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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

PubMed2001

Male mating preference for female survivorship in the seaweed fly Gluma musgravei (Diptera: Coelopidae).

The seaweed fly mating system is characterized by pre-mating struggles during which females exhibit a mate rejection response involving kicking, shaking and abdominal curling. Males must resist rejection until females become passive and allow copulation to take place. However, despite the vigorous nature of the struggle males frequently dismount passive females without attempting copulation. Here we show that rejected females suffered higher post-encounter mortality rates than those accepted by males in the seaweed fly Gluma musgravei. Furthermore, we show that males also preferentially mounted females with higher future longevity. We propose that this male mate choice for female survivorship has evolved as a result of females often having to survive for long periods after mating until suitable oviposition sites become available. Such male preferences for female survivorship may be common in species in which oviposition must sometimes be substantially delayed after mating.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Harm to females increases with male body size in Drosophila melanogaster.

Previous studies indicate that female Drosophila melanogaster are harmed by their mates through copulation. Here, we demonstrate that the harm that males inflict upon females increases with male size. Specifically, both the lifespan and egg-production rate of females decreased significantly as an increasing function of the body size of their mates. Consequently, females mating with larger males had lower lifetime fitness. The detrimental effect of male size on female longevity was not mediated by male effects on female fecundity, egg-production rate or female-remating behaviour. Similarly, the influence of male size on female lifetime fecundity was independent of the male-size effect on female longevity. There was no relationship between female size and female resistance to male harm. Thus, although increasing male body size is known to enhance male mating success, it has a detrimental effect on the direct fitness of their mates. Our results indicate that this harm is a pleiotropic effect of some other selected function and not an adaptation. To the extent that females prefer to mate with larger males, this choice is harmful, a pattern that is consistent with the theory of sexually antagonistic coevolution.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Loss of preferred mates forces female satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) to increase mate searching.

Variation in mate choice among females can have important consequences for the operation of sexual selection, and can result from differences in the way females search for mates. Our previous work indicates that female satin bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus violaceus alter their mate-searching patterns according to long-term experience. Females which mate with very attractive males mate with the same males in the following year, thereby reducing their search. In contrast, females which fail to encounter very attractive males typically reject their previous mates and search for more attractive males in the following year, thereby increasing their search. Here we report results from a natural experiment consistent with these observations. Five males, including the most attractive male of 1997, failed to re-establish display sites in 1998, most probably dying over winter. We monitored the mate-searching behaviour of females which mated with these males in 1997 to determine how the loss of attractive mates affects subsequent mate-searching patterns. Females which lost their mates sampled more males compared with their own search patterns in 1997 and with faithful females in 1998. Results from this natural experiment indicate that the loss of attractive and preferred mates forces females to increase their search and provide evidence that long-term experience with males shapes mate-searching behaviour.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Maternal separation affects male rat copulatory behaviour and hypothalamic corticotropin releasing factor in concert.

Maternal separation (MS) is an animal model of early adverse experience, which is known to affect hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis function and various aspects of emotional behaviour. Sexual dysfunction is a prominent symptom in depression and in the present study we investigated the effects of maternal separation on copulatory behaviour and partner preference in adult male rats and paced mating in adult female rats. It has been suggested that corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) inhibits copulatory behaviour in male rats and we therefore examined if changes in male sexual behaviour were accompanied by changes in hypothalamic corticotropin releasing factor protein content. We found changed copulatory behaviour reflected in decreased mount latency, intromission latency, and post-ejaculatory interval in rats subjected to 180 min daily separation compared to handled rats, separated for 15 min daily on postnatal days (PNDs) 2-14. Ejaculation latency was not affected and there were no changes in partner preference in male rats. Paced mating behaviour of adult maternally separated female rats was unaffected. The concentration of corticotropin releasing factor-like immunoreactivity was lower in the hypothalamus of male rats separated for 180 min compared to male handled rats. We therefore suggest that 180 min of maternal separation generates a male phenotype with increased sexual motivation possibly due to inadequate levels of corticotropin releasing factor in the hypothalamus.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Plumage coloration and nutritional condition in the great tit Parus major: the roles of carotenoids and melanins differ.

