Female sticklebacks use male coloration in mate choice and hence avoid parasitized males

Abstract

AN important problem in evolutionary biology since the time of Darwin has been to understand why females preferentially mate with males handicapped by secondary sexual ornaments1–3. One hypothesis of sexual selection theory is that these ornaments reliably reveal the male's condition4–6, which can be affected for example by parasites4,7–13. Here we show that in the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) the intensity of male red breeding coloration positively correlates with physical condition. Gravid females base their active mate choice on the intensity of the male's red coloration. Choice experiments under green light prevent the use of red colour cues by females, and males that were previously preferred are now chosen no more than randomly, although the courtship behaviour of the males remains unchanged. Parasitieation causes a deterioration in the males' condition and a decrease in the intensity of their red coloration. Tests under both lighting conditions reveal that the females recognize the formerly parasitized males by the lower intensity of their breeding coloration. Female sticklebacks possibly select a male with a good capacity for paternal care14 but if there is additive genetic variation for parasite resistance, then they might also select for resistance genes, as proposed by Hamilton and Zuk4.