Female spawning patterns and male mating success in the sand goby Pomatoschistus minutus
Female spawning patterns and male mating success in the sand goby Pomatoschistus minutus
复制标题
沙虾虎鱼的雌性产卵模式和雄性交配成功率
DOI:
10.1007/bf00349174
复制
发表时间:
1992
期刊:
影响因子:
2.4
通讯作者:
K. Lindström
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
K. Lindström
In June 1989 in a study conducted near Träminne Zoological Station, Finland (60° N 23° E) I investigated whether or not male mating success could be explained by female choice for male size in sand gobies (Pomatoschistus minutus). Male mating success was constrained by nest size and increased markedly with increasing nest size. I also found a negative correlation between the length of spawning females and the fullness of the nest. As large females lay more eggs, they also need to find a nest with more space available for the eggs. The size of males without eggs was the same across nest size, whereas the size of males with eggs significantly increased with increasing nest size. This is interpreted as female discrimination against males as mates in nests that are often contested. There was no correlation between a male's size and his mating success when males with no eggs in their nests were excluded. A male removal experiment, however, showed that, in a specific nest, when male size increases so does mating success, whereas, if male size decreases, mating success also decreases. It is concluded that in the sand goby females prefer to mate with larger males, especially when the male possesses a high-quality nest that he most probably will have to defend against other males.