1
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Kelly CD, Gwynne DT. Effect of body condition on mobility and mating success in a wild population of the scramble polygynous Cook Strait giant weta. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03278-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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2
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Takahashi D. Female Preference for Males Varies with Resource Availability for Reproduction in the Freshwater Goby Tridentiger brevispinis. Zoolog Sci 2022; 39:507-513. [PMID: 36495485 DOI: 10.2108/zs210100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/05/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Animals with resource-based breeding systems show varying sexual selection modes driven by resource availability. Males of the freshwater goby Tridentiger brevispinis (Pisces: Gobiidae), which are larger, with a longer dorsal-fin, than females, make nests under stones, and provide exclusive parental care of eggs in the nests. For this goby, the nest sites are crucial resources for reproduction. Laboratory experiments that controlled for nest-site abundance were conducted to investigate the effects of nest-site availability on male-male competition and female mate choice. Nest-holding males were on average larger than the average size of all males combined under conditions of low nest-site availability. This result indicates a greater advantage for large males in intrasexual competition for nest sites under conditions of low nest-site availability. Furthermore, egg-guarding males under conditions of low nest-site availability were larger than nest-holding males without eggs. Under conditions of high nest-site availability, the dorsal-fin length of nest-holding males with eggs were longer than those without eggs. These findings suggest that female preference for mates varies qualitatively with nest-site availability. This variation in female preference might result from mate availability that depends upon nest-site availability. The current study concludes that in nest-spawning fishes, nest-site availability can affect the intensity of male-male competition and cause variations of female preference for mates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daisuke Takahashi
- Department of Biosphere Sciences, School of Human Sciences, Kobe College, Nishinomiya, Hyogo 662-8505, Japan,
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3
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Laliberté J, Rioux È, Lesmerises R, St-Laurent MH. Linking sexual size dimorphism to trophic niche partitioning in a generalist predator. CAN J ZOOL 2022. [DOI: 10.1139/cjz-2022-0007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Sexual size dimorphism is a common phenomenon in mammals, and researchers have been trying to demonstrate the evolutionary causes leading to sexual dimorphism. Two main hypotheses emerged: (1) the sexual selection hypothesis and (2) the sexual competition hypothesis (also called resource partitioning hypothesis). Here, we attempted to link sexual dimorphism in fishers ( Pekania pennanti (Erxleben, 1777)) with their fall diet using stable isotope profiling and body and skull measurements. We used the carcasses of 39 fishers which were caught in eastern Québec during fall 2014 by volunteer trappers as well as several potential prey items ranging from small rodents to cervids. We expected minimal niche overlap between sexes, as males should be able to exploit different prey species than females. We also expected to observe an effect of age class (adults vs. juveniles) on trophic niche. As expected, we found great evidence of sexual dimorphism in both body mass and skull measurements: males were heavier and longer than females and had a larger zygomatic and intracanine width and a longer skull. While proportions of prey in diet according to sex and age did not vary greatly, we found some evidence of niche partitioning using Layman's metrics. Indeed, females tended to have a less diversified and more similar diet compared to one another, whereas males showed more diversified and contrasted diets. Despite our limited sample size, our findings provide partial support to the sexual competition hypothesis, as the difference in body and skull size based on sex could have evolved to lessen intraspecific competition in fishers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérôme Laliberté
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Centre for Forest Research, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Ève Rioux
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Centre for Forest Research, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Rémi Lesmerises
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Centre for Forest Research, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada
| | - Martin-Hugues St-Laurent
- Département de Biologie, Chimie et Géographie, Université du Québec à Rimouski, Centre for Forest Research, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC G5L 3A1, Canada
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4
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Dittrich C, Tietje M, Rödel MO. Larger is not better: no mate preference by European common frog (Rana temporaria) males. BEHAVIOUR 2022. [DOI: 10.1163/1568539x-bja10169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In explosive breeding frogs, high intrasexual competition between males leads to a sexual coercion ruled mating system, where males presumably evolved preferences for specific female traits. We tested these preferences in the European Common Frog by excluding intrasexual competition. We hypothesized that all males show preferences towards larger female body size, due to higher fecundity. Our results did not show any preference considering female body size, neither in the attempt to amplex a female nor during the formation of pairs. Additionally, we witnessed a high failure rate of male mating attempts, which hints at high mating costs and offers an explanation for the lack of preferences in males. Nonetheless, we observed a non-random mating pattern in successfully formed pairs, where in the absence of size dimorphism females were on average larger than males. This indicates a different mechanism for selection which is independent from male mating preference or scramble competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolin Dittrich
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin–Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
| | - Melanie Tietje
