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58 results for “male mate choice”
Data from: Genetic variation in male mate choice for large females in Drosophila melanogaster
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Data from: Male mate choice, male quality, and the potential for sexual selection on female traits under polygyny.
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Data from: Exposure to rivals does not affect male mate choice in <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>
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Data from: Exaggerated sexual swellings and male mate choice in primates: testing the reliable indicator hypothesis in the Amboseli baboons
The paradigm of competitive males vying to influence female mate choice has been repeatedly upheld, but, increasingly, studies also report competitive females and choosy males. One female trait that is commonly proposed to influence male mate choice is the exaggerated sexual swelling displayed by females of many Old World primate species. The reliable indicator hypothesis posits that females use the exaggerated swellings to compete for access to mates, and that the swellings advertise variation in female fitness. We tested the two main predictions of this hypothesis in a wild population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus). First, we examined the effect of swelling size on the probability of mate guarding ('consortship') by the highest-ranking male and the behaviour of those males that trailed consortships ('follower males'). Second, we asked whether a female's swelling size predicted several fitness measures. We found that high-ranking males did not prefer females with larger swellings (when controlling for cycle number and conception) and that females with larger swellings did not have higher reproductive success. Our study, the only complete test of the reliable indicator hypothesis in a primate population, rejects the idea that female baboons compete for mates by advertising heritable fitness differences. Furthermore, we found unambiguous evidence that males biased their mating decisions in favour of females who had experienced more sexual cycles since their most recent pregnancy. Thus, rather than tracking the potential differences in fitness between females, male baboons appear to track and target the potential for a given reproductive opportunity to result in fertilization.
Data from: Male mate choice in the Trinidadian guppy is influenced by the phenotype of audience sexual rivals
In populations with male mate-choice copying, males may mitigate their risk of sexual competition by reducing their preference for a particular female in the presence of sexual rivals (audience). Because of the cost of missed mating opportunities from such an audience effect, males should reduce their mating preference to a greater extent in the presence of more sexually competitive rivals compared with less competitive ones. We tested this hypothesis using the Trinidadian guppy (Poecilia reticulata). We compared a focal male's baseline mating preference for either of 2 stimulus females, which differed in overall body size, in the absence of any sexual rival to his preference for the same females in the presence of a sexual rival using dichotomous-choice tests. Focal and audience males differed in body length and proportion of their body covered in orange and black pigmentation. In the presence of a larger rival, focal males exhibited a greater reduction in preference for their initially preferred female compared to focal males in the presence of a smaller rival, irrespective of whether the latter male was more or less ornamented than the focal. The strength of the initial mating preference of focal males and the magnitude of the audience effect were significantly positively correlated when the audience male was larger than the focal male. Male guppies are thus sensitive to the phenotype of nearby males and alter their preference for a particular mate to a greater extent in the presence of relatively larger eavesdropping males compared to smaller ones.
Data from: Quantitative genetic analyses of male color pattern and female mate choice in a pair of cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi, East Africa
The traits involved in sexual selection, such as male secondary sexual characteristics and female mate choice, often co-evolve which can promote population differentiation. However, the genetic architecture of these phenotypes can influence their evolvability and thereby affect the divergence of species. The extraordinary diversity of East African cichlid fishes is often attributed to strong sexual selection and thus this system provides an excellent model to test predictions regarding the genetic architecture of sexually selected traits that contribute to reproductive isolation. In particular, theory predicts that rapid speciation is facilitated when male sexual traits and female mating preferences are controlled by a limited number of linked genes. However, few studies have examined the genetic basis of male secondary sexual traits and female mating preferences in cichlids and none have investigated the genetic architecture of both jointly. In this study, we artificially hybridized a pair of behaviorally isolated cichlid fishes from Lake Malawi and quantified both melanistic color pattern and female mate choice. We investigated the genetic architecture of both phenotypes using quantitative genetic analyses. Our results suggest that 1) many non-additively acting genetic factors influence melanistic color patterns, 2) female mate choice may be controlled by a minimum of 1–2 non-additive genetic factors, and 3) F2 female mate choice is not influenced by male courting effort. Furthermore, a joint analysis of color pattern and female mate choice indicates that the genes underlying these two traits are unlikely to be physically linked. These results suggest that reproductive isolation may evolve rapidly owing to the few genetic factors underlying female mate choice. Hence, female mate choice likely played an important role in the unparalleled speciation of East African cichlid fish.
