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PubMed2004

Social transmission of courtship behavior and mating preferences in brown-headed cowbirds, Molothrus ater.

Studies of the social learning of courtship behaviors and mating preferences of brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are reviewed. Earlier work has suggested that cowbirds from behaviorally distinct populations mate preferentially with others from the same population. Studies are described which indicate that patterns of courtship behavior that differ by population can be socially transmitted across generations are described. Social background affects male songs, female preferences for males as mates, and courtship interactions between females and males. Thus, social traditions influence mating decisions and may, ultimately, impact reproductive success in this species. Recent work on possible social mechanisms involved in the ontogeny of courtship behavior is described. The implications of these findings are discussed, and future research directions are suggested.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2000

Removal of adult males from the rearing environment increases preference for same-sex partners in the zebra finch.

The developmental processes producing preferences for opposite-sex mating partners are not well understood. Zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata, are colonial and socially monogamous with biparental care. To determine whether the early social environment contributes to sexual partner preference, we removed adult males from breeding colonies when the oldest chicks were less than 1 week old (male-removal rearing) or left them in the breeding cage (control rearing). At independence, male-removal and control offspring were moved to unisex cages. As adults they were given two-choice tests with male versus female stimuli followed by group aviary tests. Male-removal subjects, unlike controls, did not prefer opposite-sex stimuli in the two-choice tests. Male-removal subjects were less likely than controls to successfully pair with opposite-sex birds in the group aviary tests; 38% of them paired with a same-sex bird. Thus early social experience may contribute to a critical component of mate choice, choosing the opposite sex, in this pair-bonding species. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1983

Effect of exposure to high concentrations of toluene on ethanol preference of laboratory rats.

Male and female Holtzman Sprague Dawley rats were given 10-minute exposures to high concentrations of toluene twice a week at 10-30 days of age. The rate of acquisition of ethanol preference for these rats did not differ significantly from litter-mate sham exposed controls. Once ethanol preference curves were established, the rats were exposed daily over a 5-day period to high concentrations of toluene. An increase in ethanol intake occurred in most of the rats irrespective of early toluene exposures at 10-30 days of age.

Alcoholism↗

PubMed2004

Evolution of human mate choice.

This article provides a review of evolutionary theory and empirical research on mate choices in nonhuman species and uses it as a frame for understanding the how and why of human mate choices. The basic principle is that the preferred mate choices and attendant social cognitions and behaviors of both women and men, and those of other species, have evolved to focus on and exploit the reproductive potential and reproductive investment of members of the opposite sex. Reproductive potential is defined as the genetic, material, and/or social resources an individual can invest in offspring, and reproductive investment is the actual use of these resources to enhance the physical and social well- being of offspring. Similarities and differences in the mate preferences and choices of women and men are reviewed and can be understood in terms of similarities and differences in the form of reproductive potential that women and men have to offer and their tendency to use this potential for the well-being of children.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Recent experience modulates forebrain gene-expression in response to mate-choice cues in European starlings.

Mate-choice decisions can be experience dependent, but we know little about how the brain processes stimuli that release such decisions. Female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) prefer males with long-bout songs over males with short-bout songs, and show higher expression of the immediate early gene (IEG) ZENK in the auditory forebrain when exposed to long-bout songs than when exposed to short-bout songs. We exposed female starlings to a short-day photoperiod for one of three durations and then, on an increased photophase, exposed them to one week of long-bout or short-bout song experience. We then examined their IEG response to novel long-bout versus novel short-bout songs by quantifying ZENK protein in two song-processing areas: the caudo-medial hyperstriatum ventrale and the caudo-medial neostriatum. ZENK expression in both areas increased with tenure on short-day photoperiods, suggesting that short days sensitize females to song. The ZENK response bias toward long-bout songs was greater in females with long-bout experience than in females with short-bout experience, indicating that the forebrain response bias toward a preferred trait depends on recent experience with that category of trait. This surprising level of neuroplasticity is immediately relevant to the natural history and fitness of the organism, and may underlie a mechanism for optimizing mate-choice criteria amidst locally variable distributions of secondary sexual characteristics.

Animal Communication↗

PubMed2006

Reproductive character displacement generates reproductive isolation among conspecific populations: an artificial neural network study.

