Male–male interactions select for conspicuous male coloration in damselflies

2021 ◽  
Vol 176 ◽  
pp. 157-166
Author(s):  
Md Kawsar Khan ◽  
Marie E. Herberstein
Keyword(s):  
Male Coloration

Eat yourself sexy: how selective macronutrient intake influences the expression of a visual signal in common mynas

2021 ◽  
pp. jeb.241349
Author(s):  
Chloe Peneaux ◽  
Gabriel E. Machovsky-Capuska ◽  
John A. Endler ◽  
Andrea S. Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Visual Signal ◽  
Carotenoid Pigments ◽  
Macronutrient Intake ◽  
Selection Processes ◽  
Dietary Nutrients ◽  
Acridotheres Tristis ◽  
Dietary Carotenoid ◽  
First Time ◽  
Nutritional Strategies ◽  
Male Coloration

Producing colored signals often requires consuming dietary carotenoid pigments. Evidence that food deprivation can reduce coloration, however, raises the question of whether other dietary nutrients contribute to signal coloration, and furthermore, whether individuals can voluntarily select food combinations to achieve optimal coloration. We created a 2-way factorial design to manipulate macronutrient and carotenoid access in common mynas (Acridotheres tristis) and measured eye patch coloration as a function of the food combinations individuals selected. Mynas had access to either water or carotenoid-supplemented water and could eat either a standard captive diet or choose freely between three nutritionally defined pellets (protein, lipid, carbohydrate). Mynas supplemented with both carotenoids and macronutrient pellets had higher color scores than control birds. Male coloration tended to respond more to nutritional manipulation than females, with color scores improving in macronutrient- and carotenoid-supplemented individuals compared to controls. All mynas consuming carotenoids had higher levels of plasma carotenoids, but only males showed a significant increase by the end of the experiment. Dietary carotenoids and macronutrient intake consumed in combination tended to increase plasma carotenoid concentrations the most. These results demonstrate for the first time that consuming specific combinations of macronutrients along with carotenoids contribute to optimizing a colorful signal and point to sex-specific nutritional strategies. Our findings improve our knowledge of how diet choices affect signal expression and, by extension, how nutritionally impoverished diets, such as those consumed by birds in cities, might affect sexual selection processes and ultimately population dynamics.

Male coloration signals direct benefits in the European bitterling (Rhodeus amarus)

2013 ◽  
Vol 97 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-341 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Smith ◽  
André Phillips ◽  
Matej Polačik ◽  
Martin Reichard
Keyword(s):  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Male Coloration

Male coloration reveals different components of immunocompetence in ostriches, Struthio camelus

2009 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 1033-1039 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud Bonato ◽  
Matthew R. Evans ◽  
Dennis Hasselquist ◽  
Michael I. Cherry
Keyword(s):  
Struthio Camelus ◽  
Male Coloration

scholarly journals Correlated evolution of distinct signals associated with increased social selection in female white-shouldered fairywrens

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Jones ◽  
Karan Odom ◽  
Ian Hoppe ◽  
Doka Nason ◽  
Serena Ketaloya ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Phenotypic Variation ◽  
Social Dominance ◽  
Social Selection ◽  
Competitive Pressure ◽  
Correlated Evolution ◽  
Scientific Attention ◽  
Female Specific ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Two Populations ◽  
Male Coloration

Conspicuous female signals have recently received substantial scientific attention, but the degree to which female-specific selection drives their evolution remains unclear. Species that express female-specific phenotypic variation among populations represent a useful opportunity to address this knowledge gap. White-shouldered fairywrens (Malurus alboscapulatus) are tropical songbirds with a well-resolved phylogeny where female, but not male, coloration varies allopatrically across subspecies. We explored how four distinct signaling modalities, each putatively associated with increased social selection, are expressed in two populations that vary in competitive pressure on females. Females in a derived subspecies (M. a. moretoni) have evolved more ornamented plumage, more complex vocalizations, and shorter tails (a signal of social dominance) relative to an ancestral subspecies (M. a. lorentzi) with drab females. Moreover, in response to simulated territorial intrusions broadcasting female song, female M. a. moretoni are more aggressive and more coordinated with their mate in both movement and vocalizations. These results suggest that correlated phenotypic shifts in female color, morphology, song complexity, and behavior may have occurred in response to changes in social selection, consistent with the idea that female-specific selection has driven the evolution of these signals.

scholarly journals Male coloration affects female gestation period and timing of fertilization in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. e0261004
Author(s):  
Aya Sato ◽  
Ryu-ichi Aihara ◽  
Kenji Karino
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Gestation Period ◽  
Behavioral Strategy ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Internal Fertilization ◽  
Internal Mechanism ◽  
Selective Mating ◽  
Male Coloration

