Meeting Abstract

37.2  Wednesday, Jan. 5  Influence of environment during development on variation in female mate preference LYONS, Susan M*; MORRIS, Molly R; Ohio University; Ohio University sl411302@ohio.edu

Female mate preference can function as a life history trait, and therefore under poor resource conditions females may trade-off expression of preference with other fitness determining life history traits. Condition dependent trade-offs in female preference could be manifested as changes in strength of preference or direction of preference (e.g. preferences for different males). Female swordtail fish (Xiphophorus multilineatus) were raised to sexual maturity on low quality and high quality diets. Diet treatment affected female size at sexual maturity and growth rate. Using dichotomous choice tests and male models as stimuli, females were tested for preference for male size and vertical bar number symmetry. We examined the influence of diet, age at sexual maturity and maternal investment on both the strength and direction of female preference. Females on the low quality diet had a stronger preference for large males, while variation in strength of preference for male vertical bar number symmetry was influenced by an interaction between both diet and maternal investment. These results suggest that how females invest in mate preference can depend on the male trait being assessed as well as on the environment during development.