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107 results for “assortative mating”
Data for: Assortative mating in an ecological context: Effects of mate choice errors and relative species abundance on the frequency and asymmetry of hybridization
<p><span>The frequency and asymmetry of mixed-species mating set the initial stage for the ecological and evolutionary implications of hybridization. How such patterns of mixed-species mating, in turn, are influenced by the combination of mate choice errors and relative species abundance remain largely unknown. We develop a mathematical model that generates predictions for how relative species abundances and mate choice errors affect hybridization patterns. When mate choice errors are small (<5%) the highest frequency of hybridization occurs when one of the hybridizing species is at low abundance, but when mate choice errors are high (>5%) the highest hybridization frequency occurs when species occur in equal proportions. Furthermore, females of the less abundant species are overrepresented in mixed-species matings. We compare our theoretical predictions with empirical data on naturally hybridizing Ficedula flycatchers and find that hybridization is highest when the two species occur in equal abundance, implying rather high mate choice errors. We discuss ecological and evolutionary implications of our findings and encourage future work on hybrid zone dynamics that take demographic aspects, such as relative species abundance, into account.</span></p>
Disentangling the causes of age-assortative mating in bird populations with contrasting life-history strategies
<ol> <li>Age shapes fundamental processes related to behaviour, survival and reproduction. Where age influences reproductive success, non-random mating with respect to age can magnify or mitigate such effects. Consequently, the correlation in partners' age across a population may influence its productivity. Despite widespread evidence for age-assortative mating, little is known about what drives this assortment and its variation. Specifically, the relative importance of active (same-age mate preference) and passive processes (assortment as a consequence of other spatial or temporal effects) in driving age-assortment is not well understood.</li> <li>In this paper, we compare breeding data from a great tit and mute swan population (51- and 31-year datasets respectively) to tease apart the contributions of pair retention, cohort age-structure, and active age-related mate selection to age-assortment in species with contrasting life-histories.</li> <li>Both species show age-assortative mating, and variable assortment between years. However, we demonstrate that the drivers of age-assortment differ between the species, as expected from their life-histories and resultant demographic differences. In great tits, pair fidelity has a weak effect on age-assortative mating through pair retention; variation in age-assortment is primarily driven by fluctuations in age-structure from variable juvenile recruitment. Age-assortative mating is therefore largely passive, with no evidence consistent with active age-related mate selection. In mute swans, age-assortment is partly explained by pair retention, but not population age-structure, and evidence exists for active age-assortative pairing.</li> <li>This difference is likely to result from shorter life-spans in great tits compared to mute swans, leading to fundamental differences in their population age-structure, whereby a larger proportion of great tit populations consist of a single age-cohort. In mute swans, age-assortative pairing through mate selection may also be driven by greater age-dependent variation in fitness.</li> <li>The study highlights the importance of considering how different life-histories, and demographic differences arising from these, affect population processes that appear congruent across species. We suggest that future research should focus on uncovering the proximate mechanisms that lead to variation in active age-assortative mate selection (as seen in mute swans); and the consequences of variation in age-structure on the ecological and social functioning of wild populations.</li> </ol>
Disentangling the causes of age-assortative mating in bird populations with contrasting life-history strategies
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Data for: Assortative mating in an ecological context: Effects of mate choice errors and relative species abundance on the frequency and asymmetry of hybridization
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Data from: Understanding the social dynamics of breeding phenology: indirect genetic effects and assortative mating in a long distance migrant
Phenological traits, such as the timing of reproduction, are often influenced by social interactions between paired individuals. Such partner effects may occur when pair members affect each other's pre-breeding environment. Partner effects can be environmentally and/or genetically determined, and quantifying direct and indirect genetic effects is important for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of phenological traits. Here, using 26 years of data from a pedigreed population of a migratory seabird, the common tern ( Sterna hirundo ), we investigate male and female effects on female laying date. We find that female laying date harbors both genetic and environmental variation, and is additionally influenced by the environmental, and, to a lower extent, genetic, component of her mate. We demonstrate this partner effect to be largely explained by male arrival date. Interestingly, analyses of mating patterns with respect to arrival date show mating to be strongly assortative and, using simulations, we show that this assortative mating for arrival date leads to overestimation of partner effects. Our study provides evidence for partner effects on breeding phenology in a long distance migrant, while uncovering the potential causal pathways underlying the observed effects and raising awareness for confounding effects due to assortative mating or other common environmental effects.
