scholarly journals Semiochemical compounds of preen secretion reflect genetic make-up in a seabird species

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1731) ◽  
pp. 1185-1193 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Leclaire ◽  
Thomas Merkling ◽  
Christine Raynaud ◽  
Hervé Mulard ◽  
Jean-Marie Bessière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gas Chromatography ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Random Mating ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Genetic Characteristics ◽  
Genetic Traits ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Genetic Heterozygosity

Several vertebrates choose their mate according to genetic heterozygosity and relatedness, and use odour cues to assess their conspecifics' genetic make-up. In birds, although several species (including the black-legged kittiwake) exhibit non-random mating according to genetic traits, the cues used to assess genetic characteristics remain unknown. The importance of olfaction in birds' social behaviour is gaining attention among researchers, and it has been suggested that, as in other vertebrates, bird body scent may convey information about genetic traits. Here, we combined gas chromatography data and genetic analyses at microsatellite loci to test whether semiochemical messages in preen secretion of kittiwakes carried information about genetic heterozygosity and relatedness. Semiochemical profile was correlated with heterozygosity in males and females, while semiochemical distance was correlated with genetic distance only in male–male dyads. Our study is the first to demonstrate a link between odour and genetics in birds, which sets the stage for the existence of sophisticated odour-based mechanisms of mate choice also in birds.

Thresholds or Comparisons: Mate Choice Criteria And Sexual Selection in a Periodical Cicada, Magicicada Septendecim (Hemiptera: Cicadidae)

Behaviour ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 141 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-673 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Marshall ◽  
John Cooley
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Random Mating ◽  
Lek Mating ◽  
Periodical Cicadas ◽  
Fixed Threshold ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Periodical Cicada ◽  
Rule Out

AbstractMany insects possess life history characteristics that make them unlikely to use the kinds of relative mate choice criteria implicit in theoretical discussions of leks; thus, many insect mating aggregations are treated differently, as 'swarms' or 'choruses.' Yet periodical cicadas (Magicicada spp.) seem strong candidates for participating in lek mating systems. We present a series of observations and experiments designed to reveal whether there are mating biases in periodical cicadas and whether any biases are most consistent with flexible ('best-of-N 'choice) or fixed (threshold choice) mating criteria. We rule out postcopulatory choice by demonstrating that most females mate once, after which they become sexually unreceptive. In our study, patterns of mating success among actively chorusing males are indistinguishable from random mating, and we uncover no consistent differences between unmated and mated males on the basis of size and song pitch, two criteria that have been associated with Magicicada mating biases in other contexts. Because our results are most consistent with a fixed-threshold choice mechanism, we suggest that Magicicada mating aggregations do not function in a manner similar to vertebrate leks even though they fulfill Bradbury's (1981) lek criteria. Instead, features of Magicicada behavior suggesting female selectivity may arise incidentally from males' and females' unequal tendencies to mate multiply, the resulting superabundance of sexually receptive males, and the high frequency at which females are courted at the onset of mating readiness.

scholarly journals Heightened condition dependent expression of structural colouration in the faces, but not wings, of male and female flies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E White ◽  
Amy Locke ◽  
Tanya Latty
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Condition Dependence ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Honest Signals ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Structural Colouration

Abstract Structurally coloured sexual signals are a conspicuous and widespread class of ornament used in mate choice, though the extent to which they encode information on the quality of their bearers is not fully resolved. Theory predicts that signalling traits under strong sexual selection as honest indicators should evolve to be more developmentally integrated and exaggerated than nonsexual traits, thereby leading to heightened condition dependence. Here we test this prediction through examination of the sexually dimorphic faces and wings of the cursorial fly Lispe cana. Males and females possess structural UV-white and golden faces, respectively, and males present their faces and wings to females during close-range, ground-based courtship displays, thereby creating the opportunity for mutual inspection. Across a field-collected sample of individuals, we found that the appearance of the faces of both sexes scaled positively with individual condition, though along separate axes. Males in better condition expressed brighter faces as modelled according to conspecific flies, whereas condition scaled with facial saturation in females. We found no such relationships for their wing interference pattern nor abdomens, with the latter included as a nonsexual control. Our results suggest that the structurally coloured faces, but not the iridescent wings, of male and female Lispe cana are reliable guides to individual quality and support the broader potential for structural colours as honest signals. They also highlight the potential for mutual mate choice in this system, while arguing for one of several alternate signalling roles for wing interferences patterns among the myriad taxa which bear them.

4. Sex roles and stereotypes

2018 ◽  
pp. 52-68
Author(s):  
Leigh W. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Sex Roles ◽  
Animal Species ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Mating Competition ◽  
Characteristic Behaviour ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Female Roles

‘Sex roles and stereotypes’ examines the notion, implicit in many of the original ideas about sexual selection, that males and females have natural ‘roles’ with characteristic behaviour associated with each sex. It also explores further the reasons behind deviations from the ‘typical’ sex roles in mate choice and in mating competition. Are there ‘standard’ male and female roles in both humans and other animal species? One version of sex roles holds that males are generally dominant and females submissive, stemming from the way that sexual selection favours different behaviours in each sex. This could mean that sexual selection dictates particular behaviours in males and females. But in fact, sexual behaviour is extraordinarily varied in nature.

scholarly journals Sexual selection after gamete release in broadcast spawning invertebrates

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1813) ◽  
pp. 20200069 ◽  
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’.

Sex-biased parental-care allocation in three tern species (Laridae, Aves)

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1461-1467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mauro Fasola ◽  
Nicola Saino
Keyword(s):  
Parental Care ◽  
Agonistic Behavior ◽  
Sexual Size Dimorphism ◽  
Reproductive Effort ◽  
Seabird Species ◽  
Theoretical Predictions ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Sandwich Tern ◽  
Parental Expenditure ◽  
Care Allocation

We studied parental-care allocation by males and females in three tern species. Female Common Terns (Sterna hirundo) and Little Terns (S. albifrons) performed more incubation and brooding than males, whereas in the Sandwich Tern (S. sandvicensis) the sexes shared these duties equally. In all three species, agonistic behaviors were performed equally by females and males. Prey types brought by males and females of each species were similar, but males tended to bring larger prey and had higher delivery rates than females. Information on parental-care allocation by female and male seabirds of various species, 5 gulls, 6 terns, and 1 skimmer, indicates that females perform most of the incubation and brooding in both gulls and terns, whereas males perform most territory attendance and agonistic behavior (gulls) and more prey provisioning (terns). These patterns are qualitatively consistent with the explanation that the differences between gulls and terns in sex-biased parental care are related to the fact that gulls exhibit sexual size dimorphism but terns do not. Contrary to theoretical predictions that in monogamous birds, females contribute more reproductive effort than males, in all the seabird species studied so far the total parental expenditure by males seems to equal or outweigh that by females.

scholarly journals Sport Participation Influences Perceptions of Mate Characteristics

2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 147470491201000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Albrecht I. Schulte-Hostedde ◽  
Mark A. Eys ◽  
Michael Emond ◽  
Michael Buzdon
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sport Participation ◽  
Team Sport ◽  
Male Athletes ◽  
Future Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Initial Hypothesis ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Larger Sample

Sport provides a context in which mate choice can be facilitated by the display of athletic prowess. Previous work has shown that, for females, team sport athletes are more desirable as mates than individual sport athletes and non-participants. In the present study, the perceptions of males and females were examined regarding potential mates based on sport participation. It was predicted that team sport athletes would be more positively perceived than individual sport athletes and non-participants by both males and females. A questionnaire, a photograph, and manipulated descriptions were used to gauge perceptual differences with respect to team sport athletes, individual sport athletes, and extracurricular club participants for 125 females and 119 males from a Canadian university. Both team and individual sport athletes were perceived as being less lazy, more competitive, and healthier than non-participants by both males and females. Interestingly, females perceived male athletes as more promiscuous than non-athletes, which upholds predictions based on previous research indicating (a) athletes have more sexual partners than non-athletes, and (b) females find athletes more desirable as partners than non-participants. Surprisingly, only males perceived female team sport athletes as more dependable than non-participants, and both team and individual sport athletes as more ambitious. This raises questions regarding the initial hypothesis that male team athletes would be perceived positively by females because of qualities such as the ability to cooperate, likeability, and the acceptance of responsibilities necessary for group functioning. Future studies should examine similar questions with a larger sample size that encompasses multiple contexts, taking into account the role of the social profile of sport in relation to mate choice and perception.

Testing the resource economic monopolization hypothesis and its consequences for the mating system ofAlpheus estuariensis(Decapoda, Caridea, Alpheidae)

2018 ◽  
Vol 99 (3) ◽  
pp. 639-647
Author(s):  
Danillo Barroso ◽  
Douglas Fernandes Rodrigues Alves ◽  
Gustavo L. Hirose
Keyword(s):  
Mating System ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Social Behaviour ◽  
Random Distribution ◽  
Great Abundance ◽  
North East ◽  
The Social ◽  
Average Abundance ◽  
Males And Females

The aim of the present study is to test the resource economic monopolization hypothesis and the hypothesis of monogamy using the shrimpAlpheus estuariensisas a model. The shrimps were collected in two areas in the Vaza-Barriz estuary, north-east Brazil, from August to November 2016. The average abundance of refuges was obtained through 30 random replicates. The shrimp presented a random distribution in both areas. Males and females found together showed a weak relation between their sizes, with males being larger than females. In addition, the cheliped of males grows proportionally more than that of females. The great abundance of refuges present in the environment, added to the aforementioned results, do not support the idea of refuge-guarding behaviour or monogamy. These results, which are in disagreement with those already found for some shrimps of the same family, genus, and even species, reinforce the idea that Alpheidae can be used as a model in the study of how environmental conditions are capable of shaping the social behaviour of a species.

Mating experience influences mate choice and reproductive output in an aphidophagous ladybird, Menochilus sexmaculatus

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (3) ◽  
pp. 247-263 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ankita Dubey ◽  
Swati Saxena ◽  
Geetanjali Mishra ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Output ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Mating Status ◽  
Mating Experience ◽  
Males And Females

AbstractInformation about mating status can be used to decide about whether to invest resources in mating with a particular partner. In the present study, we evaluated mate choice in relation to the mating experience of males and females ofMenochilus sexmaculatus. We subjected both unmated and multiply mated males and females to different mate choice trials. The mating experience of the adults includes unmated, once-mated, twice-mated and multiply mated. The mate choice trials revealed that unmated adults were preferred over mated adults by both unmated and multiply mated partners. This preference for unmated partners also had consequences for mating behaviour and reproductive output. Unmated and multiply mated females commenced mating with unmated males earlier. In addition, unmated and multiply mated males invested more time in copula with unmated females. Moreover, females mated with unmated males were more fecund than those mated with previously mated males. This suggests that mating experience of mates may influence mating and reproductive behaviour in this species.

Morphological and molecular data to determine the origin and taxonomic status of Prosopis chilensis var. riojana (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae)

2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (9) ◽  
pp. 905-917 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soledad Vázquez-Garcidueñas ◽  
Ramón A Palacios ◽  
Jenny Segovia-Quiroz ◽  
Juan T Frías-Hernández ◽  
Victor Olalde-Portugal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Random Amplified Polymorphic Dna ◽  
Taxonomic Status ◽  
Molecular Data ◽  
Genetic Distances ◽  
Group Method ◽  
Sympatric Populations ◽  
Arithmetic Means ◽  
Genetic Characteristics ◽  
Genetic Traits ◽  
Prosopis Chilensis

This study analyzes the morphological and genetic characteristics of three sympatric populations of Prosopis from Argentina. Although morphological and geographical data suggest that Prosopis chilensis var. riojana is an interspecific hybrid of Prosopis chilensis var. chilensis and Prosopis flexuosa var. flexuosa, no correlation was found between morphological traits and genetic distances generated by random amplified polymorphic DNA - polymerase chain reaction (RAPD-PCR). Genetic similarity is greater among P. chilensis var. chilensis and P. flexuosa var. flexuosa than between either of these two taxa with P. chilensis var. riojana. Also, P. chilensis var. riojana has unique genetic markers that are absent from its putative parents. Additionally, dendrograms generated by unweighted pair group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) and Neighbor-Joining clustering criteria group P. chilensis var. chilensis and P. flexuosa var. flexuosa apart from P. chilensis var. riojana. Possibilities for the lack of congruence between morphology and RAPD markers are discussed. The results obtained are insufficient to conclusively establish the origin of P. chilensis var. riojana; however, the morphological and genetic traits observed suggest this taxon is well differentiated from P. chilensis var. chilensis and P. flexuosa var. flexuosa.Key words: genetic distances, hybridization, morphology, Prosopis, RAPD, rare taxon.

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