- Department of Biology, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 116, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Mark-Oliver Rödel
- Museum für Naturkunde Berlin, Leibniz Institute for Evolution and Biodiversity Science, Invalidenstraße 43, 10115 Berlin, Germany
- Berlin–Brandenburg Institute of Advanced Biodiversity Research (BBIB), Berlin, Germany
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5
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Selection for male stamina can help explain costly displays with cost-minimizing female choice. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-022-03172-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In many species, male lifespan is shorter than that of females, often attributed to sexual selection favouring costly expression of traits preferred by females. Coevolutionary models of female preferences and male traits predict that males can be selected to have such life histories; however, this typically requires that females also pay some costs to express their preferences. Here we show that this problem diminishes when we link coevolutionary models of costly mate choice with the idea of stamina. In our model, the most successful males are those who can combine high attendance time on a lek — or, more generally, tenacious effort in their display time budgets — with high viability such that they are not too strongly compromised in terms of lifespan. We find that an opportunistic female strategy, that minimizes its costs by mating with highly visible (displaying) males, often beats other alternatives. It typically resists invasion attempts of genotypes that mate randomly in the population genetic sense, as well as invasion of stricter ways of being choosy (which are potentially costly if choice requires e.g. active rejection of all males who do not presently display, or risky travel to lekking sites). Our model can produce a wide range of male time budgets (display vs. self-maintenance). This includes cases of alternative mating tactics where males in good condition spend much time displaying, while those in poor condition never display yet, importantly, gain some mating success due to females not engaging in rejection behaviours should these be very costly to express.
Significance statement
In many species, males spend much time and energy on displaying to attract females, but it is not always clear what females gain from paying attention to male displays. The tradition in mathematical models attempting to understand the situation is to assume that random mating is the least costly option for females. However, random mating in the population genetic sense requires females to behave in a manner that equalizes mating success between displaying and non-displaying males, and here we point out that this is biologically unlikely. Opportunistically mating females can cause males to spend much of their time budgets displaying and will shorten male lifespans in a quality-dependent manner.
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6
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Forstmeier W, Wang D, Martin K, Kempenaers B. Fitness costs of female choosiness are low in a socially monogamous songbird. PLoS Biol 2021; 19:e3001257. [PMID: 34735432 PMCID: PMC8568113 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001257] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Female mate choice is thought to be responsible for the evolution of many extravagant male ornaments and displays, but the costs of being too selective may hinder the evolution of choosiness. Selection against choosiness may be particularly strong in socially monogamous mating systems, because females may end up without a partner and forego reproduction, especially when many females prefer the same few partners (frequency-dependent selection). Here, we quantify the fitness costs of having mating preferences that are difficult to satisfy, by manipulating the availability of preferred males. We capitalize on the recent discovery that female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) prefer males of familiar song dialect. We measured female fitness in captive breeding colonies in which one-third of females were given ample opportunity to choose a mate of their preferred dialect (two-thirds of all males; "relaxed competition"), while two-thirds of the females had to compete over a limited pool of mates they preferred (one-third of all males; "high competition"). As expected, social pairings were strongly assortative with regard to song dialect. In the high-competition group, 26% of the females remained unpaired, yet they still obtained relatively high fitness by using brood parasitism as an alternative reproductive tactic. Another 31% of high-competition females paired disassortatively for song dialect. These females showed increased levels of extra-pair paternity, mostly with same-dialect males as sires, suggesting that preferences were not abolished after social pairing. However, females that paired disassortatively for song dialect did not have lower reproductive success. Overall, females in the high-competition group reached equal fitness to those that experienced relaxed competition. Our study suggests that alternative reproductive tactics such as egg dumping can help overcome the frequency-dependent costs of being selective in a monogamous mating system, thereby facilitating the evolution of female choosiness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Daiping Wang
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
- CAS Key Laboratory of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Katrin Martin
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany
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7
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Wang D, Forstmeier W, DʼAmelio PB, Martin K, Kempenaers B. Is female mate choice repeatable across males with nearly identical songs? Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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8
