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The role of conspecific social information on male mating decisions
Publication . Dias, Inês Órfão; Fonseca, Paulo Jorge Lopes da, 1964-; Varela, Susana; Magurran, Anne Elizabeth
Behavioural plasticity occurs when animals adjust their behaviour to current environmental conditions. Research suggests that this ability helps animals cope with changeable environments, especially in the social domain, where social information is highly variable and unpredictable. In this thesis I evaluated the contribution of the complexity of social information to: 1) male mating behaviours, 2) evolution of courtship display, and 3) evolution of dishonest communication. For male mating behaviours, I performed experiments with guppies (Poecilia reticulata). I predicted that males would invest more on mating attempts if they spend more time without mating (chapter 2), and when there was a higher probability of mating success or fertilization success (chapters 3 and 4). I found that time between encounters with females (not time between actual mating opportunities) was determinant to male investment. Moreover, males did not avoid encountering competitors but invested more when they were the first to arrive near females (not the last), and when competing against more attractive males (but only for orange colouration). These evidences support that males produce complex plastic responses in face of diverse social information. For the evolution of courtship display and dishonest communication, my hypothesis was that competitor (bystander) males use the courtship performance of other males as information about their competitive ability, and that displayer males adjust their behaviour accordingly. For this, I performed systematic reviews (chapter 5), where I found that male male courtship display is, indeed, frequently associated with intrasexual competition, suggesting that courtship display has evolved a dual utility: attract females and intimidate competitors. A corollary of this, which I developed in a conceptual study (chapter 6), is that males can display dishonestly to deter competitors. If so, the interference of bystanders in communication systems could have a non-negligent role in the evolution of dishonest signalling.
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Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia
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SFRH
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SFRH/BD/90686/2012