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Results for “Mating Preference, Animal”

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PubMed1994

Oxytocin administered centrally facilitates formation of a partner preference in female prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster).

Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are monogamous mammals that form male-female pair bonds. Partner preference formation, one component of the pair bond in prairie voles, occurs following male-female cohabitation and is facilitated by mating. The peptide hormone oxytocin is released during physical contact and particularly following vaginal stimulation. Oxytocin has been implicated in mother-infant bond formation. The present study tested the hypothesis that oxytocin participates in the partner preference component of pair bond formation in adult prairie voles. Ovariectomized female prairie voles were implanted with osmotic mini-pumps releasing oxytocin (1-100 ng/h) or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Pumps were implanted intracerebroventricularly or subcutaneously and females then were housed for 6 h with a male partner, followed by a preference test in which females could elect to spend time with either the partner or an unfamiliar male. Females in groups that received centrally-administered oxytocin (10 or 100 ng/h), but not CSF, exhibited a significant preference for the partner present during infusion. The induction of a partner preference after oxytocin administration appeared specific for central oxytocin pathways as peripheral oxytocin administration was ineffective. Moreover, central administration of a selective oxytocin receptor antagonist inhibited the behavioral effect of exogenous oxytocin. These results suggest that oxytocin may be one factor contributing to the development of partner preferences in this monogamous rodent.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

PubMed2005

Genetic linkage between a sexually selected trait and X chromosome meiotic drive.

Previous studies on the stalk-eyed fly, Cyrtodiopsis dalmanni, have shown that males with long eye-stalks win contests and are preferred by females, and artificial selection on male relative eye span alters brood sex-ratios. Subsequent theory proposes that X-linked meiotic drive can catalyse the evolution of mate preferences when drive is linked to ornament genes. Here we test this prediction by mapping meiotic drive and quantitative trait loci (QTL) for eye span. To map QTL we genotyped 24 microsatellite loci using 1228 F2 flies from two crosses between lines selected for long or short eye span. The crosses differed by presence or absence of a drive X chromosome, X(D), in the parental male. Linkage analysis reveals that X(D) dramatically reduces recombination between X and X(D) chromosomes. In the X(D) cross, half of the F2 males carried the drive haplotype, produced partially elongated spermatids and female-biased broods, and had shorter eye span. The largest QTL mapped 1.3cM from drive on the X chromosome and explained 36% of the variation in male eye span while another QTL mapped to an autosomal region that suppresses drive. These results indicate that selfish genetic elements that distort the sex-ratio can influence the evolution of exaggerated traits.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Adaptive female choice for middle-aged mates in a lekking sandfly.

Most theoretical models of age-related mate choice predict that females should prefer older males because they have proven survival ability. An alternative view is that older males represent inferior mates because of negative genetic correlations between early and late fitness components, or because older males have traded off longevity against other fitness components, have accumulated deleterious germ-line mutations, or are less well adapted to current conditions than more recently born individuals. While numerous studies have reported female choice for older males, few have explicitly examined the fitness consequences of such a preference. We present evidence from a lekking sandfly, Lutzomyia longipalpis, showing that choosy females discriminate against older males and gain a fitness benefit from their choice. When permitted free choice from an aggregation consisting of males aged zero to two days (young), four to six days (middle-aged) and eight to ten days (old), females preferentially mated with middle-aged males, but all measures of female reproductive success were independent of male age. In contrast, when a second set of females was randomly assigned single virgin males of known age, the eggs of those paired to old mates exhibited lower hatching success than the eggs of females mated to young or middle-aged males. These results suggest that females avoid mating with older males because they represent poorer quality mates. Age-related differences in male quality may have a genetic basis, but could equally well arise through a phenotypic decline in sperm quality or sperm transfer ability with male age. The lack of evidence of female discrimination against older males from other studies may be because these did not explore the reproductive success of the full age range of males.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2004

Female choice of young sperm in a genetically monogamous bird.

