14 DAY TRIAL // Male Australian desert goby fish are rather unusual and when it comes to courtship, and they always have a strategy.
A team of researchers from Monash University, found out that their seduction tactics depends on how much choice they have and how often they have contact with females.
Doctors Andreas Svensson, Topi Lehtonen and Bob Wong developed their previous research by monitoring the behavior of goby fish brought from Central Australia, under strict laboratory conditions.
The desert goby is a special species, living in the springs and waterholes of the dry regions around Lake Eyre.
According to Dr Wong, a Senior Lecturer in the Science Faculty at Monash University, the male goby makes nests under rocks and tries to attract passing females, by using a very colorful courtship display.
For the goby fish, it takes a lot of time and energy to attract females, and let's not forget it exposes itself to predators, so once the eggs are safe in the nest, the male becomes the only one guarding them.
“Given this heavy investment in reproduction, males attempt to maximize their returns through higher egg yields,” said Dr Wong.
Previous research has shown that goby males prefer larger females, because of the number of eggs they carry, unlike their thinner siblings.
Dr Wong explained that when male gobies encounter females more frequently, they are very discriminating and they are really picky about the females they are willing to make an effort for.
“By contrast, males will court females vigorously irrespective of her attractiveness if passing females are few and far between,” added Dr Wong.
This new research confirmed that if a male goby has scarce contact with females, he will pursue the first one it finds, regardless of its size.
“These findings are important because, for a long time, females were typically regarded as the more discerning sex when it comes to choosing a potential mate.
“Here, we show that males, too, can be highly picky and are much more tactical in whom they choose to court,” concluded Dr Wong.
The findings were published in the journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology.