Indirect fitness consequences of mate choice in sticklebacks: offspring of brighter males grow slowly but resist parasitic infections

In polygynous species, mate choice is an integrated part of sexual selection. However, whether mate choice occurs independently of the genetic relatedness among mating pairs has received little attention, although inbreeding may have fitness consequences. We studied whether genetic relatedness influenced females' choice of partner in a highly polygynous ungulate—the reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus )—in an experimental herd during two consecutive rutting seasons; the herd consisting of 75 females in 1999 and 74 females in 2000 was exposed to three 4.5-year-old adults and three 1.5-year-old young males, respectively. The females' distribution during peak rut was not influenced by their genetic relatedness with the dominant males of the mating groups. Further, genetic relatedness did not influence the actual choice of mating partner. We conclude that inbreeding avoidance through mating group choice as well as choice of mating partner, two interconnected processes of female mate choice operating at two different scales in space and time, in such a highly female-biased reindeer populations with low level of inbreeding may not occur.

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Combining predictions of sex ratio and mate choice models: pheromone-mediated mate choice by females in a parasitoid wasp

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539x-00003558 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 156 (11) ◽

pp. 1127-1149

Author(s):

T.N. Wittman ◽

B.H. King

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Sex Ratios ◽

Parasitoid Wasp ◽

Production Potential ◽

Young Males ◽

Offspring Sex ◽

Local Mate ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Fitness Benefits ◽

Male Signals

Abstract In haplodiploid species, daughter production, but not son production, is sexual, requiring paternal contributions. Females may use male signals to choose a mate with better daughter-production potential, if the choice facilitates her production of adaptive sex ratios, e.g., female-biased sex ratios in systems operating under local mate competition (LMC). In the parasitoid wasp Urolepis rufipes, females preferred pheromone markings from males that had mated once versus multiply, were young rather than old, and were uninfected rather than infected when infection was low, but not when infection was high. Mates of singly-mated males had more female-biased offspring sex ratios than those of multiply-mated males, whereas there was no difference for mates of young versus old males. Thus, female preference for singly-mated males appears to provide indirect fitness benefits. A preference for young males, was not beneficial in the laboratory, but in nature young males may have mated less.

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Conflict between direct and indirect benefits of female choice in desert Drosophila

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2006.0565 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 3 (1) ◽

pp. 29-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Elen Oneal ◽

Tim Connallon ◽

L Lacey Knowles

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Female Choice ◽

Desiccation Stress ◽

Direct Benefit ◽

Mating Preferences ◽

Indirect Benefits ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Direct And Indirect Benefits ◽

Opposing Effects ◽

The Cost

Identifying the factors that contribute to the adaptive significance of mating preferences is one major goal of evolutionary research and is largely unresolved. Both direct and indirect benefits can contribute to mate choice evolution. Failure to consider the interaction between individual consequences of mate choice may obscure the opposing effects of individual costs and benefits. We investigate direct and indirect fitness effects of female choice in a desert fly ( Drosophila mojavensis ), a species where mating confers resistance to desiccation stress. Females prefer males that provide a direct benefit: greater resistance to desiccation stress. Mating preferences also appear to have indirect consequences: daughters of preferred males have lower reproductive success than daughters of unpreferred males, although additional experimentation will be needed to determine if the indirect consequences of female preferences actually arise from ‘sexually antagonistic’ variation. Nevertheless, the results are intriguing and are consistent with the hypothesis that an interaction between direct and indirect benefits maintains sexually antagonistic variation in these desert flies: increased desiccation resistance conferred by mating might offset the cost of producing low-fecundity daughters.

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Mate choice decisions by searchers

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/59.2.184 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 184-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Daniel D. Wiegmann ◽

Lisa M. Angeloni ◽

Steven M. Seubert ◽

J. Gordon

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Theoretical Foundation ◽

Sequential Search ◽

Male Quality ◽

Phenotypic Characters ◽

Fixed Sample ◽

Time Period ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Preference Functions ◽

The Empirical Analysis

Abstract For more than two decades rudimentary versions of the fixed sample and sequential search strategies have provided the primary theoretical foundation for the study of mate choice decisions by searchers. The theory that surrounds these models has expanded markedly over this time period. In this paper, we review and extend results derived from these models, with a focus on the empirical analysis of searcher behavior. The basic models are impractical for empirical purposes because they rely on the assumption that searchers—and, for applied purposes, researchers—assess prospective mates based on their quality, the fitness consequences of mate choice decisions. Here we expound versions of the models that are more empirically useful, reformulated to reflect decisions based on male phenotypic characters. For some organisms, it may be possible to use preference functions to derive predictions from the reformulated models and thereby avoid difficulties associated with the measurement of male quality per se. But predictions derived from the two models are difficult to differentiate empirically, regardless of how the models are formulated. Here we develop ideas that illustrate how this goal might be accomplished. In addition, we clarify how the variability of male quality should be evaluated and we extend what is known about how this variability influences searcher behavior under each model. More general difficulties associated with the empirical study of mate choice decisions by searchers are also discussed.

