ORIGINAL PAPER Prostaglandin F2α facilitates female mating behavior based on male performance Michael R. Kidd & Peter D. Dijkstra & Callison Alcott & Dagan Lavee & Jacqualine Ma & Lauren A. O’Connell & Hans A. Hofmann Received: 3 December 2012 / Revised: 7 May 2013 / Accepted: 8 May 2013 # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 Abstract Hormones play an important role in the regulation of reproductive behavior. Here, we examined the effects of the fatty acid derivative prostaglandin F2α (PGF2) on female sex- ual behavior as well as the interaction between PGF2-induced mating behavior with male courtship display in the lek-breeding African cichlid fish, Astatotilapia burtoni. In a two-way choice paradigm, we found that nonreproductive females preferred to associate with smaller, less aggressive males over larger, more aggressive males. However, PGF2-treated females dramatically reversed their preference to larger males. In a second experi- ment, PGF2 treatment dramatically increased sexual behavior in nonreproductive females as measured by time spent in the bower of the stimulus male, even when the female and the stimulus male were separated by a transparent divider. This effect was even more pronounced when the stimulus males were exposed to the putative female pheromone 17α,20β-pro- gesterone (17α,20β-P). Under full-contact conditions, only PGF2-treated females visited a stimulus male’ s bower, where they even displayed circling behavior usually only seen during spawning. Interestingly, male performance prior to PGF2 treat- ment predicted female sexual response. Our study demonstrates the importance of PGF2 in the control of female reproductive behavior in interaction with male performance. Keywords Mate choice . Sexual selection . Reproductive physiology . Prostaglandin F2 alpha . Sexual behavior . Cichlid . Astatotilapia burtoni Introduction Sexual selection by female mate choice is thought to play an important role in the evolution of male sexual traits (orna- ments and displays) and the maintenance of reproductive isolation among closely related species (Andersson 1994; Kraaijveld et al. 2011). During mate choice, females assess potential mates on the basis of male courtship displays, which is a means for potential mates to advertise their quality (Candolin 2003; Byers et al. 2010). Although our understand- ing of the ultimate mechanisms governing female mate choice has increased in recent decades (e.g., Jones and Ratterman 2009), the physiological basis of female mating behavior, also in relation to male behavior, has received less attention. In teleost fish where gametes are fertilized externally, it is important for males and females to coordinate the reproduc- tive process and synchronize their mating behavior to max- imize fertilization of the eggs (Munakata and Kobayashi 2010). Reproductive behavior is regulated by the complex interaction of endogenous and exogenous cues that are processed and interpreted by the brain. Courtship is not only a means for both sexes to synchronize their behavior to Communicated by K. Lindström Michael R. Kidd and Peter D. Dijkstra contributed equally to the work. M. R. Kidd : P. D. Dijkstra : C. Alcott : D. Lavee : J. Ma : L. A. O’Connell : H. A. Hofmann (*) Section of Integrative Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, C0930, Austin, TX 78712, USA e-mail: hans@utexas.edu M. R. Kidd : H. A. Hofmann Institute for Neuroscience, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA P. D. Dijkstra Behavioral Biology, Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands H. A. Hofmann Institute for Cellular and Molecular Biology, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA Present Address: M. R. Kidd Department of Biology & Chemistry, Texas A&M International University, 5201 University Boulevard, Laredo, TX 78041, USA Behav Ecol Sociobiol DOI 10.1007/s00265-013-1559-9