Conspicuous female ornamentation and tests of male mate preference in threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus).

ABSTRACT: Sexual selection drives the evolution of exaggerated male ornaments in many animal species. Female ornamentation is now acknowledged also to be common but is generally less well understood. One example is the recently documented red female throat coloration in some threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations. Although female sticklebacks often exhibit a preference for red male throat coloration, the possibility of sexual selection on female coloration has been little studied. Using sequential and simultaneous mate choice trials, we examined male mate preferences for female throat color, as well as pelvic spine color and standard length, using wild-captured threespine sticklebacks from the Little Campbell River, British Columbia. In a multivariate analysis, we found no evide

SUBMITTER: Wright DS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4373685 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature