

Shurtliff QR ，Murphy PJ ，Yeiter JD ，Matocq MD ... -  《BMC EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY》