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Results for “Mating Preference, Animal”

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At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMed1991

Cytoplasmic incompatibility in Drosophila populations: influence of assortative mating on symbiont distribution.

Cytoplasmic incompatibility is known to occur between strains of both Drosophila simulans and D. melanogaster. Incompatibility is associated with the infection of Drosophila with microorganismal endosymbionts. This paper reports survey work conducted on strains of D. simulans and D. melanogaster from diverse geographical locations finding that infected populations are relatively rare and scattered in their distribution. The distribution of infected populations of D. simulans appears to be at odds with deterministic models predicting the rapid spread of the infection through uninfected populations. Examination of isofemale lines from four localities in California where populations appear to be polymorphic for the infection failed to find evidence for consistent assortative mating preferences between infected and uninfected populations that may explain the basis for the observed polymorphism.

Animals↗

PubMed2004

Mimicry and the evolution of premating isolation in Heliconius melpomene Linnaeus.

Ecological divergence can cause speciation if adaptive traits have pleiotropic effects on mate choice. In Heliconius butterflies, mimetic patterns play a role in mate detection between sister species, as well as signalling to predators. Here we show that male butterflies from four recently diverged parapatric populations of Heliconius melpomene are more likely to approach and court their own colour patterns as compared with those of other races. A few exceptions, where males were more attracted to patterns other than their own, suggest that some mimetic patterns are sub-optimal in mate choice. Genotype frequencies in hybrid zones between races of H. melpomene suggest that mating is random, so reinforcement is unlikely to have played a role in intra-specific divergence. In summary, co-evolved divergence of colour pattern and mate preference occurs rapidly and is likely the first step in Heliconius speciation.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

Sexual selection can resolve sex-linked sexual antagonism.

Sexual selection is a potent evolutionary force. However, very few models have considered the evolution of female preferences for traits expressed in both sexes. Here we explore how female preferences coevolve with sexually antagonistic traits, which involve alleles that are beneficial to one sex but harmful to the other. We show that with a sexually antagonistic trait on the X chromosome (males XY, females XX), females evolve to prefer mates carrying alleles beneficial to daughters. In contrast, with a Z-linked trait (males ZZ, females ZW), females more often evolve mating preferences for mates carrying alleles beneficial to sons (that is, flashy displays).

Alleles↗

PubMed1997

No evidence for major histocompatibility complex-dependent mating patterns in a free-living ruminant population.

Conventionally, the extraordinary diversity of the vertebrate major histocompatibility complex (MHC is thought to have evolved in response to parasites and pathogens affecting fitness. More recently, reproductive mechanisms such as disassortative mating have been suggested as alternative mechanisms maintaining MHC diversity. A large unmanaged population of Soay sheep (Ovis aries L.) was used to investigate reproductive mechanisms in the maintenance of MHC diversity. Animals were sampled as new-born lambs and between 887 and 1209 individuals were typed at each of five microsatellite markers located either within or flanking the ovine MHC. All loci were in Hardy-Weinberg proportions. A novel likelihood-based approach was developed to analyse mating patterns using paternity data. No evidence for non-random mating with respect to MHC markers was found using this technique. We conclude that MHC diversity in the St Kildan Soay sheep population is unlikely to be maintained by mating preferences and that, in contrast with evidence from experimental mice populations, MHC variation plays no role in the mating structure of this population.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Conditioning and sexual behavior: a review.

Sexual behavior is directed by a sophisticated interplay between steroid hormone actions in the brain that give rise to sexual arousability and experience with sexual reward that gives rise to expectations of competent sexual activity, sexual desire, arousal, and performance. Sexual experience allows animals to form instrumental associations between internal or external stimuli and behaviors that lead to different sexual rewards. Furthermore, Pavlovian associations between internal and external stimuli allow animals to predict sexual outcomes. These two types of learning build upon instinctual mechanisms to create distinctive, and seemingly "automated," patterns of sexual response. This article reviews the literature on conditioning and sexual behavior with a particular emphasis on incentive sequences of sexual behavior that move animals from distal to proximal with regard to sexual stimuli during appetitive phases of behavior and ultimately result in copulatory interaction and mating during consummatory phases of behavior. Accordingly, the role of learning in sexual excitement, in behaviors that bring about the opportunity to mate, in courtship and solicitation displays, in sexual arousal and copulatory behaviors, in sexual partner preferences, and the short- and long-term influence of copulatory experience on sexual and reproductive function is examined. Although hormone actions set the stage for sexual activity by generating the ability of animals to become sexually excited and aroused, it is each animal's unique experience with sexual behavior and sexual reward that molds the strength of responses made toward sexual incentives.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Impact of geographical origin on mating behaviour in two species of Biomphalaria (Planorbidae: Gastropoda).

Studies of inbreeding and outcrossing have traditionally concentrated on matings within populations. The influence of geographical origin on mate choice in animals from different populations has received less attention. We investigated whether planorbid snails mated preferentially within their own population or with snails from other populations. Snails from three Biomphalaria pfeifferi strains and three B. glabrata strains were allowed to mate with conspecifics in the laboratory. We recorded their matings at night using time-lapse video. When they could choose between sympatric and allopatric snails, Biomphalaria snails significantly preferred the former: snails of each population mated more often with sympatric than with allopatric snails. This tendency to avoid outcrossing may indicate that, in some species, local adaptations can be more valuable than genetic novelties. Copyright 1999 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1998

Multi-male mating and female choice increase offspring growth in the spider Neriene litigiosa (Linyphiidae)

The purpose of this controlled-breeding study was to investigate the viability consequences of female choice and sequential polyandry for offspring in a way that would separate the influences of these two aspects of female sexual behaviour. Female sierra dome spiders, Neriene litigiosa (=Linyphia litigiosa) typically mate two to three times before production of their first batch of eggs, although some females (ca 16%) mate only once. Strong fighters are preferred as first mates and principal sires. Large males that give a vigorous performance during copulatory courtship are preferred as sires among a female's secondary mates. In this study, the number of matings by free-living females was experimentally controlled and the size and copulatory vigour of all the females' mates were recorded. At the end of the breeding season, the females were collected and their broods were obtained in captivity. Randomly chosen subsets of 28 female's offspring were reared under standard conditions during the following spring. The spiderlings were reared for 27 days in the company of siblings under conditions that would encourage the expression of genetic variation in viability, and growth and survivorship were monitored. After controlling for maternal effects (i.e. female size and oviposition date) and variance in feeding opportunities among rearing groups, both mate number and mate size were positively and independently related to offspring growth rates and the size of offspring attained after emergence from the natal cocoon. The results support the hypotheses that the preference for large males yields viability benefits to offspring and that polyandry can augment the benefits of selective mating. Copyright 1998 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1987

The influence of the first-mating age of rats on the number of pups born, their weights and their mortality.

Widely differing ranges for the preferred first-mating age for rats have been reported by different investigators. As well as being of physiological interest this information is important for optimum utilization of animal resources. Previously published results, however, do not provide sufficient information on mortality and the numbers of pups born and weaned. We studied 1623 pups born to 36 female Wistar rats. Dams were first mated at the age of 35 days or 70 days or 105 days. The results show that reproduction and weaning weights increase with an increased first-mating age of dams, although the pup mortality rate also increases. This study can be used when a programme for the production and supply of Wistar rats is planned.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1987

Homosexual and heterosexual partner preference in ovariectomized female rats: effects of testosterone, estradiol and mating experience.

Ovariectomized female rats, longterm treated with estradiol benzoate (EB, 20 micrograms, 3 x/week) or testosterone propionate (TP, 0.4 mg, 3 X/week), were tested for homo- or heterosexual partner preference behavior with either tethered animals (sexually active male vs. estrous female) or animals behind a wire mesh. A preference score was calculated by subtracting the time spent in the vicinity of the stimulus female from the time spent in the vicinity of the stimulus male. Thus, a positive score indicates preference for the male (heterosexual preference), a negative score preference for the female (homosexual preference). Two weeks of EB treatment caused a clearcut preference for the male incentive. This heterosexual preference was significantly different from the indistinct preference of the TP-treated females. Sexual interaction with a freely moving active male (with or without a vaginal mask which prevented intromissions) did not alter the preference for the male of the EB-treated females. It did affect, however, the preference behavior of the TP-treated females significantly: it changed in the direction of the sexually active estrous incentive female, i.e., a homosexual preference. This change in preference could not be attributed to the experience of penile intromissions, it occurred despite the presence of a vaginal mask. Apparently, being mounted by a sexually active male had a negative reinforcing value in the TP-treated female rats and provoked a homosexual partner preference.

Animals↗

PubMed2003

Sexual differentiation of the neuroendocrine mechanisms regulating mate recognition in mammals.