When interactions with heterospecifics prevent females from identifying conspecific mates, natural selection can promote the evolution of mating behaviours that minimize such interactions. Consequently, mating behaviours may diverge among conspecific populations in sympatry and in allopatry with heterospecifics. This divergence in conspecific mating behaviours-reproductive character displacement-can initiate speciation if mating behaviours become so divergent as to generate reproductive isolation between sympatric and allopatric conspecifics. We tested these ideas by using artificial neural networks to simulate the evolution of conspecific mate recognition in populations sympatric and allopatric with different heterospecifics. We found that advertisement calls diverged among the different conspecific populations. Consequently, networks strongly preferred calls from their own population to those from foreign conspecific populations. Thus, reproductive character displacement may promote reproductive isolation and, ultimately, speciation among conspecific populations.

Animal Communication↗

PubMed2000

Quantitative genetics of female choice in an ultrasonic pyralid moth, Achroia grisella: variation and evolvability of preference along multiple dimensions of the male advertisement signal.

The mating system of Achroia grisella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is characterized by male ultrasonic advertisement signalling to which females orientate. Although males provide no direct, somatic benefits to their mates, females prefer males whose signal characters are more exaggerated than the population means. Previous studies showed that the signal characters influencing mate attraction are highly repeatable and heritable. We measured the phenotypic and additive genetic variances (heritability) of female preference in A. grisella, as this additive genetic variance is one of the genetic assumptions of indirect models of sexual selection. We determined the preference index of female A. grisella by repeated phonotaxis trials in which a choice of simulated male signals was presented. These playback experiments showed that female preference indices varied but were repeatable within individuals. Specifically, females differ in the relative importance of the several signal characters during mate assessment. A subsequent half-sib breeding design revealed an amount of additive genetic variance for the female preference index (h(s)2 = 0.212, SE = 0.1347, P = 0.0611; CVA = 0.1826). Our study highlights the importance of careful preparation of test signals and experimental design for quantifying individual variation in (female) preference along multiple signal dimensions.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Individual variation in male vocal traits and female mating preferences in Bufo americanus.

We investigated the amount of variation in mating behaviour between and within individual male and female American toads, because both sources of trait variation can influence the course of sexual selection. Males varied in all four call parameters investigated (dominant call frequency, pulse rate, call rate and call duration). Individual males lowered the dominant frequency of their call when they interacted vocally with nearby males. Dominant call frequency was more highly correlated with body size in vocally interacting males than in non-interacting males. Pulse rate of calls primarily varied with water temperature. Call rate and call duration showed the most variation of the four call properties, but this variation was unrelated to male morphology or social interactions. Females varied in three aspects of mating behaviour: two measures of pair formation and their preference for dominant frequency of male calls. The body size of paired males varied between females both in pairings initiated by either sex and in pairings initiated only by females. Males chosen by females were usually larger than average, although age and prior breeding experience of females did not affect mate choice. Playback experiments indicated that female preference for calls of low dominant frequency depended on the temporal patterning of alternative calls presented. Each of the four male vocal properties showed significant repeatability, but only one of the three aspects of female mating behaviour was repeatable. We discuss how different degrees of repeatability in sexual traits of males and females may influence the action and detection of sexual selection in this and other species. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1999

Postcopulatory sexual selection in Mediterranean fruit flies: advantages for large and protein-fed males.

Previous laboratory studies of Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (medflies), have identified large size and protein feeding as positive influences on the ability of males to secure copulations. In this study, we investigated whether large and protein-fed males experience additional advantages in terms of amount and distribution of sperm stored by mates. We also examined relationships between copula duration and sperm storage. Mates of large and protein-fed males were more likely to store sperm and to store more sperm than mates of small and protein-deprived males. Probability of sperm storage was associated with copula duration; all copulations lasting less than 100 min failed whereas 98% lasting longer than 100 min succeeded. Copulations involving sperm storage were longer if males were small or protein deprived or if the female was large, although there was no evidence of a relationship between copula duration and total sperm storage. Evidence from related studies suggests that variation in latency until sperm transfer, caused by size and diet, is a likely explanation for varying copula duration. Sperm tended to be stored asymmetrically between the female's two spermathecae, consistent with a mating system in which females maintain isolated populations of sperm from different males and later select between them. Storage was less asymmetric when large numbers of sperm were stored but there was little evidence that male size or diet affected this asymmetry. It is uncertain whether postcopulatory advantages of large and protein-fed male medflies arise from female preferences or male dominance through coercion or force. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1993

Evolution of MHC genetic diversity: a tale of incest, pestilence and sexual preference.

