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Results for “Mating Preference, Animal”

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PubMed2000

Reinforcement and the genetics of nonrandom mating.

The occurrence of reinforcement is compared when premating isolation is caused by the spread of a gene causing females to prefer to mate with males carrying a population-specific trait (a "preference" model) and by a gene that causes females to prefer to mate with males that share their own trait phenotype (an "assortative mating" model). Both two-island models, which have symmetric gene flow, and continent-island models, which have one-way gene flow, are explored. Reinforcement is found to occur much more easily in a two-island assortative mating model than in any of the other three models. This is due primarily to the fact that in this model the assortative mating allele will automatically become genetically associated in each population with the trait allele that is favored by natural selection on that island. In contrast, natural selection on the trait both favors and opposes the evolution of premating isolation in the two-island preference model, depending on the particular population. These results imply that species recognition in the context of mating may evolve particularly easily when it targets cues that are favored by natural selection in each population. In the continent-island models, reinforcement is found to occur more often under the preference model than the assortative mating model, thus reversing the trend from the two-island models. Patterns of population subdivision may therefore play a role in determining what types of premating isolation may evolve.

Alleles↗

PubMed2003

A critical role for nucleus accumbens dopamine in partner-preference formation in male prairie voles.

Although the role of nucleus accumbens (NAcc) dopamine (DA) in reward learning has been extensively studied, few investigations have addressed its involvement in learning socially relevant information. Here, we have examined the involvement of NAcc DA in social attachment of the "monogamous" prairie vole (Microtus orchrogaster). We first demonstrated that DA is necessary for the formation of social attachment in male prairie voles, because administration of haloperidol blocked, whereas apomorphine induced, partner-preference formation. We then provided the first descriptions of DA neuroanatomy and tissue content in vole NAcc, and mating appeared to induce a 33% increase in DA turnover. We also showed that administration of haloperidol directly into the NAcc blocked partner preferences induced by mating and apomorphine. In addition, administration of apomorphine into the NAcc but not the caudate putamen induced partner preferences in the absence of mating. Together, our data support the hypothesis that NAcc DA is critical for pair-bond formation in male prairie voles.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Cryptic female preference for colorful males in guppies.

Cryptic female choice (CFC) refers to female-mediated processes occurring during or after copulation that result in biased sperm use in favor of preferred or compatible males. Despite recent empirical support for this hypothesis, evidence that CFC contributes towards the evolution of male body ornaments, in the same way that precopulatory female choice does, is currently lacking. Here, we tested the possibility that CFC selects for increased male attractiveness in the guppy Poecilia reticulata, a freshwater fish exhibiting internal fertilization. Specifically, we examined whether females are able to manipulate the number of sperm transferred or retained at copulation in favor of relatively attractive males. In support of this prediction, we found that following solicited copulations the number of sperm inseminated is influenced exclusively by the female's perception of relative male coloration, independent of any direct manipulation of males themselves. Because females prefer brightly colored males during precopulatory mate choice, our finding that colorful males are also favored as a consequence of enhanced insemination success indicates that cryptic female choice can reinforce precopulatory preferences for extravagant male ornaments.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Cocaine and morphine self-administration: effects of differential rearing.

Two groups of Wistar rats were reared in either enriched or impoverished conditions for 100 days postweaning. These two groups were further divided and tested for cocaine or morphine preference in a two-bottle choice (water alternative) for 16 days. Enriched and impoverished rearing has previously been found to alter emotionality, conditionability, and body weight of adult rats. Validating previous reports of differential rearing effects on body weight, the enriched animals in the present study weighed less than their litter mates reared in impoverished conditions. Animals reared in the enriched environment consumed significantly more cocaine than animals reared in an impoverished one. No significant differences were observed for morphine self-selection as a result of differential rearing.

Animals↗

PubMed1996

Early olfactory experience, novelty, and choice of sexual partner by male rats.