When in breeding condition, male and female mammals seek out and mate with opposite-sex conspecifics. The neural mechanisms controlling mate recognition and heterosexual partner preference are sexually differentiated by the perinatal actions of sex steroid hormones. Many mammalian species use odours to identify potential mates. Thus, sex differences in partner preference may actually reflect sex differences in how male and female mammals perceive socially relevant odours. Two olfactory systems have evolved in vertebrates that differ considerably in their anatomy and function. It is generally believed that the main olfactory system is used to detect a wide variety of volatile odours derived from food prey among many sources, whereas the accessory olfactory system has evolved to detect and process primarily nonvolatile odours shown to influence reproductive behaviours and neuroendocrine functions. Some recent results obtained in oestradiol-deficient aromatase knockout (ArKO) mice that provide evidence for a developmental role of oestradiol in olfactory investigation of volatile body odours are discussed, suggesting that: (i) oestrogens contribute to the development of the main olfactory system and (ii) mate recognition is mediated by the main as opposed to the accessory olfactory system. Thus, sex differences in mate recognition and sexual partner preference may reflect sex differences in the perception of odours by the main olfactory system.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Pre-dawn infidelity: females control extra-pair mating in superb fairy-wrens.

Despite great interest in the use of extra-pair mating as a tool for examining female choice and intersexual selection, the underlying assumption of female control has proved difficult to verify empirically. We combined microsatellite genotyping and radiotelemetry of fertile females in order to investigate mate choice in superb fairy-wrens Malurus cyaneus, the bird with the highest known rate of extra-pair fertilization. All five females radio tracked during the peak of fertility, two to four days before the first egg is laid, undertook pre-dawn forays. All extra-pair young produced by the female were sired by a male visited during their forays, indicating that females control extra-pair fertilizations. In a larger sample of paternity data, some broods were sired by two extra-group males. In virtually all the cases the territory of the two sires were on an identical linear trajectory from the female's territory. This again suggests that extra-group paternity in superb fairy-wrens is directly linked to female extra-territorial forays. In other species mixed paternity has been taken to indicate that females attempt to insure against infertile pairings or try to maximize the genetic diversity of their brood. However, in fairy-wrens the likelihood of multiple extra-group paternity increased greatly as females traversed more territories in order to mate, perhaps suggesting that females which foray further are more likely to have difficulties locating the preferred male.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Older males signal more reliably.

The hypothesis that females prefer older males because they have higher mean fitness than younger males has been the centre of recent controversy. These discussions have focused on the success of a female who prefers males of a particular age class when age cues, but not quality cues, are available. Thus, if the distribution of male quality changes with age, such that older males have on average genotypes with higher fitness than younger males, then a female who mates with older males has fitter offspring, which allows the female preference to spread through a genetic correlation. We develop a general model for male display in a species with multiple reproductive bouts that allows us to identify the conditions that promote reliable signalling within an age class. Because males have opportunities for future reproduction, they will reduce their levels of advertising compared with a semelparous species. In addition, because higher-quality males have more future reproduction, they will reduce their advertising more than low-quality males. Thus, the conditions for reliable signalling in a semelparous organism are generally not sufficient to produce reliable signalling in species with multiple reproductive bouts. This result is due to the possibility of future reproduction so that, as individuals age and the opportunities for future reproduction fade, signalling becomes more reliable. This provides a novel rationale for female preference for older mates; older males reveal more information in their sexual displays.

Age Factors↗

PubMed2005

Adaptive speciation when assortative mating is based on female preference for male marker traits.

Adaptive speciation occurs when frequency-dependent ecological interactions generate conditions of disruptive selection to which lineage splitting is an adaptive response. Under such selective conditions, evolution of assortative mating mechanisms enables the break-up of the ancestral lineage into diverging and reproductively isolated descendent species. Extending previous studies, I investigate models of adaptive speciation due to the evolution of indirect assortative mating that is based on three different mating traits: the degree of assortativity, a female preference trait and a male marker trait. For speciation to occur, linkage disequilibria between different mating traits, e.g. between female preference and male marker traits, as well as between mating traits and the ecological trait, must evolve. This can lead to novel speciation scenarios, e.g. when reproductive isolation is generated by a splitting in the degree of assortativeness, with one of the emerging lineages mating assortatively, and the other one disassortatively. I investigate the effects of variation in various model parameters on the likelihood of speciation, as well as robustness of speciation to introducing costs of assortative mating. Even though in the models presented speciation requires the genetic potential for strong assortment as well as rather restrictive ecological conditions, the results show that adaptive speciation due to the evolution of assortative mating when mate choice is based on separate female preference and male marker traits is a theoretically plausible evolutionary scenario.

Adaptation, Biological↗

PubMed2002

A model of the interaction between 'good genes' and direct benefits in courtship-feeding animals: when do males of high genetic quality invest less?

