scholarly journals Does divergence in female mate choice affect male size distributions in two cave fish populations?

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 452-454 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Tobler ◽  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Martin Plath
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Mate

Sexual selection by female choice can maintain male traits that are counter selected by natural selection. Alteration of the potential for sexual selection can thus lead to shifts in the expression of male traits. We investigated female mate choice for large male body size in a fish ( Poecilia mexicana ) that, besides surface streams, also inhabits two caves. All four populations investigated, exhibited an ancestral visual preference for large males. However, only one of the cave populations also expressed this female preference in darkness. Hence, the lack of expression of female preference in darkness in the other cave population leads to relaxation of sexual selection for large male body size. While P. mexicana populations with size-specific female mate choice are characterized by a pronounced male size variation, the absence of female choice in one cave coincides with the absence of large bodied males in that population. Our results suggest that population differences in the potential for sexual selection may affect male trait variation.

scholarly journals Male size and reproductive performance in three species of livebearing fishes (Gambusia spp.): a systematic review and meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bora Kim ◽  
Nicholas Patrick Moran ◽  
Klaus Reinhold ◽  
Alfredo Sánchez-Tójar
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Confidence Interval ◽  
Reproductive Performance ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Male Body Size

1. The genus Gambusia represents approximately 45 species of polyandrous livebearing fishes with reversed sexual size dimorphism (i.e. males smaller than females) and with copulation predominantly via male coercion. Male body size has been suggested as an important sexually selected trait, but despite abundant research, evidence for sexual selection on male body size in this genus is mixed. 2. Studies have found that large males have an advantage in both male-male competition and female choice, but that small males perform sneaky copulations better and at higher frequency and thus may sire more offspring in this coercive mating system. Here, we synthesized this discrepant body of evidence in the primary literature. 3. Using pre-registered methods and hypotheses, we performed a systematic review and meta-analysis combining published (n = 19 studies, k = 106 effect sizes) and unpublished data (n = 17, k = 242) to test whether there is overall selection on male body size across studies in Gambusia. We also tested several specific hypotheses to understand sources of heterogeneity across effects. 4. Meta-analysis revealed an overall positive correlation between male size and reproductive performance (r = 0.23, 95% confidence interval: 0.10 – 0.35, n = 36, k = 348, 4514 males, three Gambusia species). Despite high heterogeneity, the large-male advantage appeared robust across all measures studied (i.e. female choice, mating success, paternity, sperm quantity and quality), but was considerably larger for female choice (r = 0.43, 95% confidence interval: 0.28 – 0.59, n = 14, k = 43). Meta-regressions found several important factors explaining heterogeneity across effects, including type of sperm characteristic, male-to-female ratio, female reproductive status, and environmental conditions. We found evidence of publication bias; however, its effect on our estimates was attenuated by including a substantial amount of unpublished effects, highlighting the importance of unpublished (open) data for more accurate meta-analytic estimates. 5. In addition to positive selection on male size, our study suggests that we need to rethink the role and form of sexual selection in Gambusia and, more broadly, to consider the ecological factors that affect reproductive behaviour in livebearing fishes.

scholarly journals Sexual selection of male parental care in giant water bugs

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (5) ◽  
pp. 150720 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shin-ya Ohba ◽  
Noboru Okuda ◽  
Shin-ichi Kudo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Paternal Care ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Female Mate Preference ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Water Bugs ◽  
Selection Of

Paternal care can be maintained under sexual selection, if it helps in attracting more mates. We tested the hypothesis in two giant water bug species, Appasus major and Appasus japonicus , that male parental care is sexually selected through female preference for caring males. Females were given an opportunity to choose between two males. In the first test of female mate choice, one male carried eggs on its back, while the other did not. The egg status was switched between these two males in the second test. The experiment revealed that females of both species preferred caring males (i.e. egg-bearing) to non-caring males. Nonetheless, the female mate preference for egg-bearing males was stronger in A. major than in A. japonicus . Our results suggest that sexual selection plays an important role in maintaining elaborate paternal care in giant water bugs, but the importance of egg-bearing by males in female mate choice varies among species.

