Male coloration signals direct benefits in the European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus)

0394419 - ÚBO 2014 RIV NL eng J - Journal Article
Smith, Carl - Phillips, A. - Polačik, Matej - Reichard, Martin
Male coloration signals direct benefits in the European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus).
Environmental Biology of Fishes. Roč. 97, č. 4 (2014), s. 335-341. ISSN 0378-1909. E-ISSN 1573-5133
R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/09/1163
Institutional support: RVO:68081766
Keywords : Oviposition * Mate choice * Mating system * Nuptial coloration * Sexual selection * Spermatozoa
Subject RIV: EG - Zoology
Impact factor: 1.570, year: 2014

Female mating preferences are frequently associated with exaggerated male sexual traits. In the European bitterling, Rhodeus amarus, a fish with a resource-based mating system, male coloration is not associated with indirect genetic benefits of female mate choice, and does not reliably signal spawning site quality. We tested a link between the extent of male carotenoid-based coloration and testis size and number of spermatozoa stripped from the testes. Male body size predicted spermatozoa number, but less reliably than the extent of male coloration. Male color was a highly significant predictor of spermatozoa number, with approximately 26% of variance in the number of spermatozoa stripped from males predicted from male color after controlling for male body size. Body size, but not coloration, predicted teste size. Female bitterling often risk sperm limitation, especially during pair spawnings, and male nuptial coloration may be under direct selection through female mate choice as a signal of male fertilization efficiency.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0222634