Data from: Complex male mate choice in the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz)
Recent interest in male mate choice has prompted a re-examination of widely held beliefs regarding sex roles in animal mating systems. It is now known that males can be choosy based on female quality, but studies which directly compare aspects of female quality and their influence on male mate choice are relatively rare. The brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz) has a well-studied male courtship display, which shows evidence of male mate choice based on female mating history and foraging history, as well as possible effects of experience and rearing environment. This makes it an excellent system to compare the importance of these two female states and examine how the choice patterns they give rise to may be influenced by the environment. By examining male courtship and female behavior under different circumstances and across environmental experience conditions, the relative effects of these factors can be inferred. Evidence collected in this study suggests that female mating status is the dominant predictor of mate choice, with males generally courting virgin females more vigorously regardless of context, as well as females showing higher levels of receptivity when unmated. An important exception to this trend is seen in field-reared males and their female partners, who show less behavioral differences based on female state, suggesting that this preference is not static and may be influenced by experience.
Data from: Trial marriage model – female mate choice under male interference
<ol> <li>In sexually reproducing animals, the process of mate choice by females is often mixed with the process of male-male competition. Current models of female male choice focus mainly on how females identify the higher quality of males, but neglect the effect of male-male competition on the mate choice of females. Therefore, it remains controversial what is the relative importance of two processes in forming a social bond.</li> <li>We propose a new "trial marriage" model for females' mate choice. The model assumes that females unconditionally accept any male they first encounter as their mating partner, and then conditionally switch mates to a new male of higher quality than their current partner when male-male competition occurs. This model was tested in the green weevil, <i><span>Hypomeces squamosus</span></i><span>, by exploring how </span>females switched mates when males' mating interference was experimentally induced.</li> <li>The likelihood that females switched mates, as well as their conditional acceptance criteria of a new mate, was both raised with the intensity of males' mating interference that was manipulated in an enhanced encounter rate experiment, and in male introduction or stepwise removal experiments. These experimental findings confirm that a "trial marriage" strategy occurs during females' mate choice.</li> <li>Compared with other strategies, it is more beneficial for females to choose a better mate without paying the costs of identifying males as suggested by the "trial marriage" strategy. More importantly, by using the current partner quality as the conditional acceptance threshold of new mates, females can choose better males in future encounters with potential mates. In the green weevils, males' preference for larger females and the higher possibility of the largest male winning an interference are mixed together when males' mating interference reaches a higher intensity. Therefore, the consequence of a male interference will determine which male could be chosen by a female. Under this condition, conditional acceptance of the winner becomes the most beneficial strategy of females in choosing their mates. We thus suggest that the "trial marriage" strategy would be more efficient when males' mating interference becomes the determinant factor of females' mate choice.</li> </ol>
Does sexual experience affect the strength of male mate choice for high-quality females in Drosophila melanogaster?
<p><span><span><span><span>Although females are traditionally thought of as the choosy sex, there is increasing evidence in many species that males will preferentially court or mate with certain females over others when given a choice. In the fruit fly, <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>, males discriminate between potential mating partners based on a number of female traits, including species, mating history, age, and condition. Interestingly, many of these male preferences are affected by the male's previous sexual experiences, such that males increase courtship toward types of females that they have previously mated with and decrease courtship toward types of females that have previously rejected them. <em>D. melanogaster </em>males also show courtship and mating preferences for larger females over smaller females, likely because larger females have higher fecundity. It is unknown, however, whether this preference shows behavioral plasticity based on the male's sexual history as we see for other male preferences. Here, we manipulate the sexual experience of <em>D. melanogaster </em>males and test whether this manipulation has any effect on the strength of male mate choice for large females. We find that sexually inexperienced males have a robust courtship preference for large females that is unaffected by previous experience mating with, or being rejected by, females of differing sizes. Given that female body size is one of the most common targets of male mate choice across insect species, our experiments with <em>D. melanogaster </em>may provide insight into how these preferences develop and evolve.</span></span></span></span></p>
Does sexual experience affect the strength of male mate choice for high-quality females in Drosophila melanogaster?
