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Female nuptial signal advertises spawning readiness in a population of Halichoeres margaritaceus on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

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Abstract

Females of some polygynous fish species display female nuptial signals (FNSs), advertising spawning readiness to potential mates. Halichoeres margaritaceus, a polygynous coral reef fish, reportedly display red belly color and a unique bobbing behavior as FNSs advertising spawning readiness. In this study, I examined whether FNSs were observed in an H. margaritaceus population in Australia. Females in this study displayed red belly color as an FNS, although at a lower intensity than that reported in a Japanese population. Contrary to observations made in the Japanese population, bobbing behavior performed by females in this study showed no temporal trend as spawning approached, indicating bobbing behavior did not function as an FNS in the Australian population. The role of local selective pressures on FNS intensity and lifetime reproductive benefits H. margaritaceus may potentially gain in utilizing FNSs are briefly discussed.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by grants and fellowships from the 2004 East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes Program (Australian Academy of Sciences/National Science Foundation OISE-0413589), Explorer’s Club (Exploration Fund), National Undersea Research Center, and the John Rankin, Jr., Ralph Wetzel and Walter R. Whitworth Endowments made jointly to the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut and The Connecticut State Museum of Natural History. Underwater video and editing equipment were generously provided by the National Undersea Research Center. I am extremely grateful to K. Barber for her extensive field assistance, and A. Hoggett, L. Vail, and the staff at Lizard Island Research Station for their expertise and support. Research was conducted under the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority permit number G04/12209.1 and Queensland Fisheries Service permit number PRM04709K. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards and guidelines outlined in the Animal research protocol #V2701501 approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committees at University of Connecticut. I am particularly grateful to P. Auster, E. Schultz, and K. Wells for their support and advice, and critical comments made on early versions of this manuscript. I also thank the two anonymous reviewers whose comments helped improve the final draft of this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Drive, Manchester, NH, 03102, USA

    Lori Hosaka LaPlante

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LaPlante, L.H. Female nuptial signal advertises spawning readiness in a population of Halichoeres margaritaceus on the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Ichthyol Res 64, 331–338 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10228-016-0571-2

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