scholarly journals Looking for sexual selection in the female brain

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2348-2356 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly E. Cummings
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Evolutionary Dynamics ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Choice Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Preference Responses ◽  
Preference Behaviour

Female mate choice behaviour has significant evolutionary consequences, yet its mechanistic origins are not fully understood. Recent studies of female sensory systems have made great strides in identifying internal mechanisms governing female preferences. Only recently, however, have we begun to identify the dynamic genomic response associated with mate choice behaviour. Poeciliids provide a powerful comparative system to examine genomic responses governing mate choice and female preference behaviour, given the great range of mating systems: from female mate choice taxa with ornamental courting males to species lacking male ornamentation and exhibiting only male coercion. Furthermore, they exhibit laboratory-tractable preference responses without sexual contact that are decoupled from reproductive state, allowing investigators to isolate mechanisms in the brain without physiological confounds. Early investigations with poeciliid species ( Xiphophorus nigrensis and Gambusia affinis ) have identified putative candidate genes associated with female preference response and highlight a possible genomic pathway underlying female social interactions with males linked functionally with synaptic plasticity and learning processes. This network is positively correlated with female preference behaviour in the female mate choice species, but appears inhibited in the male coercive species. This behavioural genomics approach provides opportunity to elucidate the fundamental building blocks, and evolutionary dynamics, of sexual selection.

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 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.

Interplay of male traits, male mating strategies and female mate choice in the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus

Behaviour ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1113-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karpagam Chelliah ◽  
Raman Sukumar
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Male Mating Strategies

Elaborate male traits with no apparent adaptive value may have evolved through female mate discrimination. Tusks are an elaborate male-only trait in the Asian elephant that could potentially influence female mate choice. We examined the effect of male body size, tusk possession and musth status on female mate choice in an Asian elephant population. Large/musth males received positive responses from oestrous females towards courtship significantly more often than did small/non-musth males. Young, tusked non-musth males attempted courtship significantly more often than their tuskless peers, and received more positive responses (though statistically insignificant) than did tuskless males. A positive response did not necessarily translate into mating because of mate-guarding by a dominant male. Female elephants appear to choose mates based primarily on traits such as musth that signal direct fertility benefits through increased sperm received than for traits such as tusks that may signal only indirect fitness benefits.

scholarly journals Mate Choice and Copulation Frequency in the Burying BeetleNicrophorus quadripunctatus(Coleoptera: Silphidae): Effect of Male Body Size and Presence of a Rival

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seizi Suzuki
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Significant Interaction ◽  
Copulation Duration ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Male Size ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Male Body Size ◽  
Rival Male

It is widely assumed that there exists a competition between males for mating and that females prefer males with elaborate male traits. Further, such traits are considered to be synonymous with high quality in terms of benefits to females. The number and duration of copulations and the frequency of mate refusal between large and smallNicrophorus quadripunctatusmales were examined both for single males and for two males competing. The number of copulations was not affected by the size of the male or by the presence of a rival, but there was a significant interaction such that large males increased their number of copulations when a small rival was present. Copulation duration was not affected by male size but was shortened by a rival male. Females rejected copulation attempts of small males more often than of large males, whether the males were alone or paired with a rival. These results suggest that large males have two advantages: they win contests between males and are preferred by females.

Female mate choice and male parental defense behaviour in the cichlid fish Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum

1985 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 2489-2493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Miles H. A. Keenleyside ◽  
Robert W. Rangeley ◽  
Bryan U. Kuppers
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Cichlasoma Nigrofasciatum ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Size Classes ◽  
Adult Conspecific ◽  
Brood Guarding

Female Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum presented with three potential spawning partners of different sizes spawned most often near the medium-sized male. When mate choice was restricted to males of two size classes, females consistently spawned near the larger male. In the former experiment, small males courted females more actively than medium or large males did. This may explain why females occasionally spawned near small males in both experiments. Larger brood-guarding males showed more intensive aggressive behaviour towards an adult conspecific confined near their offspring than did smaller brood-guarding males. Selection will therefore favour the female choice of relatively large mates because such males are likely to be more effective defenders of their offspring.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document