After rearing by citral-scented or unscented dams, adult male rats were given simultaneous choices of citral-scented or unscented female partners in approach, contact, and sexual behavior tests. There was no evidence that mate choice had been affected by the early rearing experience. In Experiment 1, both citral and control males approached citral-scented females in a T-apparatus at slightly above chance levels and exhibited no differences in copulatory behavior during successive pairings. In Experiment 2, normally reared males directed their first mount more rapidly to a citral female, but otherwise mated equally with the scented and unscented females. In Experiment 3, citral-reared males approached citral and unscented females equally, whereas controls approached citral females less often. With 2 females in the same arena (Exp. 3), the first mount was more rapid when the odor of the partner matched that of the dam, but no other measure of sexual behavior was affected by the partner's odor. Despite the importance of early olfactory experience for the development of social behavior, a preference for estrous-related odors is evidently not learned before mating experience. Under some circumstances, a novel odor added to familiar conspecific odors may attract naive males to potential partners.

Acyclic Monoterpenes↗

PubMed1995

A gender-specific mechanism for pair bonding: oxytocin and partner preference formation in monogamous voles.

Previous studies have demonstrated that central administration of vasopressin but not oxytocin facilitates pair bonding in the monogamous male prairie vole. This study tested vasopressin and oxytocin in the formation of the female vole's preference for a particular male partner. Initial studies showed that in monogamous female prairie voles (but not in nonmonogamous congeners), mating was followed by a partner preference that endured for at least 2 weeks. Nonmating prairie vole females developed a partner preference following oxytocin infusions, but not after vasopressin or cerebrospinal fluid infusions. Females given a selective oxytocin antagonist showed normal mating behavior, yet failed to develop a partner preference. The vasopressin antagonist failed to block partner preference formation in mated females. These results suggest that oxytocin, released with mating, may be critical to formation of a partner preference in the female prairie vole; this contrasts to vasopressin, which appears to be more important for pair bonding in the male of this species.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Modelling the evolution of female choice strategies under inbreeding conditions.

Recently, many mate choice studies have discussed the role of genetic compatibility and inbreeding for the evolution of mate choice. With population genetic simulations I compared the potential advantage of three different female choice strategies under inbreeding conditions. Females were assumed to benefit indirectly via a preference for (i) complementary males, (ii) males with few detrimental mutations, and (iii) non-inbred males. Probably related to the reduced inbreeding depression in offspring of choosy females, the choice-allele increased for all three strategies. However, the advantage of the strategies differed widely. Choice of males with fewer mutations provided a comparatively large advantage, choice of complementary males led to a reasonable advantage, and choice of non-inbred males only resulted in a minor advantage of female choice. My results show that complementary mate choice can be almost as beneficial as conventional good-genes choice of mates with lower genetic load. Compared to the two other mate choice strategies, choice of non-inbred males is less likely to contribute to the evolution of costly mate choice. The results of a recent study showing that female sticklebacks prefer males with a larger number of MHC-loci is thus unlikely to be related to an indirect benefit of choosing non-inbred males.

Animals↗

PubMed1986

Odor-guided behavior in mammals.