Data from: Assortative mating, sexual selection and their consequences for gene flow in Littorina
When divergent populations are connected by gene flow, the establishment of complete reproductive isolation usually requires the joint action of multiple barrier effects. One example where multiple barrier effects are coupled consists of a single trait that is under divergent natural selection and also mediates assortative mating. Such multiple-effect traits can strongly reduce gene flow. However, there are few cases where patterns of assortative mating have been described quantitatively and their impact on gene flow has been determined. Two ecotypes of the coastal marine snail, <i>Littorina saxatilis</i>, occur in North Atlantic rocky-shore habitats dominated by either crab predation or wave action. There is evidence for divergent natural selection acting on size, and size-assortative mating has previously been documented. Here, we analyze the mating pattern in <i>L. saxatilis</i> with respect to size in intensively-sampled transects across boundaries between the habitats. We show that the mating pattern is mostly conserved between ecotypes and that it generates both assortment and directional sexual selection for small male size. Using simulations, we show that the mating pattern can contribute to reproductive isolation between ecotypes but the barrier to gene flow is likely strengthened more by sexual selection than by assortment.
Data from: Poison frog color morphs express assortative mate preferences in allopatry but not sympatry
The concurrent divergence of mating traits and preferences is necessary for the evolution of reproductive isolation via sexual selection, and such coevolution has been demonstrated in diverse lineages. However, the extent to which assortative mate preferences are sufficient to drive reproductive isolation in nature is less clear. Natural contact zones between lineages divergent in traits and preferences provide exceptional opportunities for testing the predicted evolutionary consequences of such divergence. The strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio) displays extreme color polymorphism in and around the young Bocas del Toro archipelago. In a transition zone between red and blue allopatric lineages, we asked whether female preferences diverged along with coloration, and whether any divergent preferences persist in a zone of sympatry. When choosing among red, blue and phenotypically intermediate males, females from monomorphic red and monomorphic blue populations both expressed assortative preferences. However, red, blue, and intermediate females from the contact zone all preferred red males, suggesting that divergent preferences may be insufficient to effect behavioral isolation. Our results highlight the complexity of behavioral isolation, and the need for studies that can reveal the circumstances under which divergent preferences do and do not contribute to speciation.
Assortative mating in hybrid zones is remarkably ineffective in promoting speciation
<p>Partial prezygotic isolation is often viewed as more important than partial postzygotic isolation (low fitness of hybrids) early in the process of speciation. I simulate secondary contact between two populations ('species') to examine effects of assortative mating and low hybrid fitness in preventing blending. A small reduction in hybrid fitness (e.g., by 10%) produces a narrower hybrid zone than a strong but imperfect mating preference (e.g., 10x stronger preference for conspecific over heterospecific mates). In the latter case, rare F1 hybrids find each other attractive (due to assortative mating), leading to the buildup of a continuum of intermediates. The weakness of assortative mating compared to reduced fitness of hybrids in preventing blending is robust to varying genetic bases of these traits. Assortative mating is most powerful in limiting blending when it is encoded by a single locus, is essentially complete, or when there is a large mate search cost. In these cases assortative mating is likely to cause hybrids to have low fitness, due to frequency-dependent mating disadvantage of individuals of rare mating types. These results prompt a questioning of the concept of partial prezygotic isolation, since it is not very isolating unless there is also postzygotic isolation.</p>
Data from: Mate choice vs mate preference: inferences about color-assortative mating differ between field and lab assays of poison frog behavior
Co-divergence of mating traits and mate preferences can lead to behavioral isolation among lineages in early stages of speciation. However, mate preferences only limit gene flow when expressed as mate choice, and numerous factors might be more important than preferences in nature. In the extremely color polytypic strawberry poison frog (Oophaga pumilio), female mate preferences have co-diverged with color in most allopatric populations tested. Whether these lab-assayed preferences predict mating (gene flow) in the wild remains unclear. We observed courting pairs in a natural contact zone between red and blue lineages until oviposition or courtship termination. We found color-assortative mating in a disturbed habitat with high population density, but not in a secondary forest with lower density. Our results suggest color-assortative O. pumilio mate choice in the wild, but also mating patterns that do not match those predicted by lab-assayed preferences.
