Female ornamentation and the fecundity trade‐off in a sex‐role reversed pipefish
| Autor: | John R. Morrongiello, Dianne J. Bray, Matthew Warr, Kenyon B. Mobley, Bob B. M. Wong |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0301 basic medicine Avian clutch size media_common.quotation_subject Stigmatopora nigra Zoology Body size Trade-off 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Pipefish honest signaling cost of reproduction 03 medical and health sciences allometry sexual selection mate choice Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common Nature and Landscape Conservation Original Research Ecology biology Ornaments Fecundity biology.organism_classification Mating preferences 030104 developmental biology Mate choice Sexual selection Reproductive value Reproduction female competition |
| Zdroj: | Ecology and Evolution |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| Popis: | Female ornaments are a rare occurrence in nature. One explanation for this is that female ornaments are costly to produce and maintain and, therefore, females must trade-off resources related to reproduction to promote ornament expression. Here, we investigate the potential trade-off between female ornamentation and fecundity in the sex-role reversed, wide-bodied pipefish, Stigmatopora nigra. We measured two components of the female ornament, body width and stripe thickness, and tested the relationship between these ornaments and female fecundity and the mean egg size. Both body width and stripe thickness were strongly and positively related to female body size. After controlling for the influence of body size, we found no evidence of a cost of belly width or stripe thickness on female fecundity. Rather, females that have larger ornaments have higher fecundity and thus a greater relative fitness advantage. However, larger females suffered a slight decrease in egg size, consistent with a potential trade-off between egg size and body size, although no relationship between egg size and ornaments was observed. Our results suggest that larger S. nigra females accurately advertise their reproductive value to males, and underscore the importance of investigating the potential mechanisms that promote and maintain honesty of female ornaments. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Plný text