The role of claw color in species recognition and mate choice in a fiddler crab

Many animal signals are brightly colored and convey information about species identity as well as information about individual conspecifics. Colorful bird and lizard signals have received much attention, and many studies have related specific spectral properties of these signals to variation in mati...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Behavioral ecology and sociobiology 2020-10, Vol.74 (10), p.1-11, Article 116
Main Authors: Dyson, M. L, Perez, D. M, Curran, T, McCullough, E. L, Backwell, P. R. Y
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal behavior
Animal Ecology
Animals
Austruca mjoebergi
Behavioral Sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Birds
Color
Conspecifics
Crustaceans
Decapoda
Females
Invertebrates
Life Sciences
Males
Mate recognition
Mate selection
Mud flats
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Recognition
Species
Substrates
Territory
Variation
Zoology
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Summary:Many animal signals are brightly colored and convey information about species identity as well as information about individual conspecifics. Colorful bird and lizard signals have received much attention, and many studies have related specific spectral properties of these signals to variation in mating success and territory defense. Far less attention has been given to invertebrates even though there are spectacularly colorful species. The enlarged claw of the male banana fiddler crab Austruca mjoebergi, for example, is bright yellow and contrasts vividly against the mudflat substrate. It is used in waving displays to attract females and in male territory defense and combat. Claw color varies among males in the degree of “yellowness,” ranging very pale yellow to orange. In this study, we examined female responses to claw color variation in two-choice tests using robotic crabs. We found that although females strongly discriminate against colors that fall outside the natural range of intensity, hue, and chroma, they show no consistent preferences for different claw colors within the natural range, and no single component of claw color (hue, chroma, or intensity) independently affected female choices. Using three-choice tests, we also showed that female preferences induce stabilizing selection on male claw color. We conclude that, although claw color is sufficient to facilitate species recognition, it is unlikely to be used in intraspecific mate choice to provide information about male quality.
ISSN:0340-5443
1432-0762
DOI:10.1007/s00265-020-02899-w