The odor-guided behaviors selected for presentation in this paper encompass the major areas of animal behavior, and illustrate the important principal that complex relations exist between odor-guided behaviors, hormonal state, and experiential factors. Clearly, experiences with odors at several life stages results in profound influences upon later behaviors, including those related to eating, mating, fighting, and nesting. Interestingly, only brief social encounters are needed in rats to induce such phenomena as ultrasonic calling to conspecific estrous females or their odors, preferences for estrous over non-estrous odors, and the short-term modification of feeding behaviors. Although the mechanisms behind these intriguing phenomena are poorly understood, it is noteworthy that rats can learn relatively complex concepts on the basis of odors, rivaling even the ability of our own species to learn analogous tasks by visual cues. Despite the fact that close relationships can be demonstrated between odor-guided behaviors and variables such as endocrine state and sexual experience, caution is warranted in assuming that simple causal relations exist between such variables. In normally cycling women, for example, the correlation between olfactory sensitivity and plasma levels of estradiol during the menstrual cycle is relatively high; however, attenuation of the cyclical estradiol fluctuations by oral contraceptives does not eliminate the olfactory fluctuations, suggesting the relation is not causal. In house mice, social experience can override hormonal factors in their odor-guided urine marking and submissive behaviors. Thus, even though androgen titer usually correlates with such measures, a mouse made subordinant in a social encounter will not exhibit scent marking even when its circulating testosterone is maintained at a high level by a silastic implant. Further reason for caution comes from studies that suggest olfactory input influences the endocrine systems of sexually experienced and sexually inexperienced animals in different ways. For example, in sexually experienced male rats, anosmia decreases testosterone and estradiol levels and increases corticosterone levels, whereas in sexually inexperienced ones it has no significant influence on the levels of these steroids. Taken together, such observations suggest that the causal bases of a number of the odor-guided behaviors described in this paper are complex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Aging↗

PubMed2004

Learning and colonization of new niches: a first step toward speciation.

Learning processes potentially play a role in speciation but are often ignored in speciation models. Learning may, for instance, play a role when a new niche is being colonized, because the learning of niche features may cause niche-specific assortative mating and a tendency to produce young in this niche. Several animal species learn about their environmental features that may be important in finding or attracting mates. We use a gene-culture coevolutionary model to look into the effect of such learning on the colonization of new niches and on the genetic divergence between groups using different niches, which are steps necessary in achieving speciation. We assume that density is regulated separately in each of the two niches and that the viability of an individual depends on its genotype as well as on which niche it exploits. Our results show that genetic adaptation to the new niche is enhanced by a high female fecundity and a low viability selection against heterozygotes. Furthermore, when initial colonization (without genetic adaptation) fails, genetic divergence is more difficult when the mating preference is stronger. In contrast, when colonization without genetic adaptation is successful, a stronger mating preference makes genetic divergence easier. An increase in the number of egg-laying mistakes by females can have a positive or negative effect on the success of genetic adaptation depending on other parameters. We show that genetic divergence can be prevented by a niche shift, which can occur only if viabilities in the two niches are asymmetrical.

Adaptation, Biological↗

PubMed2000

Colour bands, mate choice and paternity in the bluethroat.

Studies of several bird species have shown that coloured leg bands may affect a male's success in mate attraction and/or mating competition. From a colour band experiment in the field, we have previously reported that male bluethroats, Luscinia s. svecica, with blue and orange bands (BO males) guarded their mates less intensely at the peak of female fertility, and spent more time advertising for additional mates, than males banded with non-BO colours. These responses indicated that BO males experienced less threat to their paternity than did non-BO males, possibly mediated through an increased attractiveness. Here we present paternity analyses of the broods from the field study and test whether there were differences between the two male groups in within-pair or extrapair paternity. There were no significant differences between the two groups of males in paternity, suggesting effective male protection of paternity. However, extrapair paternity was infrequent in the 2 years of the field experiment; hence, the power in detecting effects on paternity does not allow a definitive conclusion on this issue. We also conducted an aviary experiment in which females were given the choice between a BO male and a non-BO male, to test whether females had preferences for particular colour bands. Females did not associate more with BO males, as would have been expected if these males were more attractive in social mate choice. Our results suggest that the effects of colour bands on social mate choice and paternity are, at best, weak. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

A cognitive framework for mate choice and species recognition.