Conflict between mates over the amount of parental investment by each partner is probably the rule except in rare cases of genetic monogamy. In systems with parental care, males may frequently benefit by providing smaller investments than are optimal for individual female partners. Females are therefore expected to choose males that will provide the largest amounts of parental investment. In some species, however, the preferred males provide less care than their rivals. Focusing on species in which males invest by feeding their mates, I use a simple model to demonstrate the conditions under which males preferred by females may have optimal donations that are smaller than those of less-preferred rivals. Pre-mating female choice may sufficiently bias the perception of mate availability of preferred males relative to their rivals such that preferred males gain by conserving resources for future matings. Similarly, 'cryptic' biases in favour of high-quality ejaculates by females can compensate for smaller than average donations received from preferred males. However, post-fertilization cryptic choice should not change the optimal donations of preferred males relative to their rivals. I discuss the implications of this work for understanding sexual selection in courtship-feeding animals, and the relevance of these systems to understanding patterns of investment for animals in general.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Aspen wood-wool is preferred as a resting place, but does not affect intracage fighting of male BALB/c and C57BL/6J mice.

Aspen wood-wool, provided as nesting material, was evaluated as a possible improvement of cage environment for 10-14-week-old inbred male mice maintained in groups of six (BALB/c n = 72 and C57BL/6J n = 36). The daily behaviour of mice was video recorded and their body weight, food consumption, weights of some organs and serum corticosterone concentrations were measured. Aggressive interactions between cage mates and against a strange intruder as well as the number of wounds on the back of the animals was monitored in order to evaluate the effect of nesting material on intermale aggression. Nesting material did not affect the daily active/passive behaviour patterns of mice, although animals clearly preferred it as a resting place. BALB/c mice given nesting material showed less weight gain and smaller brown adipose tissue weights than animals without nesting material. The other characteristics measured were not affected by the presence of nesting material in either strain. The presence of nesting material had no effect on fighting in cages. C57BL/6J mice were more aggressive than BALB/c mice according to the number of wounded animals in a cage. Wounded BALB/c mice had enlarged spleens and decreased epididymal adipose tissue weights. In conclusion, the nesting material used in this study did not adversely affect the animals. On the other hand, the material was clearly preferred to conventional bedding as a resting place. These findings suggest that nesting material may improve the cage environment of laboratory mice. Furthermore, there was an indication of strain differences in aggressive behaviour. It could be suggested that C57BL/6J mice are less tolerant towards intruders and housing six mice per cage is not suitable for this strain.

Adipose Tissue, Brown↗

PubMed1984

The ability of females to predict male status via urinary odors.

In an earlier study, estrous female hamsters were found to prefer the urinary odors of dominant males. This study investigated whether estrous females would exhibit preferential responding to randomly chosen, socially naive males before dominance testing occurred. Estrous females were indeed found to exhibit such preferences. Such discriminative abilities are discussed with reference to adaptive mating strategies for females.

Animals↗

PubMed2000

Genetic control and evolution of sexually dimorphic characters in Drosophila.

Sexually dimorphic abdominal pigmentation and segment morphology evolved recently in the melanogaster species group of the fruitfly Drosophila. Here we show that these traits are controlled by the bric à brac [corrected] (bab) gene, which integrates regulatory inputs from the homeotic and sex-determination pathways. bab expression is modulated segment- and sex-specifically in sexually dimorphic species, but is uniform in sexually monomorphic species. We suggest that bab has an ancestral homeotic function, and that regulatory changes at the bab locus played a key role in the evolution of sexual dimorphism. Pigmentation patterns specified by bab affect mating preferences, suggesting that sexual selection has contributed to the evolution of bab regulation.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

Corticosterone rapidly reduces male odor preferences in female mice.

There is accumulating evidence for rapid, non-genomic behavioral effects of various steroids including that of the glucocorticoid, corticosterone. Using an odor preference test, the responses of which are indicative of mate preferences and sexual interest, we examined the effects of acute corticosterone on the responses of oestrous female mice to male odors. Control female mice displayed an overwhelming preference for the odors of male mice. Peripheral administration of corticosterone elicited a significant dose-related (1.0-5.0 mg/kg) decrease in female preference for male odors at 10 min, but not at 60 min, after administration. These inhibitory effects of corticosterone on odor preferences were significantly reduced by the competitive NMDA antagonist, NPC 12626, and enhanced by the GABA antagonist bicuculline. This indicates that corticosterone has rapid inhibitory effects on olfactory mediated female mate preferences and responses to male odor that in part involve interactions with NMDA and GABA receptor mechanisms.

Animals↗