EFFECTIVE TIMING OF MALE COURTSHIP DISPLAYS FOR FEMALE MATE CHOICE INA TERRITORIAL DAMSELFISH STEGASTES NIGRICANS

The timing of female mate choice and the frequency of male courtship d isplays were investigated in a territorial damselfish, Stegastes nigri cans, in Okinawa, southern Japan. Both males and females of this speci es held individual territories, which were distributed contiguously, f orming colonies. Females visited male territories to spawn in the earl y morning, males subsequently tending the eggs until hatching. Females were visited by a higher number of males in the morning and evening o f the day prior to spawning than on other days and received courtship displays more frequently on the morning of spawning and the previous d ay. Females often began spawning before male courtship displays in the morning, tending to spawn with males that had courted most frequently on the previous day. This indicates that female mate choice was usual ly based on the previous day's frequency of courtships. Females that w ere courted less frequently on the day prior to spawning began to spaw n later in the morning in order to receive a greater number of courtsh ip displays. Accordingly, males frequently courting such females on th e morning of spawning as well as on the previous day, should increase their chances of mating success.