When females copulate with multiple males the potential exists for female sperm choice. Females may increase the probability of being fertilized by preferred males by selectively retaining their sperm while ejecting the sperm of unfavoured males. An alternative criterion to male quality for female sperm choice may be sperm age because old sperm degrade and can lead to zygote death or unhealthy offspring. Here, we report that in a genetically monogamous bird, the black-legged kittiwake Rissa tridactyla, females eject their mates' sperm according to when the copulations were performed. Following copulations that were performed approximately two weeks before egg laying, females ejected inseminations at high frequencies while retaining inseminations that occurred soon before laying. Females that suffered hatching failure had ejected sperm from early copulations less than half as frequently as females whose entire clutches hatched. Furthermore, chicks that hatched from eggs fertilized by old sperm were in poor condition relative to those fertilized by young sperm. These findings support the 'young sperm' hypothesis, which predicts that females choose fresh sperm to avoid reproductive failure and are the first to show intra-male sperm choice by females.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Co-option of male courtship signals from aggressive display in bowerbirds.

The pre-existing trait hypothesis suggests that females evolve a mating preference for an already existing male trait. This hypothesis poses a simple resolution to Darwin's long-standing question of how elaborate, male display traits evolve. The frequently observed convergence of aggressive and courtship displays across a wide array of species provides the only current support for this hypothesis. Here we provide much more detailed supporting evidence from bowerbird skrraa calls used in aggression and courtship. Consistent with the pre-existing trait hypothesis we show that (i) putatively co-opted skrraa calls used in courtship and aggression are homologous, (ii) skrraa calls were used in aggression in bowerbirds before being used in courtship, (iii) historically, intense, aggressive-like courtship calls were present near the time of co-option, and (iv) bower types contemporaneous with co-option emphasize design features that provide females protection from the adverse effects of intense courtship displays. These results, plus evidence for a female preference for males with intense aggressive-like courtship skrraa calls, suggest that aggressive skrraa calls have been co-opted for use in male courtship display

Aggression↗

PubMed1999

Mate choice copying versus preference for actively displaying males by female pied flycatchers.

Should a female copy the mate choice of other females? A female may rank a mated male higher in quality than an unmated male because the former has demonstrated that he is able to attract a female. However, a prospecting female may also avoid a mated male because of the risk that she has to compete with the male's initial mate over access to copulations, breeding resources and male parental care. We studied the mate choice of female pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca, in aviaries divided into three compartments, two for males, and one for a female. A female was allowed to choose (build a nest in a nestbox) between two males after a period when she had been kept in a cage behind a one-way mirror and had presumably seen that one of the males was in the company of another female for 5 h. There was no evidence that females copied the mate choice of conspecific females, or that they avoided males that had recently been in the company of another female. Instead, females apparently chose a mate independently of others, choosing the male showing most courtship display. The latter result explains the consistency in mate choice observed when different females chose between the same pair of males in repeat trials. The ability of females to pick out the same male independently may also explain why a few males obtain most copulations in lekking species. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1997

Sex, the Prisoner's Dilemma Game, and the evolutionary inevitability of cooperation.

It will be a universal feature of sexual populations that individuals prefer mates with typical rather than rare characteristics--essentially because most mutations reduce fitness. This is termed koinophilia. Koinophilia will also apply to behaviour. In particular, individuals will prefer mates that behave in social interactions that follow whatever rules are common in that population. Suppose that individuals interact in situations which can be represented by the Iterated Prisoner's Dilemma Game (IPD). If koinophilia is ignored, previous authors have shown that it is hard to find an evolutionarily stable strategy, and that strategies cycle indefinitely. However, if koinophilia is included, it has the effect of increasing the fitness of whatever happens to be the common strategy. This, in turn, has the effect of stabilizing almost any strategy (that has, for whatever reason, become the local norm) in the IPD. Different, partially isolated groups will thus become evolutionarily trapped in different behaviours, which are defended against alternative strategies originating through mutation or immigration. Groups that happen, by chance, to reach a cooperative strategy will be fitter, as groups, than those that reach defection (even though, in one-to-one encounters, it is the selfish individual who always wins). The ultimate result will be the replacement of selfish groups by cooperative groups.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Conditioned taste aversion learning in leptin-receptor-deficient db/db mice.