Data from: Courtship behaviour, nesting microhabitat and assortative mating in sympatric stickleback species-pairs
<p>The maintenance of reproductive isolation in the face of gene-flow is a particularly contentious topic, but differences in reproductive behaviour may provide the key to explaining this phenomenon. However, we do not yet fully understand how behaviour contributes to maintaining species boundaries. How important are behavioural differences during reproduction? To what extent does assortative mating maintain reproductive isolation in recently diverged populations and how important are 'magic traits'? Assortative mating can arise as a by-product of accumulated differences between divergent populations as well as an adaptive response to contact between those populations, but this is often overlooked. Here we address these questions using recently described species-pairs of three-spined stickleback (<i>Gasterosteus aculeatus</i>), from two separate locations and a phenotypically intermediate allopatric population on the island of North Uist, Scottish Western Isles. We identified stark differences in the preferred nesting substrate, and courtship behaviour of species-pair males. We showed that all males selectively court females of their own ecotype and all females prefer males of the same ecotype, regardless of whether they are from species-pairs or allopatric populations. We also showed that mate choice does not appear to be driven by body-size differences (a potential 'magic trait'). By explicitly comparing the strength of these mating preferences between species-pairs and single-ecotype locations we were able to show that present levels of assortative mating due to direct mate choice are likely a by-product of other adaptations between ecotypes, and not subject to obvious selection in species-pairs. Our results suggest that ecological divergence in mating characteristics, particularly nesting microhabitat may be more important than direct mate choice in maintaining reproductive isolation in stickleback species-pairs.</p>
Sex-biased admixture and assortative mating shape genetic variation and influence demographic inference in admixed Cabo Verdeans
<p>Inferred ROH and IBD calls from Korunes et al (2022). bioRxiv DOI: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.12.14.422766</p> <p>Samples originally collected and analyzed in Beleza et al. 2013, PLoS Genetics. Inferred local ancestry information can be found at <a href="https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4021277">https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4021277</a></p> <p>See README.txt in upload for more detailed information.</p>
Assortative mating by telomere length under different environmental conditions in the brown booby, a long-lived seabird
<p class="NoteLevel11"><span>Life-history strategies covary with a suite of behavioral and physiological responses along a slow-fast continuum, known as pace-of-life-syndrome. Particularly in long-lived species, pace-of-life is expected to influence breeding strategies, making it a potentially important factor in mate choice. It has been proposed that telomere length (TL) may integrate individual physiological components and survival prospects that underlie individual differences in pace-of-life. In the brown booby (Sula leucogaster), a long-lived seabird, we investigated whether TL may indicate individual pace-of-life by examining how it relates to mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn), corticosterone (cort) levels, and skin coloration—a condition-dependent sexual trait. Then, we tested whether there is assortative mating by TL, and whether the degree of TL similarity between partners influences an individual's likelihood of changing mates and physiological state (mtDNAcn and cort levels). Because environmental conditions may have important effects on the individual pace-of-life, the study was performed in two colonies with contrasting breeding conditions. We found that TL was positively related to mtDNAcn (but not cort levels), suggesting that individuals with shorter telomeres have reduced mitochondrial activity and aerobic capacity. TL was reflected in sexual coloration, but only in the colony with good breeding conditions. There was positive assortative mating by TL, however the degree of assortative mating was unrelated to mtDNAcn, cort levels and the probability of mate change, which greatly varied between the two colonies. Our results suggest that TL </span><span>might be an indicator of the individual pace-of-life and may influence mating patterns. </span><span>Importantly, contrasting environmental conditions </span><span>influenced the link between TL and sexual coloration and the propensity of individuals to change mate, highlighting the importance of environmental variation on breeding strategies.</span><span> </span></p>
Lack of assortative mating might explain reduced phenotypic differentiation where two grasshopper species meet
<p>Hybridization is an evolutionary process with wide-ranging potential outcomes, from providing populations with important genetic variation for adaptation to being a substantial fitness cost leading to extinction. Here, we focussed on putative hybridization between two morphologically distinct species of New Zealand grasshopper. We collected <em>Phaulacridium marginale</em> and <em>Phaulacridium otagoense</em> specimens from a region where mitochondrial introgression had been detected and where their habitat had been modified by introduced mammals eating the natural vegetation and by the colonization of many non-native plant species. In contrast to observations in the 1970s, our sampling of wild pairs of grasshoppers in copula provided no evidence of assortative mating with respect to species. Geometric morphometrics on the pronotum shape of individuals from areas of sympatry detected phenotypically intermediate specimens (putative hybrids), and the distribution of phenotypes in most areas of sympatry was found to be unimodal. These results suggest that hybridization associated with anthropogenic habitat changes has led to these closely related species forming a hybrid swarm, with random mating. Without evidence of hybrid disadvantage, we suggest a novel hybrid lineage might eventually result from the merging of these two species.</p>
Result of LAVA-Knock: Genetic correlation via knockoffs removes confounding due to cross-trait assortative mating