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Juvenile Experience with Male Cues Triggers Cryptic Choice Mechanisms in Adult Female Redback Spiders. INSECTS 2021; 12:insects12090825. [PMID: 34564265 PMCID: PMC8468702 DOI: 10.3390/insects12090825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2021] [Revised: 09/05/2021] [Accepted: 09/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Females of many species vary in their receptivity to male mating attempts. When many males are present in the habitat, the theory predicts that females should be choosy and discriminate among potential mates. When few males are available, females should mate readily with the first male who courts, and thus avoid the risk of remaining unmated. We predicted that cues perceived as juveniles that indicate male availability would affect the mating behaviour of adult females. In our first experiment, juvenile females were exposed to airborne chemicals produced by males at high or low densities. In our second experiment, we mimicked a natural situation where males or other juveniles live on the webs of females shortly before they become sexually mature, and compared this to females developing in isolation. As was consistent with our predictions, we found that the adult females changed their behaviour after exposure to cues of high male availability during development. When the females perceived many males nearby (high density airborne cues or living with males) they more often interrupted copulation, or cannibalized the males before the mating was complete as adults. In comparison, when the cues indicated low male availability, the adult females were more likely to allow the males to complete mating, and cannibalism was less common. Abstract Female choice may be linked to population density if the expected encounter rates with potential mates affects choosiness (the energy and risk engaged to express mate preferences). Choosiness should covary with male availability, which could be assessed using the social cues available during development. We tested whether the exposure of juvenile females to cues of male density affected the mechanisms of choosiness of adult Latrodectus hasselti spiders in two experiments simulating natural contexts. The juvenile females were exposed to (1) volatile chemicals from two densities of adult males (airborne cues), and (2) tactile, vibrational and chemical cues from adult males or other females (cohabitation cues). As adults, the females mated readily, regardless of the treatment, but there was strong evidence for post-copulatory mechanisms of choosiness in females exposed to cues of high male availability. These included abbreviated matings (in both experiments), cannibalism of the males before the mating was complete (cohabitation), and, remarkably, a reduction in the successful placement of internal sperm plugs (cohabitation). These shifts decrease the likelihood that the first mate would monopolize paternity if the female chose to mate again. We conclude that female choosiness may impose a strong selection on males despite the high mating rates, and these effects can hinge on the cues of male availability detected by juveniles.
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9
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Auditory and distance cues interact to modulate female gray treefrog preferences for male advertisement calls. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s00265-021-03037-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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10
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Cator LJ, Wyer CAS, Harrington LC. Mosquito Sexual Selection and Reproductive Control Programs. Trends Parasitol 2021; 37:330-339. [PMID: 33422425 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2020.11.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2020] [Revised: 11/19/2020] [Accepted: 11/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
The field of mosquito mating biology has experienced a considerable expansion in the past decade. Recent work has generated many key insights about specific aspects of mating behavior and physiology. Here, we synthesize these findings and classify swarming mosquito systems as polygynous. Male mating success is highly variable in swarms and evidence suggests that it is likely determined by both scramble competition between males and female choice. Incorporating this new understanding will improve both implementation and long-term stability of reproductive control tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lauren J Cator
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK
| | - Claudia A S Wyer
- Department of Life Sciences, Imperial College London, Ascot, UK; Science and Solutions for a Changing Planet DTP, Kensington, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Laura C Harrington
- Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, NY, USA.
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11
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Chevalier L, Labonne J, Galipaud M, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX. Fluctuating Dynamics of Mate Availability Promote the Evolution of Flexible Choosiness in Both Sexes. Am Nat 2020; 196:730-742. [PMID: 33211564 DOI: 10.1086/711417] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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12
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Female mating tactics in lekking fallow deer (Dama dama): experience explains inter-individual variability more than costs. Sci Rep 2020; 10:3598. [PMID: 32108140 PMCID: PMC7046612 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-58681-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Most studies on ungulate reproduction have focused on the covariates of male reproductive success, while there is much less information on female tactics of mate choice. The aim of this work is to fill this gap and to assess condition-dependent variations in female tactics in a lekking fallow deer (Dama dama) population. In particular, we investigated three indirect selection mechanisms: i) aggregation: when females join an already formed female group; ii) copying: when females copy the mate choice of other females and iii) territory choice: when females select a territory where many copulations had previously occurred. Our results show that female fallow deer, which are less experienced (younger) and/or incur higher travel costs (home range far from the lek), adopt indirect forms of mate selection more often than older females or females residing near the lek, respectively. Compared to adults, younger females remained longer in the lek (almost three times) and in male territories, returning to the lek after copulation. However, despite the time spent at the lek, younger females were not able to select the highest-rank males, and relied on territory choice more often than older females. Farther does visited the lek less frequently (farthest females only once) and arrived on average 5 days later than closer females (which performed up to 7 visits), but they were seen more often within female groups (aggregation). We did not find a different amount of copying in younger or in farther females. Our results contribute to advance our understanding of female behaviours in ungulate leks.
