Trait elaboration via adaptive mate choice: sexual conflict in the evolution of signals of male quality

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

Sexual selection after gamete release in broadcast spawning invertebrates

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2020.0069 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 375 (1813) ◽

pp. 20200069 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Jonathan P. Evans ◽

Rowan A. Lymbery

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Sperm Competition ◽

Sexual Conflict ◽

Gamete Release ◽

Theme Issue ◽

Animal Kingdom ◽

External Fertilization ◽

Broadcast Spawning ◽

Males And Females

Broadcast spawning invertebrates offer highly tractable models for evaluating sperm competition, gamete-level mate choice and sexual conflict. By displaying the ancestral mating strategy of external fertilization, where sexual selection is constrained to act after gamete release, broadcast spawners also offer potential evolutionary insights into the cascade of events that led to sexual reproduction in more ‘derived’ groups (including humans). Moreover, the dynamic reproductive conditions faced by these animals mean that the strength and direction of sexual selection on both males and females can vary considerably. These attributes make broadcast spawning invertebrate systems uniquely suited to testing, extending, and sometimes challenging classic and contemporary ideas in sperm competition, many of which were first captured in Parker's seminal papers on the topic. Here, we provide a synthesis outlining progress in these fields, and highlight the burgeoning potential for broadcast spawners to provide both evolutionary and mechanistic understanding into gamete-level sexual selection more broadly across the animal kingdom. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Fifty years of sperm competition’.

Download Full-text

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

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 123 ◽

pp. 179-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hugo Cayuela ◽

Thierry Lengagne ◽

Pierre Joly ◽

Jean-Paul Léna

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Male Quality ◽

Trade Off

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

Male mate choice, sexual conflict and strategic allocation of copulations in a lekking bird

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2001.1745 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 268 (1481) ◽

pp. 2097-2102 ◽

Cited By ~ 69

Author(s):

Stein Are Sæther ◽

Peder Fiske ◽

John Atle Kålås

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Sexual Conflict ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Male Mate ◽

Strategic Allocation

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