The db/db mouse has defective leptin receptors. The defects lead to impairments of leptin regulation of food intake and body weight, and result in the expression of diabetic symptoms such as hyperinsulinemia, hyperglicemia, and extreme obesity. Recent studies have proposed that leptin may also affect memory and learning processes. To examine this possibility, we compared the ability of leptin-receptor-deficient db/db mice and their normal lean litter mates to form and extinguish a conditioned taste aversion (CTA) for saccharin. We used a short-term (10 s) lick test and a long-term (48 h) two bottle preference test for measurement of consumption of test solutions. On the first day after conditioning to avoid saccharin, the db/db mice showed preference scores for saccharin as low, and aversion thresholds for sucrose lower than that of the lean mice. During the extinction test trials beginning from the second up to the 30th day after conditioning, numbers of licks and preference scores for aversive saccharin and sucrose appeared to be larger, and recovered faster to the control levels in db/db mice. These results indicate that db/db mice with leptin-receptor-deficiency may show equal capacity to form CTAs for saccharin, greater generalization from saccharin to sucrose, and a faster rate of extinction. This suggests that disruption of leptin signalling does not inhibit acquisition of CTA learning, but impairs its extinction. This differential contribution of the leptin system on CTA processes may be due to differential distribution of leptin receptors in the CTA-related brain areas.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Carotenoid-based plumage coloration of male greenfinches reflects health and immunocompetence.

Hypotheses of parasite-mediated sexual selection (PMSS) propose that elaborate male ornaments have evolved due to female preferences. Females would benefit from mating with more ornamental males if males' ornamentation signals their health status and ability to provide parasite resistance genes for the offspring. Carotenoid-based plumage coloration of birds has been hypothesised to honestly reflect an individual's health status due to trade-off in allocation of carotenoids between maintenance and signalling functions. The prediction of this hypothesis, namely that individuals with brighter plumage are able to mount stronger immune responses against novel antigens and reveal generally better health state, was tested in captive male greenfinches (Carduelis chloris). Greenfinches with brighter yellow breast feathers showed stronger humoral immune response against novel antigen (SRBC) while no relationship between plumage coloration and an estimate of cell-mediated immune responsiveness (PHA response) was detected. Elaborately ornamental individuals had better general health state as indicated by the negative correlations between plumage brightness and heterophil haemoconcentration. Consistent with the concept of PMSS, these results suggest that carotenoid-based plumage coloration in greenfinches honestly signals immunocompetence and health status.

Animal Welfare↗

PubMed2003

Effects of sex hormones and gender on attraction thresholds for volatile anal scent gland odors in ferrets.

Body odors contribute to mate recognition and sexual partner preference in many mammals, including ferrets. We used a habituation/dishabituation procedure to test whether sex steroid hormones influence whether ferrets will approach and investigate different concentrations of volatile anal scent gland odors from male and female conspecifics. When tested with high concentrations of anal scent gland secretions in oil vehicle, gonadectomized male and female ferrets that received no sex steroids reliably discriminated anal scents from male and female conspecifics. This discrimination most likely reflects gender recognition rather than individual recognition because gonadectomized, sex steroid-treated ferrets discriminated between anal scents of males and females but not between anal scents of individual males or females. Treatment with either the estrogen receptor agonist, estradiol benzoate (EB), or the androgen receptor agonist, 5-alpha dihydrotestosterone proprionate (DHTP), increased investigation of low concentrations of anal scent by gonadectomized ferrets. These data suggest that ferrets could use anal scent gland secretions in mate recognition and that seasonal increases in circulating sex steroid hormones increase ferrets' responsiveness to low concentrations of these odors.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed2005

Strong reproductive skew among males in the multiply mated swordtail Xiphophorus multilineatus (Teleostei).

Male swordtails in the genus Xiphophorus display a conspicuous ventral elongation of the caudal fin, the sword, which arose through sexual selection due to female preference. Females mate regularly and are able to store sperm for at least 6 months. If multiple mating is frequent, this would raise the intriguing question about the role of female choice and male-male competition in shaping the mating system of these fishes. Size-dependent alternate mating strategies occur in Xiphophorus; one such strategy is courtship with a sigmoid display by large dominant males, while the other is gonopodial thrusting, in which small subordinate males sneak copulations. Using microsatellite markers, we observed a frequency of multiple paternity in wild-caught Xiphophorus multilineatus in 28% of families analyzed, but the actual frequency of multiple mating suggested by the correction factor PrDM was 33%. The number of fathers contributing genetically to the brood ranged from one to three. Compared to other species in the family Poeciliidae, both frequency and degree of multiple paternity were low. Paternity was found to be highly skewed, with one male on average contributing more than 70% to the offspring. Hence in this Xiphophorus mating system, typically one male dominates and sneaker males do not appear to be particularly effective. Postcopulatory mechanisms, however, such as sperm competition, are also indicated by our data, using sex-linked phenotypes among the offspring.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

The influence of oxygen stress on female choice for male nest structure in the common goby.