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13
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Henshaw JM, Jones AG. Fisher's lost model of runaway sexual selection. Evolution 2019; 74:487-494. [PMID: 31886520 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2019] [Revised: 12/06/2019] [Accepted: 12/09/2019] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
The bizarre elaboration of sexually selected traits such as the peacock's tail was a puzzle to Charles Darwin and his 19th century followers. Ronald A. Fisher crafted an ingenious solution in the 1930s, positing that female preferences would become genetically correlated with preferred traits due to nonrandom mating. These genetic correlations would translate selection for preferred traits into selection for stronger preferences, leading to a self-reinforcing process of ever-elaborating traits and preferences. It is widely believed that Fisher provided only a verbal model of this "runaway" process. However, in correspondence with Charles Galton Darwin, Fisher also laid out a simple mathematical model that purportedly confirms his verbal prediction of runaway sexual selection. Unfortunately, Fisher's model contains inconsistencies that render his quantitative conclusions inaccurate. Here, we correct Fisher's model and show that it contains all the ingredients of a working runaway process. We derive quantitative predictions of his model using numerical techniques that were unavailable in Fisher's time. Depending on parameter values, mean traits and preferences may increase until genetic variance is depleted by selection, exaggerate exponentially while their variances remain stable, or both means and variances may increase super-exponentially. We thus present the earliest mathematical model of runaway sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M Henshaw
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter MS 3051, Moscow, Idaho, USA
| | - Adam G Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Idaho, 875 Perimeter MS 3051, Moscow, Idaho, USA
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14
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Scott CE, McCann S, Andrade MCB. Male black widows parasitize mate-searching effort of rivals to find females faster. Proc Biol Sci 2019; 286:20191470. [PMID: 31362641 PMCID: PMC6710583 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2019.1470] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2019] [Accepted: 07/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Mate-searching success is a critical precursor to mating, but there is a dearth of research on traits and tactics that confer a competitive advantage in finding potential mates. Theory and available empirical evidence suggest that males locate mates using mate-attraction signals produced by receptive females (personal information) and avoid inadvertently produced cues from rival males (social information) that indicate a female has probably already mated. Here, we show that western black widow males use both kinds of information to find females efficiently, parasitizing the searching effort of rivals in a way that guarantees competition over mating after reaching a female's web. This tactic may be adaptive because female receptivity is transient, and we show that (i) mate searching is risky (88% mortality) and (ii) a strongly male-biased operational sex ratio (from 1.2 : 1 to more than 10 : 1) makes competition inevitable. Males with access to rivals' silk trails moved at higher speeds than those with only personal information, and located females even when personal information was unreliable or absent. We show that following rivals can increase the potential for sexual selection on females as well as males and argue it may be more widespread in nature than is currently realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine E. Scott
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Toronto Scarborough, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, M1C 1A4
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15
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Charalabidis A, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX, Carbonne B, Bohan DA, Petit S. Diversity of foraging strategies and responses to predator interference in seed-eating carabid beetles. Basic Appl Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1016/j.baae.2019.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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16
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Swierk L, Langkilde T. Fitness costs of mating with preferred females in a scramble mating system. Behav Ecol 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arz001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Little is known about the operation of male mate choice in systems with perceived high costs to male choosiness. Scramble mating systems are one type of system in which male choice is often considered too costly to be selected. However, in many scramble mating systems, there are also potentially high rewards of male choosiness, as females vary dramatically in reproductive output and males typically mate once per season and/or per lifetime. Using scramble mating wood frogs (Rana sylvatica), we tested whether males gain fitness benefits by mating with preferred females. We conducted choice trials (1 male presented simultaneously with 2 females) and permitted males to mate with their preferred or nonpreferred female. Offspring of preferred and nonpreferred females were reared in the laboratory and field, and we quantified various fitness-relevant parameters, including survivorship and growth rates. Across multiple parameters measured, matings with preferred females produced fewer and lower-quality offspring than did those with nonpreferred females. Our results are inconsistent with the idea that mate choice confers benefits on the choosing sex. We instead propose that, in scramble systems, males will be more likely to amplex females that are easier to capture, which may correlate with lower quality but increases male likelihood of successfully mating. Such male choice may not favor increased fitness when the operational sex ratio is less biased toward males in scramble mating systems but is, instead, a bet-hedging tactic benefitting males when available females are limited.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lindsey Swierk
