Females trade off the uncertainty of breeding resource suitability with male quality during mate choice in an anuran

The better, the choosier: a meta-analysis on inter-individual variation of male mate choice

10.32942/osf.io/3nytg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pietro Pollo ◽

Shinichi Nakagawa ◽

Michael M. Kasumovic

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Male Mating ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Male Body ◽

Male Quality ◽

Medium Quality ◽

Male Mate

Male mate choice occurs in several animal species, but we know little about the factors that influence the expression of this behaviour. Males vary in their capacity to acquire mates (i.e. male quality), which could be crucial to male mate choice expression but it is often overlooked. Using a meta-analytical approach, we explore inter-individual variation in the expression of male mate choice by comparing the mating investment of males of different qualities and phenotypes to high- and low-quality females. We used two datasets that together contained information from 60 empirical studies, comprising 52 species. We found that males of all qualities and phenotypes prefer high-quality females, but differ in the strength of such preference. High- and medium-quality males are choosier than low-quality males. Similarly, males that are larger or in greater body condition are choosier than their counterparts. In contrast, male body mass and age are not associated with changes in male mate choice. We also show that experimental design may influence our understanding of male mating investment patterns, which may limit the generalization of our findings. Nonetheless, we argue that male quality may be an important feature in the expression of male mate choice.

Download Full-text

Dual functions of a melanin-based ornament in the common yellowthroat

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3053 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 272 (1568) ◽

pp. 1121-1127 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Scott A Tarof ◽

Peter O Dunn ◽

Linda A Whittingham

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Female Choice ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Male Competition ◽

Male Quality ◽

Female Mate ◽

Common Yellowthroat ◽

Mask Size ◽

The Common ◽

Dual Functions

Melanin-based ornaments often function as signals in male–male competition, whereas carotenoid-based ornaments appear to be important in female mate choice. This difference in function is thought to occur because carotenoid pigments are more costly to produce than melanins and are thus more reliable indicators of male quality. We examined the role of melanin- and carotenoid-based ornaments in male–male competition and female choice in the common yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas , a sexually dichromatic passerine. Males display a black facial mask produced by melanin pigmentation and a bright yellow bib (throat, breast and belly) produced by carotenoid pigmentation. In controlled aviary experiments, mask size was the best predictor of both male–male competition and female mate choice, and, therefore, mask size may be regarded as an ornament of dual function. These dual functions may help to maintain the reliability of mask size as an indicator of male quality, despite the potentially low cost of production. The size of the bib was unrelated to male–male competition or female choice, but there was a tendency for females to prefer males with more colourful bibs. We propose that the black mask is important in competition for territories with other males and for attracting females. Our results highlight the need for more studies of the mechanisms of sexual selection in species with ornaments composed of different pigment types.

Download Full-text

Male mate choice, male quality, and the potential for sexual selection on female traits under polygyny

Evolution ◽

10.1111/evo.13107 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 174-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Courtney L. Fitzpatrick ◽

Maria R. Servedio

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Male Quality ◽

Male Mate

Download Full-text

Female dispersal, inbreeding avoidance and mate choice in Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi)

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539055010093 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 142 (7) ◽

pp. 845-868 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Jan A.R.A.M van Hooff ◽

Erik P. Willems ◽

Serge A. Wich ◽

Elizabeth H.M. Sterck

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Inbreeding Avoidance ◽

Male Quality ◽

Adult Males ◽

Data Set ◽

Female Dispersal ◽

Presbytis Thomasi ◽

Offspring Protection

AbstractFemale social dispersal in primates differs from the general mammalian pattern of locational dispersal. Both nulliparous and parous females may disperse to another group. Several hypotheses can explain female social dispersal: reduction of predation risk, inbreeding avoidance, and offspring protection through mate choice. We tested these hypotheses with an extended data set of Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi) and investigated parameters of male behaviour that females may use in their dispersal decisions. Data were collected over a 12.5-year period from a wild population in Sumatra, Indonesia, allowing for some critical tests of the hypotheses. Females dispersed to a group smaller than their original one, thereby refuting the predation risk hypothesis. Maturing nulliparous females only dispersed when their father was resident. Therefore, dispersal by nulliparous females was best explained through inbreeding avoidance. Parous females transferred to young, adult males. These males provided better protection to offspring against predation and infanticide than the old, late tenure males. Therefore, females transfer to better protector males. The male behavioural cues that females use to assess male quality were unclear. Females, however, may use proxies of male age, such as group composition and acoustical characteristics of loud calls, as indicators of male quality. The results suggest that female mate choice is an important function of social dispersal by parous females. Its importance in locational dispersal remains to be investigated.

