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Tibbetts EA, Snell-Rood EC. Reciprocal plasticity and the diversification of communication systems. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.07.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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2
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Schrader M, Jarrett BJM, Kilner RM. Larval environmental conditions influence plasticity in resource use by adults in the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides. Evolution 2021; 76:667-674. [PMID: 34463348 PMCID: PMC9293066 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2021] [Revised: 06/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Recent studies have shown that intraspecific patterns of phenotypic plasticity can mirror patterns of evolutionary diversification among species. This appears to be the case in Nicrophorus beetles. Within species, body size is positively correlated with the size of carrion used to provision larvae and parental performance. Likewise, among species, variation in body size influences whether species exploit smaller or larger carrion and the extent to which larvae depend on parental care. However, it is unclear whether developmental plasticity in response to carcass size, parental care, or both underlie transitions to new carcass niches. We examined this by testing whether variation in the conditions experienced by Nicrophorus vespilloides larvae influenced their ability to breed efficiently upon differently sized carcasses as adults. We found that the conditions experienced by larvae during development played a critical role in determining their ability to use large carcasses effectively as adults. Specifically, individuals that developed with parental care and on large carcasses were best able to convert the resources on a large carcass into offspring when breeding themselves. Our results suggest that parentally induced plasticity can be important in the initial stages of niche expansion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Schrader
- Department of Biology, University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, 37383.,Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
| | - Benjamin J M Jarrett
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.,Department of Biology, Lund University, Lund, SE-22362, Sweden
| | - Rebecca M Kilner
- Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom
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Dion E, Pui LX, Weber K, Monteiro A. Early-exposure to new sex pheromone blends alters mate preference in female butterflies and in their offspring. Nat Commun 2020; 11:53. [PMID: 31896746 PMCID: PMC6940390 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-019-13801-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2017] [Accepted: 11/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
While the diversity of sex pheromone communication systems across insects is well documented, the mechanisms that lead to such diversity are not well understood. Sex pheromones constitute a species-specific system of sexual communication that reinforces interspecific reproductive isolation. When odor blends evolve, the efficacy of male-female communication becomes compromised, unless preference for novel blends also evolves. We explore odor learning as a possible mechanism leading to changes in sex pheromone preferences in the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Our experiments reveal mating patterns suggesting that mating bias for new blends can develop following a short learning experience, and that this maternal experience impacts the mating outcome of offspring without further exposure. We propose that odor learning can be a key factor in the evolution of sex pheromone blend recognition and in chemosensory speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emilie Dion
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore.
| | - Li Xian Pui
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore
| | - Katie Weber
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore
| | - Antónia Monteiro
- Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 14 Science Drive 4, Singapore, 117543, Singapore.
- Yale-NUS-College, 6 College Avenue East, Singapore, 138614, Singapore.
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Dion E, Monteiro A, Nieberding CM. The Role of Learning on Insect and Spider Sexual Behaviors, Sexual Trait Evolution, and Speciation. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2018.00225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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5
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Yeh DJ, Boughman JW, Saetre GP, Servedio MR. The evolution of sexual imprinting through reinforcement. Evolution 2018; 72:1336-1349. [PMID: 29741268 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2017] [Revised: 04/24/2018] [Accepted: 05/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Reinforcement is the process whereby assortative mating evolves due to selection against costly hybridization. Sexual imprinting could evolve as a mechanism of reinforcement, decreasing hybridization, or it could potentially increase hybridization in genetically purebred offspring of heterospecific social pairs. We use deterministic population genetic simulations to explore conditions under which sexual imprinting can evolve through reinforcement. We demonstrate that a sexual imprinting component of female preference can evolve as a one-allele assortative mating mechanism by reducing the risk of hybridization, and is generally effective at causing trait divergence. However, imprinting often evolves to be a component rather than the sole determinant of female preference. The evolution of imprinting has the unexpected side effect of homogenizing existing innate preference, because the imprinted preference neutralizes any innate preference. We also find that the weight of the imprinting component may evolve to a lower value when migration and divergent selection are strong and the cost of hybridization is low; these conditions render hybridization adaptive for immigrant females because they can acquire locally adaptive genes by mating with local males. Together, these results suggest that sexual imprinting can itself evolve as part of the speciation process, and in doing so has the capacity to promote or retard divergence through complex interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Justin Yeh
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
| | - Janette W Boughman
- Department of Integrative Biology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan 48823
| | - Glenn-Peter Saetre
- Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis (CESS), Department of Biosciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Maria R Servedio
- Department of Biology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599