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology, and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA
| | - Tracy Langkilde
- Department of Biology, Intercollege Graduate Program in Ecology, and Center for Brain, Behavior and Cognition, The Pennsylvania State University, PA, USA
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17
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Gomes ACR, Cardoso GC. Choice of high-quality mates versus avoidance of low-quality mates. Evolution 2018; 72:2608-2616. [PMID: 30421418 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13630] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 10/09/2018] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Research in sexual selection assumes that individuals attempt to choose high-quality mates, and that sexual signals evolve to indicate high quality. But it may often be more important to instead discriminate and avoid low-quality mates, thus reducing the likelihood of large penalties in fitness. We show, using simulations, that avoidance of low-quality mates (i.e., rejecting low-quality and accepting either high- or medium-quality mates) evolves in socio-ecological circumstances such as monogamy with moderate opportunities for choice, costly choice, or abundant low-quality mates. We also show that this strategy is qualitatively different from choosing high-quality mates (i.e., preferring high-quality over medium- and low-quality mates). Rather than selecting signals that distinguish high- from low- and medium-quality mates, avoiding low-quality mates selects for signals or cues attuned at discriminating low-quality mates from the remaining (e.g., low-cost signals, absence of signaling mistakes). This may help explain the high diversity of sexual signals in nature, and their high evolutionary turnover with frequent losses and replacements (rather than reductions/increases of the same signal) over evolutionary time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Cristina R Gomes
- CIBIO/InBIO-Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal
| | - Gonçalo C Cardoso
- CIBIO/InBIO-Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos, Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, 4485-661, Vairão, Portugal.,Behavioural Ecology Group, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, 2100, Copenhagen, Denmark
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18
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Ferreira GBS, Scheutz M, Boyd SK. Mate choice strategies in a spatially-explicit model environment. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0202680. [PMID: 30138426 PMCID: PMC6107201 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0202680] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Decisions about the choice of a mate can greatly impact both individual fitness and selection processes. We developed a novel agent-based model to investigate two common mate choice rules that may be used by female gray treefrogs (Hyla versicolor). In this model environment, female agents using the minimum-threshold strategy found higher quality mates and traveled shorter distances on average, compared with female agents using the best-of-n strategy. Females using the minimum-threshold strategy, however, incur significant lost opportunity costs, depending on the male population quality average. The best-of-n strategy leads to significant female:female competition that limits their ability to find high quality mates. Thus, when the sex ratio is 0.8, best-of-5 and best-of-2 strategies yield mates of nearly identical quality. Although the distance traveled by females in the mating task varied depending on male spatial distribution in the environment, this did not interact with female choice for the best-of-n or minimum-threshold strategies. By incorporating empirical data from the frogs in this temporally- and spatially-explicit model, we thus show the emergence of novel interactions of common decision-making rules with realistic environmental variables.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matthias Scheutz
- Department of Computer Science, Tufts University, Medford, MA, United States of America
| | - Sunny K. Boyd
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, United States of America
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19
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Scherer U, Schuett W. No male mate choice for female boldness in a bi-parental West African cichlid, the rainbow krib ( Pelvicachromis pulcher). PeerJ 2018; 6:e5373. [PMID: 30123707 PMCID: PMC6087618 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.5373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In many species, males have a lower reproductive investment than females and are therefore assumed to increase their fitness with a high number of matings rather than by being choosy. However, in bi-parental species, also males heavily invest into reproduction. Here, reproductive success largely depends on costly parental care; with style and amount of parental effort in several cases being associated with personality differences (i.e., consistent between-individual differences in behaviour). Nonetheless, very little is known about the effect of personality differences on (male) mate choice in bi-parental species. Methods In the present study, we tested male mate choice for the level and consistency of female boldness in the rainbow krib, Pelviachromis pulcher, a bi-parental and territorial West African cichlid. Individual boldness was assumed to indicate parental quality because it affects parental defence behaviour. For all males and females, boldness was assessed twice as the activity under simulated predation risk. Mate choice trials were conducted in two steps. First, we let a male observe two females expressing their boldness. Then, the male could choose between these two females in a standard mate choice test. Results We tested for a male preference for behavioural (dis-)similarity vs. a directional preference for boldness but our data support the absence of effects of male and/or female boldness (level and consistency) on male mating preference. Discussion Our results suggest female personality differences in boldness may not be selected for via male mate choice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ulrike Scherer
- Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Wiebke Schuett
- Institute of Zoology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.,School of Life Sciences, University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom
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20
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Henshaw JM. Finding the one: optimal choosiness under sequential mate choice. J Evol Biol 2018; 31:1193-1203. [DOI: 10.1111/jeb.13296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2018] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan M. Henshaw
- Division of Ecology and Evolution; Research School of Biology; The Australian National University; Acton, Canberra ACT Australia
- Institute of Zoology; University of Graz; Graz Austria
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21
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Wang D, Forstmeier W, Ihle M, Khadraoui M, Jerónimo S, Martin K, Kempenaers B. Irreproducible text-book "knowledge": The effects of color bands on zebra finch fitness. Evolution 2018; 72:961-976. [PMID: 29574894 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13459] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2017] [Revised: 01/29/2018] [Accepted: 02/12/2018] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Many fields of science-including behavioral ecology-currently experience a heated debate about the extent to which publication bias against null findings results in a misrepresentative scientific literature. Here, we show a case of an extreme mismatch between strong positive support for an effect in the literature and a failure to detect this effect across multiple attempts at replication. For decades, researchers working with birds have individually marked their study species with colored leg bands. For the zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata, a model organism in behavioral ecology, many studies over the past 35 years have reported effects of bands of certain colors on male or female attractiveness and further on behavior, physiology, life history, and fitness. Only eight of 39 publications presented exclusively null findings. Here, we analyze the results of eight experiments in which we quantified the fitness of a total of 730 color-banded individuals from four captive populations (two domesticated and two recently wild derived). This sample size exceeds the combined sample size of all 23 publications that clearly support the "color-band effect" hypothesis. We found that band color explains no variance in either male or female fitness. We also found no heterogeneity in color-band effects, arguing against both context and population specificity. Analysis of unpublished data from three other laboratories strengthens the generality of our null finding. Finally, a meta-analysis of previously published results is indicative of selective reporting and suggests that the effect size approaches zero when sample size is large. We argue that our field-and science in general-would benefit from more effective means to counter confirmation bias and publication bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiping Wang
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Malika Ihle
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany.,Current Address: Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, 1881 Natural Area Dr., Gainesville, Florida 32611
| | - Mehdi Khadraoui
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Sofia Jerónimo
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Katrin Martin
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Street 7, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Székely D, Székely P, Denoël M, Cogălniceanu D. Random size-assortative mating despite size-dependent fecundity in a Neotropical amphibian with explosive reproduction. Ethology 2018. [DOI: 10.1111/eth.12724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Diana Székely
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Ovidius University Constanța; Constanța Romania
- Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology; Behavioural Biology Unit; Freshwater and Oceanic Science Unit of Research (FOCUS); University of Liège; Liège Belgium
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas; EcoSs Lab; Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Loja Ecuador
| | - Paul Székely
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas; EcoSs Lab; Universidad Técnica Particular de Loja; Loja Ecuador
- Asociatia Chelonia; București Romania
| | - Mathieu Denoël
- Laboratory of Fish and Amphibian Ethology; Behavioural Biology Unit; Freshwater and Oceanic Science Unit of Research (FOCUS); University of Liège; Liège Belgium
| | - Dan Cogălniceanu
- Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Ovidius University Constanța; Constanța Romania
- CITIAB; Universidad Nacional de Loja; Loja Ecuador
