No geographical differences in male mate choice in a widespread fish, Limia perugiae

Behavior, like most other traits, can have a spatial component, and variability of behavior at the population level is predicted. In the present paper, we explore male mate choice at this level. Male mate choice, while maybe not as common as female choice, is expected to evolve when males respond to significant variation in female quality and, for example, prefer females with higher fecundity. In fishes, higher fecundity is associated with larger body size, an easily measured trait. In the present study, we investigated the presence of male mate choice for larger females in a widespread species of livebearing fish, Limia perugiae, while comparing preferences between populations. We hypothesized that environmental variation, for example in the form of salinity, might result in population differences. Using dichotomous choice tests, we analyzed behavioral data for 80 individuals from seven distinct populations from Hispaniola. We found that L. perugiae males significantly preferred large females, but that there was no significant statistical variation between populations.

Methods
We collected preference data using binary choice tests. Raw data was collected by a human observer using stopwatches.