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Phenotype-dependent mate choice in Propylea dissecta and its fitness consequences

Journal of Ethology ◽

10.1007/s10164-014-0405-5 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 32 (3) ◽

pp. 165-172 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Geetanjali Mishra ◽

Omkar

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Propylea Dissecta

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Sexual Selection and Sexual Conflict in Crustaceans

Reproductive Biology ◽

10.1093/oso/9780190688554.003.0011 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 305-331

Author(s):

Rickey Cothran

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Sexual Conflict ◽

Sensory System ◽

Mate Guarding ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Female Mate ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Sensory Structures ◽

Context Shapes

Research using crustaceans has improved the understanding of sexual selection and sexual conflict. This is particularly true for understanding the biology of male weaponry and sexual conflict over mate guarding. Male crustaceans often are equipped with exaggerated claws that they use to monopolize access to females or resources that females use for reproduction. However, these weapons are often used in other contexts, e.g. mate choice and coercion of females, and understanding their evolution requires a broader perspective of how these traits are built and the fitness consequences of their use for both the bearer and interacting individuals. Although less well studied than male weaponry, crustaceans also provide excellent examples of elaborate sensory structures that are used in scramble competition among males for females. In addition to studies on male-male competition, crustaceans have been well represented in research on intrasexual selection (for the most part, female mate choice). Crustacean females use a variety of sensory channels to assess mates, and a challenge is to better understand what is being conveyed by signaling males and the fitness consequences of mate choice for females. In some cases the female’s sensory system appears to be exploited by males, and this could lead to sexual conflict over mating. Research on crustaceans has also informed the understanding of sexual conflict over mate guarding, including the evolution of traits used to resolve conflict and how the ecological context shapes the costs and benefits of guarding for both sexes.

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Kin recognition and mate choice in mice: fitness consequences of mating with kin

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/s0003-3472(89)80063-6 ◽

1989 ◽

Vol 38 (1) ◽

pp. 35-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

C.J. Barnard ◽

J. Fitzsimons

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Kin Recognition ◽

Fitness Consequences

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The sociobiology of sex: inclusive fitness consequences of inter-sexual interactions

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rstb.2011.0281 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 367 (1600) ◽

pp. 2314-2323 ◽

Cited By ~ 40

Author(s):

Tommaso Pizzari ◽

Andy Gardner

Keyword(s):

Social Interactions ◽

Sexual Conflict ◽

Indirect Effects ◽

Inclusive Fitness ◽

Kin Recognition ◽

Fitness Effects ◽

Inclusive Fitness Theory ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Population Viscosity

The diversity of social interactions between sexual partners has long captivated biologists, and its evolution has been interpreted largely in terms of ‘direct fitness’ pay-offs to partners and their descendants. Inter-sexual interactions also have ‘indirect effects’ by affecting the fitness of relatives, with important consequences for inclusive fitness. However, inclusive fitness arguments have received limited consideration in this context, and definitions of ‘direct’ and ‘indirect’ fitness effects in this field are often inconsistent with those of inclusive fitness theory. Here, we use a sociobiology approach based on inclusive fitness theory to distinguish between direct and indirect fitness effects. We first consider direct effects: we review how competition leads to sexual conflict, and discuss the conditions under which repression of competition fosters sexual mutualism. We then clarify indirect effects, and show that greenbeard effects, kin recognition and population viscosity can all lead to episodes of indirect selection on sexual interactions creating potential for sexual altruism and spite. We argue that the integration of direct and indirect fitness effects within a sociobiology approach enables us to consider a more diverse spectrum of evolutionary outcomes of sexual interactions, and may help resolving current debates over sexual selection and sexual conflict.

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The fitness consequences of kin-biased dispersal in a cooperatively breeding bird

Biology Letters ◽

10.1098/rsbl.2015.0336 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 11 (7) ◽

pp. 20150336 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Lea Pollack ◽

Dustin R. Rubenstein

Keyword(s):

Social Rank ◽

Group Living ◽

Breeding Bird ◽

Direct Benefits ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Cooperatively Breeding ◽

Potential Benefits ◽

Indirect Fitness ◽

Living Species

Cooperative alliances among kin may not only lead to indirect fitness benefits for group-living species, but can also provide direct benefits through access to mates or higher social rank. However, the immigrant sex in most species loses any potential benefits of living with kin unless immigrants disperse together or recruit relatives into the group in subsequent years. To look for evidence of small subgroups of related immigrants within social groups (kin substructure), we used microsatellites to assess relatedness between immigrant females of the cooperatively breeding superb starling, Lamprotornis superbus. We determined how timing of immigration led to kin subgroup formation and if being part of one influenced female fitness. Although mean relatedness in groups was higher for males than females, 26% of immigrant females were part of a kin subgroup with a sister. These immigrant sibships formed through kin recruitment across years more often than through coalitions immigrating together in the same year. Furthermore, females were more likely to breed when part of a kin subgroup than when alone, suggesting that female siblings form alliances that may positively influence their fitness. Ultimately, kin substructure should be considered when determining the role of relatedness in the evolution of animal societies.

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