Fiddler crabs are abundant, semi-terrestrial crustaceans inhabiting tropical, subtropical and
warm temperate coasts worldwide. Some species build above-ground sedimentary …

Highlights•Courting male fiddler crabs build sand hoods that attract females for
mating.•Males use their hood to find their burrow when their nonvisual path map fails.•Hoods …

The evolution of sexual ornaments in animals is typically attributed to reproductive
competition. However, sexual ornaments also arise in contexts where the ornamented sex is …

Behaviour mediates most interactions between organisms and their biotic and abiotic
environments. Variation in how animals sense and respond to their ever-changing …

Courting males of 18 species of fiddler crabs (Uca) are known to build mud or sand
structures at the entrances of their burrows. Females orient to these structures when seeking …

Males of fiddler crabs (genus: Uca) construct courtship structures using mud or sand to
attract mate-searching females for underground mating. A sensory trap hypothesis proposes …

Non-biological ornamentation is found in the nests and burrows of different kinds of animals.
We evaluated here whether sand hoods constructed by male fiddler crabs (Uca …

Fiddler crabs construct and maintain above-ground sedimentary structures that vary in
shape and function. We describe for the first time the behavior of the construction of …

Mate choice is often affected by multiple factors, and there are often trade-offs associated
with choosing a mate. Additionally, experiments that test for mate preferences usually rely on …

Many factors affect male fiddler crab courting and female choice during underground mating,
including claw-waving patterns, claw-waving frequency, hood structures, burrow quality, and …