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Ornaments or offspring? Female sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) trade off carotenoids between spines and eggs
Author(s) -
NORDEIDE J. T.,
RUDOLFSEN G.,
EGELAND E. S.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of evolutionary biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.289
H-Index - 128
eISSN - 1420-9101
pISSN - 1010-061X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1420-9101.2005.01018.x
Subject(s) - gasterosteus , biology , ornaments , carotenoid , offspring , zoology , sexual selection , population , mate choice , plumage , ecology , fish <actinopterygii> , botany , fishery , demography , genetics , pregnancy , history , archaeology , sociology , style (visual arts) , mating
Hypotheses and models to explain female ornaments often assume that the elaborated traits are condition dependent; nevertheless, few empirical studies have addressed this topic. We studied a population of three‐spined sticklebacks ( Gasterosteus aculeatus ) in which the females have conspicuous, carotenoid‐based red coloration to their pelvic spines. The red coloration seems not to be condition dependent, as coloration is negatively associated with age and body length and not associated with condition. Furthermore, redder females did not have a lower density of leucocytes. We found a negative association between the females’ red carotenoid‐based coloration in the spines and the amount of carotenoids in the female's gonads. Males choosing red‐coloured females will fertilize eggs with small amounts of carotenoids and appear not to gain any benefit from their mates’ phenotypic quality that could result in offspring of improved quality. These results do not support the ‘direct selection hypothesis’ to explain the existence of the female ornaments.