<p>Results of application to GWAS summary statistics for 36 traits. 394,060 windows are used to perform LAVA-Bonf. 64,833 windows are used to conduct LAVA-Knock. At target FDR 0.1, LAVA-Knock detects 8,421 significant windows for 4,401 locus-phenotype pairs. LAVA-Bonf with threshold 0.05/394,060 identifies 10,802 windows for 6,260 locus-phenotype pairs.</p>
Data for: Strong phenotypic trait correlations between mating partners do not result from assortative mating in wild great tits (Parus major)
<p>There is considerable debate about the occurrence of assortative mating between phenotypic traits measured within natural populations. Meta-analyses have implied that assortative mating occurs generally in natural populations but recent work indicates these conclusions largely result from biased data. Specifically, estimates of phenotypic correlations between mating partners do not solely result from non-random associations between individual-level traits of partners but also from other biological processes (joint phenotypic plasticity, indirect genetic effects), methodological practices (observer bias), and other unexplained residual correlations (e.g. correlated measurement error). This paper puts this critique to test. First, we estimated the overall phenotypic correlation between phenotypic traits of mating partners for a wild population of great tits. Second, we estimated various key variance components to reveal the extent to which phenotypic correlations between partners resulted from assortative mating, reversible plasticity, social partner effects, and methodological practices. We performed our analyses for a range of phenotypic traits (body mass, breathing rate, exploration behaviour, wing and tarsus length) to derive general conclusions not hinging on the specifics of the traits involved. Our analyses support the conclusion that patterns of assortative mating exist at first glance but occur because of the biasing effects of correlated residuals likely caused by a combination of phenotypic responses to unknown environmental factors or measurement error – not because of intrinsic patterns of assortative mating.</p>
Data from: Mate choice for body size leads to size assortative mating in the Ryukyu Scops Owl Otus elegans
<p>Understanding evolutionary phenomena that involve size assortative mating, requires elucidating the generating mechanisms on which assortment is based. Although various mechanisms have been suggested, their relative importance may differ across taxonomic groups. Males selecting for large, fecund females combined with the dominance of large males in the competition for females, has been suggested as a major mechanism in specific groups. However, raptors do not appear to conform to this, because the selection for smallness among males (assumed in a theory of reversed sexual size dimorphism) and the selection for largeness among males (assumed in the theory of size assortative mating) are in opposite directions. We studied the assortative mating during a long-term study of the Ryukyu Scops Owls <em>Otus elegans</em> interpositus. Significant assortative mating was found for culmen length (from the base to the tip of the bill) and wing length (from the bend of the wing to the tip of the longest primary). Statistical control of the spatial and temporal accessibility of potential mates did not affect the assortment. Males with short wings had slightly higher fitness components than those with long wings, and females settling early tended to have small wings. Considering that early-settling females can preferentially choose their mates, these results suggest that smaller females have an advantage when choosing smaller males with good reproductive performance. Improved flying and hunting ability of smaller individuals may be the background of choosing smaller individuals. We propose that, not passive process like similarity between individuals and their potential mates, but active mate choice for small individuals is an explanation for the assortative mating in this owl.</p>
Threshold-dependent gene regulation and partial assortative mating determine wing dimorphism of an Insect
<p><span>Wing dimorphism is a fantastic</span> <span>life-historical trait of insects which indicates the developmental trend of populations, going as migrants or staying as residents. The alternative wing morph enhances adaptability of insects to changing environments. However, the underlying mechanism for maintaining wing dimorphism remains vague. The brown planthoppers <em>Nilaparvata lugens</em>, a serious pest of rice, are either short-winged or long-winged. The shift between two wing morphs is determined by two insulin receptors. So, this pest is a better model organism to explore the mechanism of wing dimorphism. Here, the short- and long-winged strains of <em>N. lugens</em> were selected. Rates of a selected wing morph were linearly increased in populations, and the selection response of the short-winged morph was stronger than that of the long-winged. Selection enhanced the migratory or resident propensity. Directional selection for the long-winged morph resulted in longer and lighter forewings, while selection for the short-winged morph generated shorter and thicker wings and higher fecundity. Relative expression levels of wing development genes <em>InR1, InR2</em>, and <em>FOXO</em> were positively correlated with the short-winged rate in the short-winged strain, while they were negatively correlated with the long-winged rate in the long-winged strain at specific stages. The change rate of expression levels was approximately two times as high as that of the wing morph rates in populations, indicating a high threshold-dependent gene expressed regulation of a wing morph. A partial assortative mating behavior occurred between the nearly pure-bred lineages of short- and long-winged strains. The short-winged males preferred to mate with short-winged females while the long-winged males mated with the short- and long-winged females equally. The threshold-dependent mode is flexible to adjust the wing morph according to environmental conditions and the partial assortative mating promotes the genetic exchange between two wing morphs which drive the maintenance of wing dimorphism.</span></p>
Data from: North American barn swallows pair, mate, and interact assortatively
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Data for: Strong phenotypic trait correlations between mating partners do not result from assortative mating in wild great tits (Parus major)
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Data from: Female preference for novel males constrains contemporary evolution of assortative mating in guppies
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