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Charalabidis A, Dechaume-Moncharmont FX, Petit S, Bohan DA. Risk of predation makes foragers less choosy about their food. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0187167. [PMID: 29121652 PMCID: PMC5679636 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0187167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2017] [Accepted: 10/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Animals foraging in the wild have to balance speed of decision making and accuracy of assessment of a food item's quality. If resource quality is important for maximizing fitness, then the duration of decision making may be in conflict with other crucial and time consuming tasks, such as anti-predator behaviours or competition monitoring. Individuals facing the risk of predation and/or competition should adjust the duration of decision making and, as a consequence, their level of choosiness for resources. When exposed to predation, the forager could either maintain its level of choosiness for food items but accept a reduction in the amount of food items consumed or it could reduce its level of choosiness and accept all prey items encountered. Under competition risk, individuals are expected to reduce their level of choosiness as slow decision making exposes individuals to a higher risk of opportunity costs. To test these predictions, the level of choosiness of a seed-eating carabid beetle, Harpalus affinis, was examined under 4 different experimental conditions of risk: i) predation risk; ii) intraspecific competition; iii) interspecific competition; and, iv) control. All the risks were simulated using chemical cues from individual conspecifics or beetles of different species that are predatory or granivorous. Our results show that when foraging under the risk of predation, H. affinis individuals significantly reduce their level of choosiness for seeds. Reductions in level of choosiness for food items might serve as a sensible strategy to reduce both the total duration of a foraging task and the cognitive load of the food quality assessment. No significant differences were observed when individuals were exposed to competition cues. Competition, (i.e opportunity cost) may not be perceived as risk high enough to induce changes in the level of choosiness. Our results suggest that considering the amount of items consumed, alone, would be a misleading metric when assessing individual response to a risk of predation. Foraging studies should therefore also take in account the decision making process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Charalabidis
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
- Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, UMR CNRS 6282 Biogéosciences, Evolutionary Ecology group, Dijon, France
| | | | - Sandrine Petit
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
| | - David A. Bohan
- Agroécologie, AgroSup Dijon, INRA, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, Dijon, France
- * E-mail:
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Wang D, Forstmeier W, Kempenaers B. No mutual mate choice for quality in zebra finches: Time to question a widely held assumption. Evolution 2017; 71:2661-2676. [PMID: 28857165 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13341] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2017] [Revised: 07/26/2017] [Accepted: 08/23/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Studies of mate choice typically assume that individuals prefer high quality mates and select them based on condition-dependent indicator traits. In species with biparental care, mutual mate choice is expected to result in assortative mating for quality. When assortment is not perfect, the lower quality pair members are expected to compensate by increased parental investment to secure their partner (positive differential allocation). This framework has been assumed to hold for monogamous species like the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata), but progress has been hampered by the difficulty to define individual quality. By combining multiple measures of causes (inbreeding, early nutrition) and consequences (ornaments, displays, fitness components) of variation in quality into a single principal component, we here show that quality variation can be quantified successfully. We further show that variation in quality indeed predicts individual pairing success, presumably because it reflects an individual's vigor or ability to invest in reproduction. However, despite high statistical power, we found no evidence for either assortative mating or for positive differential allocation. We suggest that zebra finch ornaments and displays are not sufficiently reliable for the benefits of choosiness to exceed the costs of competition for the putative best partner. To assess the generality of these findings unbiased quantification of signal honesty and preference strength is required, rather than selective reporting of significant results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daiping Wang
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Wolfgang Forstmeier
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
| | - Bart Kempenaers
- Department of Behavioural Ecology and Evolutionary Genetics, Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, 82319 Seewiesen, Germany
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Courtiol A, Etienne L, Feron R, Godelle B, Rousset F. The Evolution of Mutual Mate Choice under Direct Benefits. Am Nat 2016; 188:521-538. [PMID: 27788341 DOI: 10.1086/688658] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
In nature, the intensity of mate choice (i.e., choosiness) is highly variable within and between sexes. Despite growing empirical evidence of male and/or mutual mate choice, theoretical investigations of the joint evolution of female and male choosiness are few. In addition, previous approaches have often assumed an absence of trade-off between the direct benefits per mating and the lower mating rate that results from being choosy. Here we model the joint evolution of female and male choosiness when it is solely ruled by this fundamental trade-off. We show that this trade-off can generate a diversity of stable combinations of choosiness. Mutual mate choice can evolve only if both females and males exhibit long latency after mating. Furthermore, we show that an increase in choosiness in one sex does not necessarily prevent the evolution of mutual mate choice; the outcome depends on details shaping the trade-off: the life history, the decision rule for mate choice, and how the fecundity of a pair is shaped by the quality of both individuals. Last, we discuss the power of the sensitivity of the relative searching time (i.e., of the proportion of a lifetime spent searching for mates) as a predictor of the joint evolution of choosiness.
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