title: Female preferences for male traits and territory characteristics in the cichlid fishTropheus moorii.
abstract: Female mate preferences for male traits and resource characteristics affect trait evolution and diversification. Here, we test the effects of male body traits and territory characteristics on within-population female preferences and on population-assortative mating in the cichlidTropheus moorii. Within-population preferences of females were independent of male body size, coloration and territory size but were strongly dependent on territory quality and co-varied with male courtship activity. Courtship activity of individual males was contingent on the quality of their assigned territory, and therefore, courtship may not only indicate intrinsic male quality. On the basis of these results we suggest that female preferences for high-quality territories reinforce the outcome of malemale competition and ensure male mating success. Mating preferences of females for males of their own color variant (ascertained in a previous experiment) were not overturned when males of another color variant were presented in a superior territory, indicating that within- and between-population mate preferences of females depend on different cues.
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Caroline M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Verena
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Brudermann
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zimmermann
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Breeding, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna (BOKU), Konrad Lorenz Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
authors.forename: Johann
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Vollmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Kristina M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Sefc
keywords: Assortative mating; Body size; Mate choice; Red color; Territory quality; Territory size