Evidence from the house mouse (Mus) suggests that the extreme diversity of genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) results from three different forms of selection involving infectious disease (pestilence), inbreeding (incest) and MHC-based mating (sexual) preferences. MHC-based disassortative mating preferences are presumed to have evolved because they reduce homozygosity throughout the genome, and particularly within loci linked to the MHC. Progeny derived from such disassortative matings would enjoy increased fitness because of both reduced levels of inbreeding depression and increased resistance to infectious disease arising from their increased MHC heterozygosity.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Speciation through the learning of habitat features.

Learning of environmental features can influence both mating behaviour and the location where young are produced. This may lead to speciation in three steps: (i) colonization of a new habitat, (ii) genetic divergence of the two groups by adaptation to the habitats, and (iii) a decrease of genetic mixing between the lineages (similar to reinforcement). In a previous paper we showed that steps (i) and (ii) occur readily for a wide range of fixed mating and habitat preferences. Here, we study whether this can ultimately lead to speciation through selective changes in these preferences. We show that this indeed occurs, and, furthermore, it is very general: for a large class of models there is selection toward producing young more frequently in the natal habitat. Once habitat preference is strong, there is selection toward stronger assortative mating. Even when steps (i) and (ii) initially fail, genetic divergence may succeed at a later evolutionary stage, after which a decrease of genetic mixing completes speciation. Our results show that speciation by the learning of habitat features is an extremely effective mechanism.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Sexual selection and the evolution of evolvability.

Here we show that sexual selection can have an effect on the rate of mutation. We simulated the fate of a genetic modifier of the mutation rate in a sexual population with and without sexual selection (modelled using a female choice mechanism). Female choice for 'good genes' should reduce variability among male subjects, leaving insufficient differences to maintain female preferences. However, female choice can actually increase genetic variability by supporting a higher mutation rate in sexually selected traits. Increasing the mutation rate will be selected against because of the resulting decline in mean fitness. However, it also increases the probability of rare beneficial mutations arising, and mating skew caused by female preferences for male subjects carrying those beneficials with few deleterious mutations ('good genes') can lead to a mutation rate above that expected under natural selection. A choice of two male subjects was sufficient for there to be a twofold increase in the mutation rate as opposed to a decrease found under random mating.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Females avoid manipulative males and live longer.

Female mate choice has been demonstrated in a wide variety of species and is now accepted as an important factor in sexual selection. One of the remaining questions, however, is why females prefer specific males. Do females or their offspring benefit from their choice? Or do females choose mates to minimize costs of mating? Here we show that, in the ovoviviparous cockroach Nauphoeta cinerea, where sexual selection has been well documented, females chose mates to avoid costly male manipulation. Females were partnered with preferred or nonpreferred mates, and fitness of the females measured. We found that females lived longer when they mated with preferred males. Female lifespan depended on the rate at which offspring developed from egg to parturition: slower development led to longer life. We manipulated the male pheromone and showed that the component of the pheromone blend that makes males attractive to females also delayed parturition. Thus, like other aspects of sexual conflict in this species, offspring development and thereby the mother's lifespan depended on exposure of females to specific components of the male pheromone. Males benefit from manipulating offspring development because females with accelerated parturition remained unreceptive whereas females with slower developing offspring readily remated after giving birth to their offspring. Our results suggest a hormone-like role for the male pheromone in N. cinerea and provide the first direct evidence of mate choice to avoid male manipulation. This study shows that dominant males may not be preferred males if they are manipulating females, why multiple components with contrasting effects can exist in a sexual signal, and emphasizes the complex fitness relationships that can arise in species with sexual conflict.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Distribution of genetic variability in populations of two chromosomal races of Dichroplus pratensis (Melanoplinae, Acrididae) and their hybrid zone.

We examined, through allozyme electrophoresis, the genetic structure of populations of the acridid grasshopper Dichroplus pratensis from two chromosomal races (Northern and Southern) and their hybrid zone in Argentina. No fixed alleles for any particular race were found, although genetic differentiation among parental races was significant (0 = 0.044, 95% CI: 0.004-0.068). Hybrid populations are genetically more similar to the Southern race (0 = 0.008, 95% CI: -0.005-0.018) than to Northern ones (0 = 0.018, 95% CI: 0.002-0.030). Differential viability or fertility of hybrids, or asymmetry in mating preferences in favour of one particular cross would cause a higher proportion of matings between hybrid individuals and those from the Southern race. This would explain the high genetic similarity between those groups, in spite of their geographical vicinity with northern race populations.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Frequency-dependent sexual selection among wild-type strains of Drosophila melanogaster.