This study examines the role of dissolved oxygen in modifying female mate choice in the common goby, Pomatoschistus microps. Experimental manipulations of nests showed that under normal (saturated) oxygen conditions, females preferred to spawn in nests with the most elaborate construction, that is, those with the most sand on top and the smallest entrance. Such manipulated nests proved less vulnerable to detection by an egg predator, the shore crab, Carcinus maenas, but these small entrances may reduce oxygenation of eggs. Indeed, in a low oxygen environment females with a choice between nests of high build and nests of low build did not significantly prefer either. This may have been due to weakened preference or perhaps detection of a mismatch between the male's parental quality and the increased ventilation needs of eggs when nest entrance sizes are small and ambient oxygen levels are low. When nests were not manipulated, those males that built small entrances fanned their eggs more often, such that hatching success in the absence of a predator was not related to the initial size of the nest entrance area. Thus, under normal oxygen conditions males may initially build nests with the smallest entrance they are capable of ventilating successfully, and females choosing such males gain from nest camouflage. Under low oxygen, the risk that manipulated males may be unable to compensate fully may outweigh such benefits, and females may use other criteria that signal willingness to provide parental care. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2000

The role of colour in signalling and male choice in the agamid lizard Ctenophorus ornatus.

Bright coloration and complex visual displays are frequent and well described in many lizard families. Reflectance spectrometry which extends into the ultraviolet (UV) allows measurement of such coloration independent of our visual system. We examined the role of colour in signalling and mate choice in the agamid lizard Ctenophorus ornatus. We found that throat reflectance strongly contrasted against the granite background of the lizards' habitat. The throat may act as a signal via the head-bobbing and push-up displays of C. ornatus. Dorsal coloration provided camouflage against the granite background, particularly in females. C. ornatus was sexually dichromatic for all traits examined including throat UV reflectance which is beyond human visual perception. Female throats were highly variable in spectral reflectance and males preferred females with higher throat chroma between 370 and 400 nm. However, female throat UV chroma is strongly correlated to both throat brightness and chest UV chroma and males may choose females on a combination of these colour variables. There was no evidence that female throat or chest coloration was an indicator of female quality. However, female brightness significantly predicted a female's laying date and, thus, may signal receptivity. One function of visual display in this species appears to be intersexual signalling, resulting in male choice of females.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Receptor expression and sympatric speciation: unique olfactory receptor neuron responses in F1 hybrid Rhagoletis populations.

The Rhagoletis pomonella species complex is one of the foremost examples supporting the occurrence of sympatric speciation. A recent study found that reciprocal F(1) hybrid offspring from different host plant-infesting populations in the complex displayed significantly reduced olfactory host preference in flight-tunnel assays. Behavioral and electrophysiological studies indicate that olfactory cues from host fruit are important chemosensory signals for flies to locate fruit for mating and oviposition. The reduced olfactory abilities of hybrids could therefore constitute a significant post-mating barrier to gene flow among fly populations. The present study investigated the source of changes in the hybrid olfactory system by examining peripheral chemoreception in F(1) hybrid flies, using behaviorally relevant volatiles from the parent host fruit. Single-sensillum electrophysiological analyses revealed significant changes in olfactory receptor neuron (ORN) response specificities in hybrid flies when compared to parent ORN responses. We report that flies from F(1) crosses of apple-, hawthorn- and flowering dogwood-origin populations of R. pomonella exhibited distinct ORN response profiles absent from any parent population. These peripheral alterations in ORN response profiles could result from misexpression of multiple receptors in hybrid neurons as a function of genomic incompatibilities in receptor-gene pathways in parent populations. We conclude that these changes in peripheral chemoreception could impact olfactory host preference and contribute directly to reproductive isolation in the Rhagoletis complex, or could be genetically coupled to other host-associated traits.

Animals↗

PubMed1988

Neuronal processing of conspecific and related calls in the torus semicircularis of Rana r. ridibunda Pall. (Anura): single-unit recordings.