The trade-up hypothesis is a female behavioral strategy related to mating with multiple males. In this hypothesis, females can produce high-quality offspring while avoiding the risk of losing reproductive opportunities by non-selective mating with males at first mating and then re-mating with more attractive males. As an internal mechanism to realize this behavioral strategy, we predicted that females would immediately fertilize their eggs when they mated with attractive males, whereas females would delay fertilization when they mated with unattractive males to trade-up sires of offspring. The guppy (Poecilia reticulata) is an ovoviviparous fish with internal fertilization, and females show a clear mate preference based on the area of orange coloration on the bodies of males. In addition, it is known that females show a re-mating strategy consistent with the trade-up hypothesis. We tested whether the attractiveness of mated males affected the gestation period and the timing of fertilization. Females were paired with either colorful males or drab males, and the gestation periods (the number of days from mating to parturition) were compared. In addition, we dissected the abdomens of the females at intervals of several days after mating and observed whether the eggs were fertilized. The gestation period in females that were paired with attractive colorful males was significantly shorter than that in females that were paired with drab males. We found that females that mated with colorful males also had their eggs fertilized earlier than those that mated with drab males. Our findings show that differences in the timing of fertilization according to attractiveness of the mate increase the opportunity for cryptic female choice and trading up.

scholarly journals Opsin gene duplication and diversification in the guppy, a model for sexual selection

2006 ◽  
Vol 274 (1606) ◽  
pp. 33-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margarete Hoffmann ◽  
Namita Tripathi ◽  
Stefan R. Henz ◽  
Anna K. Lindholm ◽  
Detlef Weigel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Model Organism ◽  
Opsin Gene ◽  
Colour Perception ◽  
Potential Source ◽  
Male Ornaments ◽  
Natural And Sexual Selection ◽  
Male Coloration

Identification of genes that control variation in adaptive characters is a prerequisite for understanding the processes that drive sexual and natural selection. Male coloration and female colour perception play important roles in mate choice of the guppy, a model organism for studies of natural and sexual selection. We examined a potential source for the known variation in colour perception, by analysing genomic and complementary DNA sequences of genes that code for visual pigment proteins. We find high sequence variability, both within and between populations, and expanded copy number for long-wave sensitive (LWS) opsin genes. Alleles with non-synonymous changes that suggest dissimilar spectral tuning properties occur in the same population and even in the same individual, and the high frequency of non-synonymous substitutions argues for diversifying selection acting on these proteins. Therefore, variability in tuning amino acids is partitioned within individuals and populations of the guppy, in contrast to variability for LWS at higher taxonomic levels in cichlids, a second model system for differentiation owing to sexual selection. Since opsin variability parallels the extreme male colour polymorphism within guppy populations, we suggest that mate choice has been a major factor driving the coevolution of opsins and male ornaments in this species.

Female preferences for discrete and continuous male colour expression may help reinforce colour polymorphism in a desert lizard

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-25
Author(s):  
Jenell A. Glover ◽  
Matthew S. Lattanzio
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Continuous Variation ◽  
Colour Polymorphism ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Desert Lizard ◽  
Polymorphic Species ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Male Coloration

Abstract Despite recognition that colour can vary continuously, colour expression in colour polymorphic species is usually treated as discrete. We conducted three experiments to evaluate the extent that discrete and continuous male coloration influenced female mating preferences in long-tailed brush lizards (Urosaurus graciosus). Each experiment provided females with a different social context: a dimorphic choice between a yellow and an orange male (coloration treated as discrete), and a choice between either two orange males or two yellow males (coloration treated as continuous variation). Females preferred orange males over yellow males in the first experiment, and the findings of our second experiment suggested that males with moderate orange coloration were most preferred. In contrast, females behaved randomly with respect to two yellow males. Our findings show that females in colour polymorphic species can evaluate both discrete and continuous aspects of morph coloration during mate assessment, which may help maintain their polymorphism.

scholarly journals Fitness correlates of male coloration in a Lake Victoria cichlid fish

2006 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 691-699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martine E. Maan ◽  
Michael van der Spoel ◽  
Paloma Quesada Jimenez ◽  
Jacques J.M. van Alphen ◽  
Ole Seehausen
Keyword(s):  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Male Coloration

The role of male coloration in the outcome of staged contests in the European common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis)

Behaviour ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 153 (5) ◽  
pp. 607-631 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Abalos ◽  
G. Pérez i de Lanuza ◽  
P. Carazo ◽  
E. Font
Keyword(s):  
Spectral Characteristics ◽  
Podarcis Muralis ◽  
Balanced Design ◽  
Fighting Ability ◽  
White Males ◽  
Common Wall ◽  
The Common ◽  
Rival Assessment ◽  
Male Coloration

Colour signals play a key role in regulating the intensity and outcome of animal contests. Males of the common wall lizard (Podarcis muralis) show conspicuous ventrolateral ultraviolet (UV)-blue and black patches. In addition, some populations express a striking ventral colour polymorphism (i.e., discrete orange, white and yellow morphs). In this study, we set out to evaluate the potential signalling function of these colour patches by staging pairwise combats between 60 size-matched adult lizards (20 per morph). Combats were held in a neutral arena, with each lizard facing rivals from the three morphs in a tournament with a balanced design. We then calculated a fighting ability ranking using the Bradley–Terry model, and used it to explore whether ventral colour morph, the size of UV-blue and black patches or the spectral characteristics of UV-blue patches (i.e., brightness, hue, chroma) are good predictors of fighting ability. We did not find an effect of the UV-blue patches on contest outcome, but the size of black patches emerged as a good predictor of fighting ability. We also found that winners were more aggressive when facing rivals with black patches of similar size, suggesting that black patches play a role in rival assessment and fighting rules. Finally, we found that orange males lost fights against heteromorphic males more often than yellow or white males. In light of these results, we discuss the potential signalling function of ventrolateral and ventral colour patches in mediating agonistic encounters in this species.

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