Abstract
Behavioral interactions between individuals of the same sex can affect the outcome of intersexual selection. For this reason, intrasexual selection is oftentimes examined independently from intersexual selection in studies aimed at understanding mating behaviors. However, a more complete understanding of sexual selection effects within a population can only come from exploring both intrasexual and intersexual selection and the potential interactions between the levels of selection. Association preferences in male and female Etheostoma fonticola do not reveal a size preference for same sex or opposite-sex individuals. However, male-male interactions may influence female choice in E. fonticola. We examined whether male E. fonticola that differ in body size exhibit differences in agonistic behaviors and mating success. Larger males do exhibit higher rates of aggressive behaviors and smaller males, in turn, exhibit more defensive behaviors. However, differences between larger and smaller males in male-male interactions did not translate into differences in spawning success. These results suggest that male size influences dominance relationships in E. fonticola but not mating success. There were also no differences between large and small males in mating attempts, which could be an outcome of the year-round breeding season found in this species, females laying eggs singly, or males fertilizing eggs individually.
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Acknowledgments
We thank the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)’s San Marcos Aquatic Resources Center staff for use of facilities and support. We also thank the members of the GASP Lab, for their insight and suggestions. Additionally, we thank M. Martin and J. Gumm for helpful advice on experimental design. Finally, thanks are given to three anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions. This information is distributed solely for the purpose of pre-dissemination peer review under applicable information quality guidelines. It has not been disseminated by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. It does not represent and should not be construed to represent any USFWS determination or policy.
Ethical standards
This experiment was approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Texas State University (No 1115_1206_35).
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DeColo, S.L., Aspbury, A.S., Ostrand, K.G. et al. Male-male interactions and their influence on the mating behavior and success in the fountain darter, Etheostoma fonticola . acta ethol 19, 15–20 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-015-0216-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10211-015-0216-x