Evaluation of Female Mate Choice Cues in a Group of Lake Malawi Mbuna (Cichlidae)
The mechanisms that underlie the diversity of cichlids in the East African Great Lakes are poorly understood. Sexual selection through female choice based on male body coloration has often been suggested as a driving force behind the speciation of these fishes. The objectives of this study were to investigate, through mate choice trials, the cues that guide species-isolating female choice. In a group of sympatric Lake Malawi mbuna (rock-dwelling fish), we investigated both visual and chemical cues that might guide female choice by giving gravid females a choice between a heterospecific and a conspecific male. Visual cues, in contrast to olfactory cues, were sufficient to stimulate courtship and thus guide female choice of males. Furthermore, in contrast to other studies on related species, we found that females courted only with conspecifics even if color was not a cue. Species-isolating female choice is likely based primarily on visual information.Abstract
Average proportion of interaction time spent with either a con- or heterospecific male in visual experiments. Within an experiment, the data are presented as a group and by species. The sample sizes are marked on the bars. Only the visual experiments yielded significant differences between the heterospecific and conspecific males according to a Wilcoxon signed rank test, α = 0.05
Average proportion of association time spent with either a con- or heterospecific male in olfaction experiments. Within an experiment, the data are presented as a group and by species. The sample sizes are marked on the bars. None of the experiments yielded significant differences between the heterospecific and conspecific males according to a Wilcoxon signed rank test, α = 0.05