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Delaney EK, Hoekstra HE. Sexual imprinting and speciation between two Peromyscus species. Evolution 2018; 72:274-287. [PMID: 29231989 DOI: 10.1111/evo.13409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 11/11/2017] [Accepted: 11/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Sexual isolation, a reproductive barrier, can prevent interbreeding between diverging populations or species. Sexual isolation can have a clear genetic basis; however, it may also result from learned mate preferences that form via sexual imprinting. Here, we demonstrate that two sympatric species of mice-the white-footed mouse (Peromyscus leucopus) and its sister species, the cotton mouse (P. gossypinus)-hybridize only rarely in the wild despite co-occurrence in the same habitat and lack of any measurable intrinsic postzygotic barriers in laboratory crosses. We present evidence that strong conspecific mating preferences in each species result in significant sexual isolation. We find that these preferences are learned in at least one species: P. gossypinus sexually imprints on its parents, but in P. leucopus, additional factors influence mating preferences. Our study demonstrates that sexual imprinting contributes to reproductive isolation that reduces hybridization between otherwise interfertile species, supporting the role for learning in mammalian speciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily K Delaney
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138.,Current Address: Department of Evolution and Ecology, University of California-Davis, Davis, California 95616
| | - Hopi E Hoekstra
- Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138
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Kopp M, Servedio MR, Mendelson TC, Safran RJ, Rodríguez RL, Hauber ME, Scordato EC, Symes LB, Balakrishnan CN, Zonana DM, van Doorn GS. Mechanisms of Assortative Mating in Speciation with Gene Flow: Connecting Theory and Empirical Research. Am Nat 2018; 191:1-20. [DOI: 10.1086/694889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 130] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
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8
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Corral-López A, Kotrschal A, Kolm N. Selection for relative brain size affects context-dependent male preferences, but not discrimination, of female body size in guppies. J Exp Biol 2018; 221:jeb.175240. [DOI: 10.1242/jeb.175240] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 05/01/2018] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Understanding what drives animal decisions is fundamental in evolutionary biology, and mate choice decisions are arguably some of the most important decisions in any individual's life. As cognitive ability can impact decision-making, elucidating the link between mate choice and cognitive ability is necessary to fully understand mate choice. To experimentally study this link, we used guppies (Poecilia reticulata) artificially selected for divergence in relative brain size and with previously demonstrated differences in cognitive ability. A previous test in our female guppy selection lines demonstrated the impact of brain size and cognitive ability on information processing during female mate choice decisions. Here we evaluated the effect of brain size and cognitive ability on male mate choice decisions. Specifically, we investigated the preferences of large-brained, small-brained, and non-selected guppy males for female body size, a key indicator of female fecundity in this species. For this, male preferences were quantified in dichotomous choice tests when presented to dyads of females with small, medium and large body size differences. All types of males showed preference for larger females but no effect of brain size was found in the ability to discriminate between differently sized females. However, we found that non-selected and large-brained males, but not small-brained males, showed context-dependent preferences for larger females depending on the difference in female size. Our results have two important implications. First, they provide further evidence that male mate choice occurs also in a species in which secondary sexual ornamentation occurs only in males. Second, they show that brain size and cognitive ability have important effects on individual variation in mating preferences and sexually selected traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alberto Corral-López
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B. SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Alexander Kotrschal
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B. SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Niclas Kolm
- Department of Zoology/Ethology, Stockholm University, Svante Arrhenius väg 18B. SE-10691, Stockholm, Sweden
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Gómez‐Llano MA, Navarro‐López EM, Gilman RT. The coevolution of sexual imprinting by males and females. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:7113-7125. [PMID: 28725386 PMCID: PMC5513227 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2409] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Revised: 08/03/2016] [Accepted: 08/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Sexual imprinting is the learning of a mate preference by direct observation of the phenotype of another member of the population. Sexual imprinting can be paternal, maternal, or oblique if individuals learn to prefer the phenotypes of their fathers, mothers, or other members of the population, respectively. Which phenotypes are learned can affect trait evolution and speciation rates. "Good genes" models of polygynous systems predict that females should evolve to imprint on their fathers, because paternal imprinting helps females to choose mates that will produce offspring that are both viable and sexy. Sexual imprinting by males has been observed in nature, but a theory for the evolution of sexual imprinting by males does not exist. We developed a good genes model to study the conditions under which sexual imprinting by males or by both sexes can evolve and to ask which sexual imprinting strategies maximize the fitness of the choosy sex. We found that when only males imprint, maternal imprinting is the most advantageous strategy. When both sexes imprint, it is most advantageous for both sexes to use paternal imprinting. Previous theory suggests that, in a given population, either males or females but not both will evolve choosiness in mating. We show how environmental change can lead to the evolution of sexual imprinting behavior by both sexes in the same population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Robert Tucker Gilman
- School of Earth and Environmental ScienceThe University of ManchesterManchesterUK
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