Download Full-text

Mate choice decisions by searchers

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/59.2.184 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 184-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Daniel D. Wiegmann ◽

Lisa M. Angeloni ◽

Steven M. Seubert ◽

J. Gordon

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Theoretical Foundation ◽

Sequential Search ◽

Male Quality ◽

Phenotypic Characters ◽

Fixed Sample ◽

Time Period ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Preference Functions ◽

The Empirical Analysis

Abstract For more than two decades rudimentary versions of the fixed sample and sequential search strategies have provided the primary theoretical foundation for the study of mate choice decisions by searchers. The theory that surrounds these models has expanded markedly over this time period. In this paper, we review and extend results derived from these models, with a focus on the empirical analysis of searcher behavior. The basic models are impractical for empirical purposes because they rely on the assumption that searchers—and, for applied purposes, researchers—assess prospective mates based on their quality, the fitness consequences of mate choice decisions. Here we expound versions of the models that are more empirically useful, reformulated to reflect decisions based on male phenotypic characters. For some organisms, it may be possible to use preference functions to derive predictions from the reformulated models and thereby avoid difficulties associated with the measurement of male quality per se. But predictions derived from the two models are difficult to differentiate empirically, regardless of how the models are formulated. Here we develop ideas that illustrate how this goal might be accomplished. In addition, we clarify how the variability of male quality should be evaluated and we extend what is known about how this variability influences searcher behavior under each model. More general difficulties associated with the empirical study of mate choice decisions by searchers are also discussed.

Download Full-text

The information content of odour, colour and tactile cues in the mate choice of minnows

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/000579511x584104 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 148 (8) ◽

pp. 909-925 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Hannele Valkama ◽

Hannu Huuskonen ◽

Jouni Taskinen ◽

Yi-Te Lai ◽

Jukka Kekäläinen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Information Content ◽

Condition Factor ◽

Lower Number ◽

Visual Signals ◽

Physical Contact ◽

Olfactory Cues ◽

Male Quality ◽

Phoxinus Phoxinus ◽

Tactile Cues

AbstractSexual displays often involve many different signal components, which may give information about the same or different mate qualities. We studied the information content of different signals in male minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) and tested whether females are able to discriminate between males when only olfactory cues are present. We found that females preferred the odour of males with a more saturated (i.e., redder) belly, but only when the females had been in physical contact with the males before the experiments. Instead, when unfamiliar males were used, females did not discriminate between male odours and also the overall swimming activity (mate choice intensity) of the females was significantly lower. More ornamented males had lower number of Philometra ovata parasites (indicated by belly saturation) and Neoechinorhynchus rutili parasites (indicated by belly hue) than their less ornamented counterparts. We did not find experimental evidence for female odour preference being linked to belly hue and breeding tubercle number, but in the nature these traits were associated with the condition factor of the males. Taken together, our results suggest that belly colouration and breeding tubercles give honest information on several aspects of male quality. In addition females may learn the association between male colouration and their olfactory signals and utilize this information when visual signals are not present.

Download Full-text

Extra-pair mating opportunities mediate parenting and mating effort trade-offs in a songbird

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/arz204 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 421-431 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Lei Lv ◽

Zhengwang Zhang ◽

Frank Groenewoud ◽

Sjouke A Kingma ◽

Jianqiang Li ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parental Care ◽

Paternal Care ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Central China ◽

Male Quality ◽

High Quality ◽

Trade Off ◽

Pair Mating ◽

Mating Opportunities ◽

Extra Pair Mating

Abstract In socially monogamous species with bi-parental care, males may face a trade-off between providing parental care and pursuing extra-pair matings. The “parenting-mating trade-off” hypothesis predicts that high-quality males—who have greater potential to gain extra-pair matings, for example, larger males usually win the competition for extra-pair mating—should reduce parental care and spend more time looking for extra-pair matings. However, the trade-off between parenting and mating efforts may be complicated by variation in the availability of extra-pair mating opportunities. By using field data of hair-crested drongos (Dicrurus hottentottus), a species exhibiting bi-parental incubation behavior, collected in central China from 2010 to 2017, we tested whether the potential negative relationship between male quality and paternal care was dependent on the number of nearby fertile females. We found that male drongos mainly seek extra-pair matings during the incubation period and high-quality individuals (males with longer tarsi) are more likely to sire extra-pair offspring. In agreement with the “parenting-mating trade-off” hypothesis, high-quality males incubated less by recessing longer between incubation bouts. However, this was only the case when sufficient fertile females nearby for extra-pair mating opportunities. Females compensated for reduced male care, but this was independent of male quality. This suggests that the reduction in care by high-quality males might be a direct response to extra-pair mating opportunities rather than facilitated by differential allocation of females. Our results indicate that individual quality and available mating opportunities may shape the optimal trade-off between parental care and seeking additional matings for males.

Download Full-text