Why Does Size Matter? A Test of the Benefits of Female Mate Choice in a Teleost Fish Based on Morphological and Physiological Indicators of Male Quality

2009 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 617-624 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle C. Hanson ◽  
Steven J. Cooke
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Teleost Fish ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Physiological Indicators ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Size Matter

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

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1568) ◽  
pp. 1121-1127 ◽  
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.

Female Choice in Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella Ochotensis)

The Auk ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisashi Nagata
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Food Abundance ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Grasshopper Warbler

Abstract Morphological and territorial factors that influence female mate choice were examined in the monogamous Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis) on an islet near Fukuoka, Japan. I assumed that pairing date corresponded with female mate choice. Pairing date was correlated with both territory size and food abundance but was not correlated with selected morphological characteristics of males. Territorial quality was assumed to be correlated with territory size because preferable food resources and nest sites were distributed randomly. I conclude that female mate choice was influenced by territory quality rather than by the morphological characteristics of males.

scholarly journals The fruitless gene affects female receptivity and species isolation

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1923) ◽  
pp. 20192765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tabashir Chowdhury ◽  
Ryan M. Calhoun ◽  
Katrina Bruch ◽  
Amanda J. Moehring
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Sensory Modality ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Female Receptivity ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Multiple Transcripts ◽  
Female Behaviour ◽  
Substrate Vibrations

Female mate rejection acts as a major selective force within species, and can serve as a reproductive barrier between species. In spite of its critical role in fitness and reproduction, surprisingly little is known about the genetic or neural basis of variation in female mate choice. Here, we identify fruitless as a gene affecting female receptivity within Drosophila melanogaster , as well as female Drosophila simulans rejection of male D. melanogaster . Of the multiple transcripts this gene produces, by far the most widely studied is the sex-specifically spliced transcript involved in the sex determination pathway. However, we find that female rejection behaviour is affected by a non-sex-specifically spliced fruitless transcript. This is the first implication of fruitless in female behaviour, and the first behavioural role identified for a fruitless non-sex-specifically spliced transcript. We found that this locus does not influence preferences via a single sensory modality, examining courtship song, antennal pheromone perception, or perception of substrate vibrations, and we conclude that fruitless influences mate choice via the integration of multiple signals or through another sensory modality.

scholarly journals Female butterflies prefer males bearing bright iridescent ornamentation

2007 ◽  
Vol 274 (1613) ◽  
pp. 1043-1047 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darrell J Kemp
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Driving Force ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Recognition ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Wing Colour ◽  
Enclosure Experiments ◽  
Colour Patterns

Butterflies are among nature's most colourful animals, and provide a living showcase for how extremely bright, chromatic and iridescent coloration can be generated by complex optical mechanisms. The gross characteristics of male butterfly colour patterns are understood to function for species and/or sex recognition, but it is not known whether female mate choice promotes visual exaggeration of this coloration. Here I show that females of the sexually dichromatic species Hypolimnas bolina prefer conspecific males that possess bright iridescent blue/ultraviolet dorsal ornamentation. In separate field and enclosure experiments, using both dramatic and graded wing colour manipulations, I demonstrate that a moderate qualitative reduction in signal brightness and chromaticity has the same consequences as removing the signal entirely. These findings validate a long-held hypothesis, and argue for the importance of intra- versus interspecific selection as the driving force behind the exaggeration of bright, iridescent butterfly colour patterns.

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