Parasites, male-male competition and female mate choice in the sand goby

Male sand goby Pomatos,histus minutus dominance in competition over nest sites was associated with higher body condition but not with the intensity, of infection with anyd individual parasite of six different species, nor with an overall index combining relative levels of infection by all parasites. Body condition was not related to the intensity of infection with any individual parasite nor with the index of total relative parasite load. In trials in which females spawned, they showed a tendency to choose dominant cider subordinate males as mates, but did not consistently choose less parasitized males, variation in the relative size of the dorsal fins of males was detected, and thin related to numbers of the ectoparasitic monogenean Gyrodactylus sp. suggesting that at least some infections have phenotypic effects that could allots females to detect and avoid the most heavily infected males.(C) 2002 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.