The size and coloration of some body characters seem to influence mate choice in many species. Most animal colours are either structural or based on melanin or carotenoid pigments. It has recently been suggested that carotenoid-based or structural coloration may be a condition-dependent trait, whereas melanin-based coloration is not; a difference that may be highly relevant when studying the evolution of multiple mating preferences. We tested this hypothesis in the great tit ( Parus major). The size of the melanin breast band was not correlated to nutritional condition as estimated by the rate of tail growth (ptilochronology), controlling for locality, age, sex, year and season effects. However, the correlation was significant for the hue of yellow breast (carotenoid-based coloration), and the slopes of the regressions of the two pigments to growth bars differed significantly. These results suggest that the expression of the two traits may be regulated by different mechanisms.

Aging↗

PubMed2006

Embryonic origin of mate choice in a lizard with temperature-dependent sex determination.

Individual differences in the adult sexual behavior of vertebrates are rooted in the fetal environment. In the leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius), a species with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD), hatchling sex ratios differ between incubation temperatures, as does sexuality in same-sex animals. This variation can primarily be ascribed to the temperature having direct organizing actions on the brain. Here we demonstrate that embryonic temperature can affect adult mate choice in the leopard gecko. Given the simultaneous choice between two females from different incubation temperatures (30.0 and 34.0 degrees C), males from one incubation temperature (30.0 degrees C) preferred the female from 34.0 degrees C, while males from another incubation temperature (32.5 degrees C) preferred the female from 30.0 degrees C. We suggest that this difference in mate choice is due to an environmental influence on brain development leading to differential perception of opposite-sex individuals. This previously unrecognized modulator of adult mate choice lends further support to the view that mate choice is best understood in the context of an individual's entire life-history. Thus, sexual selection results from a combination of the female's as well as the male's life history. Female attractiveness and male choice therefore are complementary.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Evidence from rhesus macaques suggests that male coloration plays a role in female primate mate choice.

Male animals of many species use conspicuous coloration to attract mates. Among mammals, primates possess the most brilliant secondary sexual coloration. However, whether colour plays a part in primate female mate choice remains unknown. Adult male rhesus macaques undergo a hormonally regulated increased reddening of facial and anogenital skin during their mating season. We experimentally investigated whether red male facial coloration is preferred by simultaneously presenting female rhesus macaques (n = 6) with computer-manipulated pale and red versions of 24 different male faces. The duration and direction of gaze were measured to discern visual preferences. Females exhibited preferences for the red versions of male faces. It is proposed that male coloration might provide a cue to male quality.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Male choice for female colour morphs in Ischnura elegans (Odonata, Coenagrionidae): testing the hypotheses.

The occurrence of different conspecific female colour morphs, with one of the morphs resembling the male, is supposed to have consequences for mate choice. There are two hypotheses linking mate choice and female colour polymorphism. First, males may mate predominantly with female morphs that differ from the male because they do not recognize androchrome females as females (male mimic hypothesis). Second, males may be more attracted to the most common morph in the population (habituation hypothesis). We tested these hypotheses in five populations of the same species, Ischnura elegans, with a range of androchrome frequencies. In each population we performed binary choice experiments in small cages. Males did not consistently prefer gynochrome females but mated predominantly with the most common morph in the population. Moreover, a reanalysis of the available damselfly data in the literature also supported the habituation hypothesis. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

The genetic architecture of house fly mating behavior.

This chapter summarizes several experimental approaches used to identify the effects of dominance, epistasis, and genotype-by-environment interactions in the genetic architecture of the mating behavior of the common house fly (Musca domestica L.). Quantitative genetic investigations of mating behavior hold special intrigue for unraveling the complexities of fitness traits, with applications to theory on sexual selection and speciation. Besides being well suited to large-scale quantitative genetic protocols, the house fly has a remarkably complex courtship repertoire, affording special opportunities for studies on communication, social interactions, and learning. Increased additive genetic variances for the courtship repertoire of experimentally bottlenecked populations provided evidence for the presence of dominance and/or epistasis. Negative genetic variances in these populations suggested genotype-by-environment interactions, where the environment is the mating partner. Line cross assays of populations that had been subjected to selection for divergent courtship repertoire confirmed that both dominance and epistasis have significant effects. These crosses also showed more directly that the expression of the male's genotype is dependent upon the preferences of his mating partner. Repeatability studies also detailed how males alter their courtship performances with successive encounters within and across females, such that the males learn to improve their techniques in securing copulations. A review of 41 animal behavior studies found that a wide range of traits and taxa have dominance, epistasis, and genotype-y-environment interactions, although house fly courtship may remain a unique model where learning is an intersexually selected trait. Future development of more sophisticated molecular techniques for the M. domestica genome will help unravel the underlying biochemical and developmental pathways of these quantitative genetic interactions for a more complete understanding of the processes of inbreeding depression, outbreeding depression, and pleiotropy.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Mating patterns in seminatural populations of mice influenced by MHC genotype.