Frequency-dependent sexual selection was studied using three geographically isolated strains of Drosophila melanogaster. The Oregon-R and Canton-Special wild-type strains were essentially homogeneous, having been maintained in laboratories since 1925; the wild Macomb strain was relatively genetically heterogeneous, having been collected in September 1972, immediately prior to this investigation. allowing 2 hr observation possible double combinations of the three strains were placed in separate chambers of a modified Elens-Wattiaux observation apparatus at ratios of 5:20, 12:12, and 20:5. All time for each chamber, data were collected to detect mating preference between these strains. There was no sexual isolation between the strains. However, frequency dependence, where rare males have a definite mating advantage in a population, was exhibited by the strains studied. Sexual vigor appeared to be a factor when the heterogeneous Macomb strain was mated to either of the two homogeneous strains in equal numbers.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

First experimental evidence for female mate choice in a nocturnal primate.

Female mate choice can be hypothesised in most nocturnal primates, since females show a higher investment in their offspring than males. The aim of this experimental study was to investigate if female grey mouse lemurs perform mate choice and whether age, relatedness (to the male), or male advertisement call activity systematically influence their decisions. A two-way mate choice design was developed in which females could choose between two males. Mate choice was deduced from the time spent in proximity to the males and from mating behaviour. During oestrus 12 of 17 females participated actively in the experiment and all of them showed either a significant spatial (n = 11) or behavioural (n = 1) preference for one male. In four cases copulations were observed. The influence of age on female mate choice was not statistically significant. In the cases with copulations, however, females mostly preferred the older male. This might indicate a preference for older age as an indicator of experience, fitness, and/or status. The influence of relatedness on female mate choice could not be definitely clarified. However, results imply a mechanism of kin recognition on the basis of familiarity. In the majority of choices, females preferred the male with higher trill call activity. Since trill call activity correlates with the relative dominance status of males, these results suggest an importance of the male dominance status for female mate choice in grey mouse lemurs. Altogether our findings indicate that females use a complex of different cues to choose their mates.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1984

Odor modulation of ventral scent gland marking in the Mongolian gerbil.

Gerbil odors were allowed to accumulate in individual home cages for several months in order to provide stable olfactory stimuli that might modulate the number of ventral scent gland marks produced by both male and female Mongolian gerbils. Male marking levels for most test conditions were 2-3 times larger than those in females. In general, the relative patterns of responsiveness to particular odors were similar in both sexes. The number of scent marks in home cages was significantly smaller than the number obtained in clean cages. This suppression was not strongly dependent on the odors emanating from an individual's own ventral gland sebum. Marking levels in the home cages of other gerbils were substantially higher than those seen in the test animal's own cage and were maximal in the home cages of other males. Behaviorally receptive females marked at significantly higher levels in home, clean, and conspecific cages than did nonreceptive females. Conspecific urine odors, especially those from females, increased marking levels significantly over those obtained in home cages. In males, home cage marking was significantly enhanced by the presence of a female. Females, on the other hand, marked at similar levels in home cages whether a potential mating partner was present or not. Both sexes showed significant reductions in marking levels in another's cage if the resident animal was present. These results suggest that when sufficient gerbil-related odors are available to a test animal, its rate of scent-marking is altered, depending on the particular odor environment. Some gerbil-related odors increase marking levels, whereas others decrease marking. Scent-marking then, like other olfactory guided behaviors and odor preferences, is context specific.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Female age and sperm competition: last-male precedence declines as female age increases.

Until very recently, most studies of sperm competition have focused on variation in male competitive ability. However, we now know that a number of reproductive traits, including oviposition rate, use of stored sperm and receptivity to mating, vary with female condition. Because females can play an active part in the movement of sperm within their reproductive tract, sperm competition may be influenced by female condition. Existing studies of sperm competition in fruitflies ignore the effects of female condition, using females that are 3-4 days old and in their reproductive prime. But condition will decline as a female senesces. Here, we examine the effect of female age on the outcome of sperm competition in three strains of the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster. Previous studies have shown that female age influences preference for mates and male ejaculation strategies. In this study, we find that when males are mated to females that are older than 17 days, last-male sperm precedence decreases significantly. These results could lead to a greater understanding of the physiological mechanisms that regulate the outcome of sperm competition.

Aging↗