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Data from: Size matters: male and female mate choice leads to size-assortative pairing in a coral reef cardinalfish
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Data from: Complex male mate choice in the brush-legged wolf spider Schizocosa ocreata (Hentz)
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Data from: Trial marriage model – female mate choice under male interference
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Data from: Exaggerated sexual swellings and male mate choice in primates: testing the reliable indicator hypothesis in the Amboseli baboons
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Data from: Quantitative genetic analyses of male color pattern and female mate choice in a pair of cichlid fishes of Lake Malawi, East Africa
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Data from: Male mate choice in the Trinidadian guppy is influenced by the phenotype of audience sexual rivals
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Male mate choice in the Spot-tail shark Carcharhinus sorrah: are males choosy or opportunistic?
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Dataset: Male ultraviolet reflectance and female mating history influence female mate choice and male mating success in a polyandrous lizard
<p>This is the online dataset corresponding to the article </p> <p><strong>Male ultraviolet reflectance and female mating history influence female mate choice and male mating success in a polyandrous lizard </strong>published in Biological Journal of Linnean Society in 2020.</p>
An experimental test to separate the effects of male age and mating history on female mate choice
<p>Should females prefer older males as mates? Male survival to old age might indicate the presence of fitness-enhancing genes that increase offspring fitness. However, many correlational studies show that mating with older males can lower female fecundity, and even reduce offspring fitness due to epigenetic or germline mutation effects. One problem in quantifying female choice based on male age is that age is usually confounded with mating history. This begs a question: Do females choose males based on their age, or their mating history? The answer requires an experimental approach, but few such studies exist. Here we test if experimentally-induced variation in the mating history of old and young males (12 week difference in post-maturity age) affects female choice in the eastern mosquitofish (<i>Gambusia holbrooki</i>). To vary mating history, adult males were either allowed to freely mate with females for three weeks, or they only had visual contact with females. Immediately thereafter, we ran four-choice mating trials, using association time, to test the effects of male age and mating history (2x2 design) on male attractiveness. Females did not show a clear preference for males based on either characteristic. This was not due to a lack of female choice: females spent significantly more time with larger males. In addition, female choice was significantly repeatable across four trials: twice as a virgin, twice as a non-virgin. Finally, female mating status (virgin or non-virgin) did not affect her choice of mate, although virgin females spent significantly more time associating with test males.</p>
Data from: Male mate choice for large gravid spots in a livebearing fish
Male mate choice occurs in a wide range of species, and males can increase their reproductive success by distinguishing between females based on their fecundity (e.g. large body size) or their expected sperm competition risk (e.g. virgins). However, patterns of male mate choice could be mitigated by variation in female physiological receptivity, as males can benefit by directing their mating efforts towards females that are at a point in their reproductive cycle when fertilization probability is highest. Here, we perform three experiments to assess whether male mate choice is influenced by cues of female physiological receptivity, fecundity or sperm competition risk in the pygmy halfbeak (Dermogenys collettei), a small livebearing fish. Female halfbeaks possess a 'gravid spot'- an orange abdominal marking that is caused by pigmentation of the females' skin and variation in embryo development and pigmentation during pregnancy. We show that gravid spot size increases towards parturition and is largest right before giving birth, independent of abdominal width or body length. Males consistently chose females with large gravid spots over females with small gravid spots. In contrast, males did not prefer larger females over smaller females or virgin females over mated females. As female halfbeaks store sperm prior to fertilizations, we suggest that males use the size of the gravid spot as a cue to direct their mating efforts to those females where the chance of fertilization is highest.
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