Because of the central role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes in immune recognition, it is often assumed that parasite-driven selection maintains the unprecendented genetic diversity of these genes. But associations between MHC genotype and specific infectious diseases have been difficult to identify with a few exceptions such as Marek's disease and malaria. Alternatively, MHC-related reproductive mechanisms such as selective abortion and mating preferences could be responsible for the diversity. To determine both the nature and strength of selection operating on MHC genes by we have studied components of selection in seminatural populations of mice (Mus musculus domesticus). Here we assess MHC-related patterns of reproduction and early (preweaning) mortality by analysing 1,139 progeny born in nine populations, and 662 progeny from laboratory matings. Reproductive mechanisms, primarily mating preferences, result in 27% fewer MHC-homozygous offspring than expected from random mating. MHC genotype had no detectable influence on neonatal (preweaning) mortality. These mating preferences are strong enough to account for most of the MHC genetic diversity found in natural populations of Mus.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Intraspecific variation in the cuticular hydrocarbons of the sandfly Phlebotomus perfiliewi from Italy.

The cuticular hydrocarbons of Phlebotomus perfiliewi Parrot from representative localities on both sides of Italy show contrasts which support the view of Ward et al., (1981) that there are distinguishable populations of this sandfly on the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian coasts. It is suggested that the Appennine mountains form a barrier between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian populations. A third distinct hydrocarbon type of P. perfiliewi was detected in Calabria, southern Italy, where contact between the Adriatic and Tyrrhenian types of flies is most likely to occur. P. perfiliewi from a trans-Appennine pass were also of the Calabrian hydrocarbon type. These hydrocarbon contrasts between allopatric populations of P. perfiliewi may result from clinical variation across the Appennines, associated with different host preferences, or they may represent apomictic populations with differential mate recognition systems.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Cage size preference in rats in the laboratory.

The size of an enclosure is an integral part of how well it accommodates a nonhuman animal's welfare; however, most enrichment studies concentrate on modifying the area inside the enclosure rather than enlarging it. It has been suggested that rats have little need for more cage space, but there is no empirical evidence about rats' need for space. This experiment provides preliminary evidence for the preferences of 5 male and 5 female albino rats using T-maze choices followed by 5 min dwelling times. The rats showed a moderate but significant preference for the larger of 2 cages [540 cm2 vs. 1,620 cm2; binomial z, p <.05]. When the rats shared the chosen cage with 4 familiar cage mates, their preference for the larger cage did not become any stronger [paired t[9] = -.820, p >.05]. The results suggest that rats should be given a somewhat larger space allowance but could share it with up to 4 other rats.

Animal Husbandry↗

PubMed1998

Mate-choice copying in Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica

We performed four experiments to examine effects on the mate choices of female Japanese quail, Coturnix coturnix japonica, of observing a male mate with another female. Each experiment was conducted in three phases: (1) a pre-test during which subject females were allowed to choose between two males with which to affiliate; (2) an observation phase, in which subject females either watched or did not watch the male they had spent less time near during the pre-test (their 'non-preferred' male) copulate with a 'model' female; and (3) a post-test when subject females again chose between non-preferred and preferred males. Only females that had watched their non-preferred male mate with a model female during the observation phase spent significantly more time affiliating with him during the post-test than they had during the pre-test. Watching mating did not change females' criteria for choosing males, and non-preferred males that had mated recently were no more attractive to females than were non-preferred males that had not done so, unless subject females actually observed the mating take place. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that female quail copy one another's mate choices. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Affiliative preferences are stable and predict mate choices in both sexes of Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica.

Most laboratory studies of mate choice use affiliation as a surrogate measure for actual choice of a partner for copulation. In a series of recent studies using affiliation as a dependent variable, we showed that the tendency of both male and female Japanese quail to affiliate with members of the opposite sex is profoundly affected by seeing them mate with others: female quails show an increased tendency to affiliate with males that they have seen mating; and male quails show a decreased tendency to affiliate with females that they have seen mating. In the present experiments, we examined: (1) the consistency of affiliative preferences of male and female quail for individuals of both the same and opposite sex; and (2) the validity of measures of affiliation as predictors of choice of an individual with whom to mate. We found that: (1) both male and female quail display consistency from trial to trial in their affiliative preferences for members of the opposite but not the same sex, and (2) affiliative preference is a powerful predictor of choice of a partner for copulation in both male and female quail. In Japanese quail, affiliative behaviour is consistent over time and predicts mate choice. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

Female European starling preference and choice for variation in conspecific male song.