1. Single-unit responses in the torus semicircularis of Rana ridibunda were analyzed with regard to the neuronal mechanisms underlying call identification. Particular attention was directed to the question whether discrimination among the conspecific calls (mating, territorial and release calls), and between these and the mating calls of the related species R. lessonae and of the hybrid R. esculenta, can be explained by differences in the neuronal responses. 2. 75% of the single cells responded to at least one call. 25% of the neurons in this group were selective in the sense that they failed to respond to at least one of the calls. 3. Three of the single cells were selective for one type of call alone, the conspecific mating call in each case. Most of the selective neurons responded to three calls, having a preference either for the conspecific calls or for the amplitude-modulated mating calls. Such responses can be explained by the neurons' operation as either frequency or time filters. 4. Even the neurons that were nonselective, responding in some way to all the calls, differentiated among them with regard to response magnitude; that is, either the territorial and release calls elicited higher discharge rates than the amplitude-modulated mating calls, or the reverse. 69.8% of the single cells exhibited maximal responses to the conspecific mating call. The territorial and release calls elicited maximal responses in only 7.8% of the single cells. 5. In discrimination among the three mating calls, the temporal pattern of the calls plays a role. The differences in pulse-group timing are encoded by the overall response magnitude and not by way of differences in degree of synchronization. 66% of the nonselective neurons responded maximally to one of the three mating calls and very much less intensely to the other two. 6. No correlation was found between the types of call to which the various neurons responded maximally and the CF's of those neurons. Only very few cells represented a frequency and time filter exactly tuned to a particular call.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2001

Characterization of female preference functions for Drosophila montana courtship song and a test of the temperature coupling hypothesis.

Female mate preferences are a major cause of diversity and elaboration in male sexual traits. Here we characterize the shape of female preference functions for pulse length and carrier frequency of the courtship song of Drosophila montana by fitting both parametric and nonparametric functions to the incidence of female receptive gestures to synthetic song. Preference functions for both traits are strongly directional. That for pulse length is linear and favors short pulses, whereas that for carrier frequency is stabilizing in shape, but would exert directional preferences favoring males with high carrier frequency. The preference for carrier frequency has probably evolved under sexual selection, but reasons for the preference for short pulses are less apparent. We also examine the effect of ambient temperature on the carrier frequency of male song and on the preference function for carrier frequency. For many similar acoustic communication systems, temperature coupling, a compensatory effect of temperature on preference functions, is thought to maintain coordination between preferences and signals. However, although the carrier frequency of D. montana song is highly dependent on environmental temperature, there is no temperature coupling of the female preference function. We suggest that temperature coupling may often arise due to a common effect of temperature on song and preference, rather than be an advantageous characteristic whose function is to maintain coordination in temperature-affected communication systems.

Animals↗

PubMed1998

Untrained mice discriminate MHC-determined odors.

Immune recognition occurs when foreign antigens are presented to T-lymphocytes by molecules encoded by the highly polymorphic genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). House mice (Mus musculus) prefer to mate with individuals that have dissimilar MHC genes. Numerous studies indicate that mice recognize MHC identity through chemosensory cues; however, it is unclear whether odor is determined by classical, antigen-presenting MHC loci or closely linked genes. Previous studies have relied on training laboratory mice and rats to distinguish MHC-associated odors, but there are several reasons why training experiments may be inappropriate assays for testing if MHC genes affect odor. The aim of this study was to determine whether classical MHC genes affect individual odors and whether wild-derived mice can detect MHC-associated odors without training. In the first experiment, we found that wild-derived mice can be trained in a Y-maze to detect the odors of mice that differ genetically only in the MHC region. In the second and third experiments, we used a naturalistic habituation assay and found that wild-derived mice can, without training, distinguish the odors of mice that differ genetically only at one classical MHC locus (dm2 mutants).

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Female throat ornamentation does not reflect cell-mediated immune response in bluethroats Luscinia s. svecica.

The brilliantly coloured throat patch in male bluethroats, Luscinia s. svecica, influences their social mating success and both within- and extra-pair paternity. Female bluethroats are highly variable in their extent of throat coloration, from entirely drab to almost male-like. The ornament in females could be due to a genetic correlation between the sexes. However, it has been shown that male bluethroats prefer brightly coloured females, suggesting that female ornamentation has evolved by direct sexual selection on females through male choice. Males may prefer extravagant traits in females if these reliably signal female quality, such as resistance to disease. We investigated whether variation in the extent of structural and melanin plumage ornamentation in female bluethroats reflects cell-mediated immune response. We caught the females at their nests and measured their immune response as a swelling following a challenge by phytohemagglutinin. An analysis of the data from two years of study revealed that the cell-mediated immune response was not related to female ornamentation. However, the immune response was strongly correlated with female body condition. Thus, our results do not support the hypothesis that female ornament expression signals quality in terms of cell-mediated immunity.

Animals↗