A recent predatory encounter influences male courtship in a desert-dwelling fish

Increased predation risk is one of the greatest costs associated with sexual signaling. Studies have shown that individuals often adjust their signaling behavior in the presence of predators with consequences for current reproductive opportunities. Predation risk, however, can vary over time and is rarely (if ever) constant. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about how recent exposure to a predator might influence an individual’s subsequent signaling behavior. Here, we set out to determine how a previous encounter with a piscivorous predator affected courtship behavior in a freshwater fish, the desert goby, Chlamydogobius eremius. We tested male courtship before and after manipulating their perception of risk. We found that male gobies previously exposed to a predatory fish, the spangled perch, Leiopotherapon unicolor, took longer to initiate courtship and subsequently spent less time courting females. Such males, instead, spent more time taking refuge in their nests. In contrast, unexposed control male gobies and males that were exposed to a nonpredatory fish, the Lake Eyre Hardyhead, Craterocephalus eyresii, did not alter their courtship behavior. Our results suggest that male courtship behavior is not only sensitive to the immediate presence of a predator but can persist even after the predatory threat has abated.