Temporal and spatial variation in female mating preferences in a fiddler crab

H. L. Clark*, P. R.Y. Backwell

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    15 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Female mating preferences can vary temporally, with females choosing different males at different times; and spatially, with females in different populations preferring different males. This level of complexity is now well established, but we know of no evidence for a mosaic of female preferences within a single population. Here we show that, in the banana fiddler crab, Uca mjoebergi, female preferences vary both temporally and spatially. Females living in the high inter-tidal zone changed their mating preference for male size over the duration of the 9-day mating period every semi-lunar cycle: early mating females selected larger males with cooler burrows, slowing embryonic development; those mating later, selected smaller males with warmer burrows, accelerating development. Females living lower in the inter-tidal zone, however, did not show this temporal variation: they select the same sized males throughout the mating period. It is only in the high inter-tidal zone, at the start of the fortnightly mating period, that large size confers a mating advantage to males.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1779-1784
    Number of pages6
    JournalBehavioral Ecology and Sociobiology
    Volume69
    Issue number11
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Nov 2015

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