Mating decisions contribute to both the fitness of individuals and the emergence of evolutionary diversity, yet little is known about their cognitive architecture. We propose a simple model that describes how preferences are translated into decisions and how seemingly disparate patterns of preference can emerge from a single perceptual process. The model proposes that females use error-prone estimates of attractiveness to select mates based on a simple decision rule: choose the most attractive available male that exceeds some minimal criterion. We test the model in the tungara frog, a well-characterized species with an apparent dissociation between mechanisms of mate choice and species recognition. As suggested by our model results, we find that a mate attraction feature alters assessments of species status. Next, we compare female preferences in one-choice and two-choice tests, contexts thought to emphasize species recognition and mate choice, respectively. To do so, we use the model to generate maximum-likelihood estimators of preference strengths from empirical data. We find that a single representation of preferences is sufficient to explain response probabilities in both contexts across a wide range of stimuli. In this species, mate choice and species recognition are accurately and simply summarized by our model. While the findings resolve long-standing anomalies, they also illustrate how models of choice can bridge theoretical and empirical treatments of animal decisions. The data demonstrate a remarkable congruity of perceptual processes across contexts, tasks, and taxa.

Animals↗

PubMed1983

Sexual selection and fertility.

Genetic models are analyzed in which sexual selection is combined with fertility selection. In these models, the sexual selection acts on males, the fertility selection on either males, females or both sexes. The phenotypes thus selected may be determined either by dominant and recessive alleles or by each homozygous and heterozygous genotype. Polymorphisms of dominant and recessive phenotypes can be maintained in equilibrium by a balance between sexual and fertility selection. Generally fertility selection has a greater effect than viability selection in determining the point of equilibrium. The dominant phenotype is maintained at a lower frequency when at a fertility disadvantage than when at a viability disadvantage. When about 20% or more of the females mate preferentially, the models show that equilibria will be established at very different frequencies depending on whether fertility selection acts on males, females or both sexes. These results, applied to data of preferential mating of melanic two-spot ladybirds, predict differences in fertility which can be use to test the models. Symmetric models of preferences for each genotype also give rise to polymorphisms if the heterozygotes obtain an overall advantage.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Dopamine D2 receptors in the nucleus accumbens are important for social attachment in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).

The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster), a monogamous rodent that forms long-lasting pair bonds, has proven useful for the neurobiological study of social attachment. In the laboratory, pair bonds can be assessed by testing for a partner preference, a choice test in which pair-bonded voles regularly prefer their partner to a conspecific stranger. Studies reported here investigate the role of dopamine D2-like receptors (i.e., D2, D3, and D4 receptors) in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) for the formation of a partner preference in female voles. Mating facilitated partner preference formation and associated with an approximately 50% increase in extracellular dopamine in the NAcc. Microinjection of the D2 antagonist eticlopride into the NAcc (but not the prelimbic cortex) blocked the formation of a partner preference in mating voles, whereas the D2 agonist quinpirole facilitated formation of a partner preference in the absence of mating. Taken together, these results suggest that D2-like receptors in the NAcc are important for the mediation of social attachments in female voles.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Alteration of the chemical environment disrupts communication in a freshwater fish.

It is well established that changes to the chemical environment can impair development, physiology and reproductive biology; by contrast, impacts on communication have not been widely reported. This is surprising given that chemical communication is the most widely used sensory modality in nature, and that variation in the chemical composition of the environment is the rule, not the exception. Here, we show that chemically mediated species recognition in a swordtail fish, Xiphophorus birchmanni, can be hindered by anthropogenic disturbance to the signalling environment. Females have a strong preference for conspecific male chemical cues, yet they hybridize in nature with the congener X. malinche. Wild-caught females showed a strong preference for conspecifics when tested in clean water, but failed to show a preference when tested in stream water subject to sewage effluent and agricultural runoff. We hypothesized that this was due to the interaction between chemical communication systems and humic acid (HA), a ubiquitous, natural product elevated to high levels by anthropogenic processes. When exposed to elevated concentrations of HA, female X. birchmanni again lost their preference for conspecific male chemical cues, while visual mating preferences and motivation to mate were retained. Sub-lethal concentrations of seemingly benign substances can thus have a drastic effect on natural populations through their specific impact on communication systems.