Data from several field studies support the hypothesis that female European starlings, Sturnus vulgaris, attend to variation among the songs of conspecific males when making mate-choice decisions. However, for a variety of methodological reasons, direct evidence for female preferences based on song in starlings has been lacking. This study presents a novel technique for assaying directly female preference and choice in European starlings by using the presentation of conspecific male song as an operant reinforcer in a controlled environment. Using an apparatus in which the playback of songs from different nestboxes is under the operant control of the subject, we demonstrate how the reinforcing properties of conspecific song can be used to measure female preference and choice. The results of the study suggest three conclusions. First, female starlings prefer naturally ordered conspecific male songs over reversed songs. Second, female starlings display robust preferences for longer compared with shorter male song bouts. Behaviour in the operant apparatus varied directly with male song bout length. Third, preferences based on song bout length are sex specific. Male starlings failed to respond differentially to the same stimuli for which females showed strong preferences. These results suggest that male-male variation in song bout length is important for mate choice among starlings. In addition, we detail the use of a novel behavioural assay for measuring female preferences that can be applied to similar behaviours in other species of songbirds. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Evolution of exclusive paternal care in arthopods.

Exclusive male care of offspring is the rarest form of postzygotic parental care among animals and has arisen independently in only 13 arthropod taxa. To distinguish the effects of sexual selection from those of natural selection on the evolution of arthropod paternal care, predictions concerning several life-history and behavioral traits resulting from both forms of selection are made and tested across all known taxa with exclusive paternal care. Comparisons suggest parallels between prezygotic nuptial gifts and exclusive postzygotic male care and support the hypothesis that, in arthropods, male behaviors that enhance female reproductive success either directly, by releasing females from the fecundity constraints of maternal care (enhanced fecundity hypothesis), or indirectly, by identifying mates with superior genes (handicap principle), are traits on which sexual selection has acted. Under such conditions, males that are willing to guard young become preferred mates for gravid females and enjoy greater promiscuity than males that are unable or unwilling to guard. Females use nest construction or the act of guarding another female's eggs as honest signals of paternal intent and quality.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

The evolution of mate choice in a fluctuating environment.

This paper analyzes the evolutionary dynamics of a locus controlling the degree of female mating preference in a temporally fluctuating environment. Preference for mating with males with respect to their genotypes at a locus that is subject to temporally varying natural selection pressure is considered first. With weak selection and free recombination between the choice locus and the selected locus, preference for mating with heterozygotes appears to be favored. With strong selection, preference for homozygous mates may be favored. In each case, choice alleles may increase from very low initial frequencies to near fixation, in contrast to previous models of mate choice in varying environments. Linkages between the two loci has complex effects on the strength and direction of selection for mate choice. Preference for mating with males with the currently fitter genotypes at the locus under natural selection is also modelled. Provided that the environmental period is not too short, a rare allele conferring such preference may be favored and spread to fixation. Strong natural selection, tight linkage and a short environmental period may produce polymorphism for the level of mate choice.

Alleles↗

PubMed2004

Mating frequency influences nectar amino acid preference of Pieris napi.

It is generally assumed that butterflies, as is the case with many holometabolous insects, rely primarily on nutrients gathered by larval feeding for somatic maintenance and fecundity. These reserves can be supplemented by adult feeding and in some cases by nuptial gifts passed from the males to the females during mating. Recent findings indicate that female butterflies detect and prefer nectar with high levels of amino acids, thus calling new attention to this nutritive source. Polyandrous species can further supplement their larval stores with additional nuptial gifts. This study examined how mating frequency of the polyandrous butterfly Pieris napi affects the female's preference for nectar amino acids. Females of this species generally detect and prefer nectar mimics containing amino acids. However, nectar amino acid preference is significantly lower in mated females. Furthermore, nectar amino acid preference increases when females are not allowed to remate, whereas the preference of twice-mated females remains constant at a lower level. These results indicate a versatile response of females to nectar amino acids, depending on their nutritional status; they may even switch their source of amino acids between adult feeding and nuptial gifts.

Amino Acids↗