HARLEQUIN ROMANCE

Do you remember your parents' advice on choosing "the right person"? Well, we are not alone! Many animals are very choosy when it comes to selecting a mate because it can be the difference between raising young or not. Over a century ago, Charles Darwin suggested that females are generally the choosiest sex and her choices explain such elaborate ornaments as over sized antlers in elk and moose, and elongated tails in peacocks. The idea is that females will choose males that can show off that they are good providers. Experiments by Ian Jones and Fiona Hunter with the crests carried by male seabirds seem to support Charlie's idea (Nature 362:238-9, 1993).

On the BC coast dwells a small sea duck called the Harlequin. The males' sport a gaudy plumage, which is the source of its name, whereas females are subdued in colour. Harlequin ducks nest along mountain torrents and spend the winter along the coast. There are about 5 males for every 4 females and most females remain committed to the previous years' mate. This sets up a strong competition between males to be selected by a female. The critical time for pairing for unpaired males is in March and April when the females are preparing to leave for the mountain breeding sites. The males arrive on the coast in June and undergo a feather moult in preparation for the big event. During the moult, males become flightless and carry a subdued plumage. But even during this time, some males carry brighter white feathers at the base of the wing known as tertials than others. These feathers stand out against the subdued brown body feathers. Fred Cooke and his students at Simon Fraser University speculate that the tertials are used as an early signal between males of their dominance status. Fred is not certain how the dominance is played out but one thing is sure - males that moult quickly are most likely to be chosen.

If you want to see Harlequin Ducks, visit the rocky shores of the Strait of Georgia. Especially good places are Hornby Island, White Rock, and Comox.

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