Male mating strategies under predation risk: do females call the shots?

Many authors have reported that, under elevated risk of predation, male gup pies (Poecilia reticulata) alter their behavior from courtship to forced co pulation (gonopodial thrusts not preceded by sigmoid displays). This shift is presumed to benefit the brightly colored male, whose intense courting ac tivity might otherwise increase his risk of detection and attack by predato rs. However, there is some evidence that females engaged in reproductive ac tivity with males may be even more vulnerable to predators than the males t hemselves, which suggests an alternative hypothesis: females in high-risk s ituations are less receptive to male courtship, and this leads males to cha nge their behavior. We tested this hypothesis by providing either males and females separately or both sexes concurrently, with information about elev ated predation risk from a cichlid (Crenicichla sp.). We found that when on ly females were provided with information about increased risk, males perfo rmed fewer courtship displays and fewer thrusts. They did not perform more forced copulations in any treatment group. Nonetheless, our results suggest that the female's perception of predation risk can be at least as importan t as the male's in changing male mating behavior.