What Males Choose: Differences in Female Quality

2021 ◽  
pp. 81-96
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Indirect Benefits ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Male Mate

In female choice, differences in male quality are very important. Males display to females to provide information often via costly ornaments. Females also differ in quality, but what they display to males is less clear. Also, how males evaluate differences in female quality is not well understood. From the literature on male mate choice one might conclude that female fecundity is the most important feature a female can display to a choosy male, but I argue that there must be many more features of females that are important in male mate choice, maybe even indirect benefits.

Examples of Male Mate Choice

2021 ◽  
pp. 53-80
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Different Levels

In this chapter, what interests me most is how often male mate choice has already been documented, independent of the underlying mechanism. I am not concerned with the origin of the description: some authors express some degree of surprise that they found male preferences; other studies are motivated by theory. I also want to highlight that there is a continuum from no male contribution to the offspring to male contributions that are larger than the female contribution. Furthermore, there are differences in female quality at different levels, which can contribute to the evolution of male choice. There are many studies that infer differences in female fecundity as underlying male choice, but females can differ in many more aspects—just like males.

Female and Male Mate Choice

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-52
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Indirect Benefits ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Male Mate

Females choose mating partners for three main reasons: direct benefits, indirect benefits, and compatibility, either genetic or social. In this chapter I am not trying to look at all angles of mate choice, but to give a short overview of female choice to provide a basis for a comparison with male choice. This will highlight what studies are needed to reach a more complete picture of sexual selection. I would summarize the chapter like this: it’s the ecology, stupid.

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

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.

Synthesis and Outlook

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-161
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Female Ornamentation ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Investment In Reproduction ◽  
Selection Research ◽  
Male Mate

In this final chapter I want to briefly recap what I presented in the previous chapters and provide a few ideas on what might be done in the future to move the field forward. All three factors I discussed as relevant in male mate choice—male investment in reproduction, sex ratios, and variability in partner quality—are still emerging fields in sexual selection research and need more theoretical and empirical work. I suggest that variability in female quality is more important and more complex than currently known. The same is true for sex ratios. On the other hand, I suggest that sheer investment in gametes may be a little less important than currently assumed. Most importantly we need to explore the interactions of these three pathways to male mate choice. Female competition and also female ornamentation are still somewhat enigmatic and both topics are likely to grow in importance for our understanding of sexual selection. I think considering male and female choice together, as well as female and male competition will ultimately provide a more complete picture of Darwinian sexual selection.

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

Evolution ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney L. Fitzpatrick ◽  
Maria R. Servedio
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
Male Mate

Male Choice, Female Competition, and Female Ornaments in Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Female Competition ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Choice ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Male Mate

When Darwin first proposed sexual selection theory he suggested two mechanisms: competition among males and choice by females. There is no doubt that these mechanisms are immensely important, but their mirror images have been largely underappreciated so far. In fact, males choose as well and females compete. Males choose based on female quality, often selecting mating partners that are more fecund. But male choice is also associated with changes in the sex ratio of a population and males can be choosy when they are rare. Furthermore, males sometimes invest heavily into reproduction and that too can be associated with male choice. That females compete with another, although less often with open aggression, is another understudied phenomenon. Finally, we now know that females are often ornamented, but are these ornaments under sexual selection by males? This book tries to review what we know and point to what we don’t know while pointing out the connections between male mate choice and female competition for a more complete view of sexual selection.

Male mate choice and female fecundity in zebra finches

2001 ◽  
Vol 62 (6) ◽  
pp. 1021-1026 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Jones ◽  
Pat Monaghan ◽  
Ruedi G. Nager
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Zebra Finches ◽  
Female Fecundity ◽  
Male Mate
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