SPAWNING SUCCESS IN THE DAMSELFISH AMBLYGLYPHIDODON LEUCOGASTER - THEINFLUENCE OF EGGS IN THE NEST

Spawning success of males and its correlates were investigated in a na tural colony of whitebelly damselfish, A. leucogaster (Pomacentridae), to explore the criteria that females use in choosing mates, The matin g success of individual males was variable, with some males acquiring as few as 5000 eggs and others as many as 450 000 eggs during a breedi ng season, Male spawning success was not correlated with body size, te rritory size, nest site parameters or parental care behaviour. Egg hat ching success was not related to either male size or egg clutch size, and all males were capable of rearing eggs to hatching. The temporal s equence of choices by females indicated non-independent choice by fema les, such that males chosen by females on the first spawn of the day w ere also chosen by females that spawned later in the day. Field observ ations indicated that, in the absence of male courtship, females prefe rentially visited males that had eggs in their nest site. Males that h ad recently mated were preferred by females over those males with eith er late-stage eggs or no eggs in the nest. This female preference did not appear to be related to increased paternal care or egg clutch surv ival. Given that the mating system is promiscuous and non-resource bas ed, and that there appears to be little difference among males in body size, females may be mating non-independently by mimicking the choice of other females. (C) 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Be haviour.