Animal Communication↗

PubMed2004

No evidence of an MHC-based female mating preference in great reed warblers.

Female mate-choice based on genetic compatibility is an area of growing interest. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes are likely candidates for such mate-choice since these highly polymorphic genes may both increase offspring viability and also provide direct cues for mate-choice. In great reed warblers, females actively choose a breeding partner out of a handful of males that they visit and evaluate; thus, female preference for compatible or heterozygous MHC genes could have evolved. Here, I investigate whether great reed warbler females preferentially mate with males with dissimilar MHC class I alleles or with males that are heterozygous at MHC class I. Despite favourable conditions, a thorough screening method and a large sample size, there was no evidence of an MHC-based female mating preference based on either genetic compatibility or heterozygosity in this population. Power analyses of the data sets revealed that relatively small differences (15% and 8%, respectively) between true and random pairs should have been detected.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2004

Individual-based spatially-explicit model of an herbivore and its resource: the effect of habitat reduction and fragmentation.

We present an individual-based, spatially-explicit model of the dynamics of a small mammal and its resource. The life histories of each individual animal are modeled separately. The individuals can have the status of residents or wanderers and belong to behaviorally differing groups of juveniles or adults and males or females. Their territory defending and monogamous behavior is taken into consideration. The resource, green vegetation, grows depending on seasonal climatic characteristics and is diminished due to the herbivore's grazing. Other specifics such as a varying personal energetic level due to feeding and starvation of the individuals, mating preferences, avoidance of competitors, dispersal of juveniles, as a result of site overgrazing, etc., are included in the model. We determined model parameters from real data for the species Microtus ochrogaster (prairie vole). The simulations are done for a case of an enclosed habitat without predators or other species competitors. The goal of the study is to find the relation between size of habitat and population persistence. The experiments with the model show the populations go extinct due to severe overgrazing, but that the length of population persistence depends on the area of the habitat as well as on the presence of fragmentation. Additionally, the total population size of the vole population obtained during the simulations exhibits yearly fluctuations as well as multi-yearly peaks of fluctuations. This dynamics is similar to the one observed in prairie vole field studies.

Animal Feed↗

PubMed2000

Female mate choice for large males in several species of seaweed fly (Diptera: Coelopidae).

The mating system of the seaweed fly Coelopa frigida involves a vigorous premating struggle during which females attempt to dislodge mounted males by kicking and shaking from side to side. Additionally females can prevent engagement of genitalia by curling their abdomens downwards. Large males gain a mating advantage. Male size is partially determined by a chromosomal inversion polymorphism which is maintained by strong heterosis. Thus female mate choice on the basis of size will affect offspring fitness. We report the occurrence of premating struggles and mate choice for large males in five additional species of seaweed fly, namely, C. nebularum, C. vanduzeei, C. pilipes, Gluma musgravei and G. nitida. Four of these species appear to lack the inversion system, suggesting that mate choice for large males can be maintained in its absence and also evolved before its establishment. Gluma females had stronger preferences than Coelopa females and showed an additional response to mounting, namely, curling their abdomens upwards into the male. This may allow assessment of male size. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2005

Female disdain for swords in a swordtail fish.

Studies of mate choice evolution tend to focus on how female mating preferences are acquired and how they select for greater elaboration of male traits. By contrast, far less is known about how female preferences might be lost or reversed. In swordtail fish Xiphophorus, female preference for the sword ornament is an ancestral trait. Xiphophorus birchmanni, however, is one species that has secondarily lost the sword. Using synthetic animation playback of "virtual" males, we found that female X. birchmanni preferred a swordless conspecific over a sworded heterospecific. Moreover, when offered the choice between a conspecific without a sword and one with a digitally attached sword, females preferred the former. These results suggest female preferences need not always select for elaboration of male traits, and they provide a plausible explanation for the lack of introgression of a sexual trait in a naturally occurring hybrid zone.

Animal Communication↗