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Courting virtual rivals increase ejaculate size in sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

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Abstract

Sperm competition occurs when sperm of two or more males compete to fertilize a given set of eggs. Game-theory models of sperm competition predict that males, which face an increased risk of sperm competition, will invest more sperm in a mating. In the pair-spawning three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), males attempt to steal fertilizations (i.e. to sneak) when they are in the courting phase, but not when they are parental. The behaviour of neighbouring males may therefore indicate the risk of sperm competition. We visually confronted males before spawning with computer animations of the same virtual stickleback showing two different behaviours: either courting (high risk of sperm competition) or brood-caring (low risk of sperm competition). We show that males invest significantly more sperm (absolutely and relatively with respect to available sperm in the testes) after the courting stimulus. The relative investment ratio between the courting and the brood-caring treatment was on average 1.75. Three-spined sticklebacks thus seem to assess the risk of sperm competition by the behaviour of neighbours and to adjust their ejaculate accordingly. This result suggests that the evolutionary force of sperm competition has led to precise mechanisms of future risk assessment.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Gerald Heckel and Fabrizio Baumann for discussion and Alex Kohler for assistance. This study was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation. The experiments described in this paper were conducted in accordance with local and federal laws in Switzerland.

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Author notes

  1. Dominique Mazzi

    Present address: Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18d, 75236, Uppsala, Sweden

  2. Marc Zbinden

    Present address: Unit for Ecology and Evolution, Department of Biology, University of Fribourg, Chemin du Musée 10, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Evolutionsbiologie und Ökologie, University of Bonn, An der Immenburg 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany

    Marc Zbinden & Theo C. M. Bakker

  2. CMPG, Abt. Populationsgenetik, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 6, 3012 Bern, Switzerland

    Marc Zbinden & Carlo R. Largiadèr

  3. Division of Behavioural Ecology, Zoological Institute, University of Bern, Wohlenstrasse 50a, 3032 Hinterkappelen, Switzerland

    Dominique Mazzi & Reto Künzler

Authors
  1. Marc Zbinden
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  2. Dominique Mazzi
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  3. Reto Künzler
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  4. Carlo R. Largiadèr
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  5. Theo C. M. Bakker
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Correspondence to Marc Zbinden.

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Communicated by M Abrahams

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Zbinden, M., Mazzi, D., Künzler, R. et al. Courting virtual rivals increase ejaculate size in sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Behav Ecol Sociobiol 54, 205–209 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0612-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-003-0612-5

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