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.

中文翻译：

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广泛分布的鱼类 Limia perugiae 的雄性配偶选择没有地理差异

与大多数其他特征一样，行为可以具有空间成分，并且可以预测群体水平的行为变异性。在本文中，我们探讨了这一水平上的男性择偶选择。雄性择偶虽然可能不如雌性选择那么普遍，但当雄性对雌性品质的显着变化做出反应时，例如更喜欢具有更高繁殖力的雌性，预计雄性择偶会发生演变。在鱼类中，较高的繁殖力与较大的体型相关，这是一个易于测量的特征。在本研究中，我们调查了广泛分布的活鱼 Limia perugiae 中雄性对较大雌性的择偶行为，同时比较了种群之间的偏好。我们假设环境变化（例如盐度形式）可能会导致种群差异。我们使用二分选择测试，分析了来自伊斯帕尼奥拉岛七个不同种群的 80 名个体的行为数据。我们发现佩鲁贾乳杆菌雄性明显偏爱体型较大的雌性，但种群之间没有显着的统计差异。