Authors
Jean-Guy J Godin, Heather E McDonough, Thomas M Houslay
Publication date
2024/1/1
Journal
Behavioral Ecology
Volume
35
Issue
1
Pages
arad092
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Description
Although visual sexual signals, such as ornamental colors and courtship displays, and large body size in males are attractive to females in numerous species, they may also inadvertently attract the attention of eavesdropping predators and thus may be costly in terms of increasing individual risk of mortality to predation. Theoretically, more color ornamented and larger males should be more predation threat sensitive and suppress their sexual signaling and(or) mating effort relatively more than their less color ornamented and smaller counterparts when under predation hazard. Here, we experimentally tested this hypothesis by quantifying concurrently the rates of alternative mating tactics (courtship displays, sneak mating attempts) expressed by male Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata) varying in color ornamentation and body size under a staged immediate threat of predation. Males suppressed their overall …