Acoustic and visual courtship traits in two sympatric marine Gobiidae species – Pomatoschistus microps and Pomatoschistus minutus

Abstract

Divergence in courtship traits across species can evolve as adaptations to different environments, and also through avoidance of reproductive interference and character displacement. Differences may also be explained by phylogenetic relationships. We compared different courtship traits, including male courtship sounds, in two sympatric Pomatoschistus species. Both species are characterised by having male and female courtship, and paternal care of eggs in nests under mussel shells and rocks. In addition to presenting novel observations, we reviewed the literature on courtship traits for both species and complemented it with new observations. We found that courting males of the common goby P. microps sing louder and produce sounds of shorter duration than males of the sand goby P. minutus. Furthermore, males of P. microps swim faster towards females during courtship than males of P. minutus. The eyes of P. minutus females turn black during courtship attempts, whereas this is not the case for females of P. microps. Species-specific differences in courtship sounds and behavior may lead to different susceptibility of the two species to environmental change such as noise pollution and turbidity.