The relationship between male sexual signals, cognitive performance, and mating success in stickleback fish

Cognitive ability varies dramatically among individuals, yet the manner in which this variation correlates with reproduction has rarely been investigated. Here, we ask 1) do male sexual signals reflect their cognitive ability, and 2) is cognitive ability associated with male mating success? Specifically, we presented threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) with a detour-reaching task to assess initial inhibitory control. Fish that performed better were those who solved the detour-reaching task, solved it faster, and required fewer attempts to solve. We then reexamined males’ performance on this task over several days to assess learning ability in this context. We next measured sexual signals (coloration, nest area, and courtship vigor) and asked if they reveal information about these male cognitive abilities. Finally, we examined whether success at attracting a female is associated with male cognition. After controlling for the strong effect of neophobia, we found that no measu...个体间的认知能力差异悬殊，但这类差异与繁殖成功率之间的关联方式却鲜有研究。本研究旨在解答两个核心问题：其一，雄性的性信号是否能反映其认知能力？其二，认知能力是否与雄性交配成功率相关？具体而言，我们以三棘刺鱼（Gasterosteus aculeatus）为研究对象，通过绕道取食任务（detour-reaching task）评估其初始抑制控制能力。表现更优的个体，指能够成功完成该绕道取食任务、完成速度更快且所需尝试次数更少的刺鱼。随后，我们在数日内重复检测雄性刺鱼在此任务中的表现，以评估其在此情境下的学习能力。接下来，我们测量了雄性刺鱼的性信号特征（体色、巢域面积与求偶活力），并探究这些信号是否能体现雄性的认知能力水平。最后，我们考察了雄性吸引雌性的成功率是否与其认知能力相关。在控制了新异恐惧（neophobia）的显著影响后，我们发现暂无可测量的……