scholarly journals Exaggerated estrous swellings and male mate choice in primates: testing the reliable indicator hypothesis in the Amboseli baboons.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney L Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Susan C Alberts
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Reliable Indicator ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Papio Cynocephalus ◽  
Cycle Number ◽  
Fitness Measures ◽  
Male Mate

The paradigm of competitive males vying to influence female mate choice has been repeatedly upheld, but, increasingly, studies also report competitive females and choosy males. One female trait that is commonly proposed to influence male mate choice is the exaggerated estrous swelling displayed by females of many Old World primate species. The reliable indicator hypothesis posits that females use the exaggerated swellings to compete for access to mates by advertising variation in female fitness. We tested the two main predictions of this hypothesis in a wild population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus). First, we examined the effect of swelling size on the probability of mate-guarding ('consortship') by the highest-ranking male and the behavior of those males that trailed consorshipts ('follower males'). Second, we asked whether a female's swelling size predicted several fitness measures. We found that high-ranking males do not prefer females with larger swellings (when controlling for cycle number and conception) and that females with larger swellings did not have higher reproductive success. In doing so, we have tested and rejected the reliable indicator hypothesis for the function of exaggerated swellings in cercopithecine primates. Furthermore, we found unambiguous evidence that males biased their mating decisions in favor of females who had experienced more sexual cycles since their most recent pregnancy. Thus, rather than tracking the potential differences in fitness between females, male baboons appear to track and target the potential for a given reproductive opportunity to result in fertilization.

scholarly journals Does male mate choice select for female colouration in a promiscuous primate species?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Rigaill ◽  
Cécile Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Japanese Macaques ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Cycle Number ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractThe traditional view of sex roles and sexual selection emphasises the evolution of male ornaments as a result of female mate choice and male-male competition. Female ornaments are now receiving more attention, although their roles in mating decision are still less well understood, especially considering cases in which colourful ornaments are expressed by both sexes. In this study, we analysed whether female skin colouration (luminance and redness of the face and hindquarters) influenced male mate choice and sexual behaviours in relation to intra-cycle (cycle phase), inter-cycle (number of consecutive cycles, conceptive nature of the cycle), and inter-individual (age, social rank, weight, and parity) variation in a captive population of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Males did not preferentially choose darker/redder females. Moreover, males did not appear to use female skin colouration to apportion their mating efforts on the most fertile period of the menstrual cycle or during cycles that lead to conception, or to discriminate between females. To our knowledge, our study is among the few to report a lack of male choice for female colouration in a species where both sexes potentially display ornamentation. While female colouration appeared to contain information about intra-cycle, inter-cycle, and inter-individual variation in fecundity, this study further demonstrates that this trait may not have been sexually selected and that males mated regardless of such variation across females. This study adds to the growing research on the role and evolution of female colouration in the context of sexual signalling and mate attraction.

scholarly journals Coevolution of male and female mate choice can destabilize reproductive isolation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Aubier ◽  
Hanna Kokko ◽  
Mathieu Joron
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate

Abstract Sexual interactions play an important role in the evolution of reproductive isolation, with important consequences for speciation. Theoretical studies have focused on the evolution of mate preferences in each sex separately. However, mounting empirical evidence suggests that premating isolation often involves mutual mate choice. Here, using a population genetic model, we investigate how female and male mate choice coevolve under a phenotype matching rule and how this affects reproductive isolation. We show that the evolution of female preferences increases the mating success of males with reciprocal preferences, favouring mutual mate choice. However, the evolution of male preferences weakens indirect selection on female preferences and, with weak genetic drift, the coevolution of female and male mate choice leads to periodic episodes of random mating with increased hybridization (deterministic ‘preference cycling’ triggered by stochasticity). Thus, counterintuitively, the process of establishing premating isolation proves rather fragile if both male and female mate choice contribute to assortative mating.

scholarly journals Coevolution of male and female mate choice can destabilize reproductive isolation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Aubier ◽  
Hanna Kokko ◽  
Mathieu Joron
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractSexual interactions play an important role in the evolution of reproductive isolation, with important consequences for speciation. Theoretical studies have focused on the evolution of mate preferences in each sex separately. However, mounting empirical evidence suggests that premating isolation often involves mutual mate choice. Here, using a population genetic model, we investigate how female and male mate choice coevolve under a phenotype matching rule and how this affects reproductive isolation. We show that the evolution of female preferences increases the mating success of males with reciprocal preferences, favouring mutual mate choice. However, the evolution of male preferences weakens indirect selection on female preferences and, with weak genetic drift, the coevolution of female and male mate choice leads to periodic episodes of random mating with increased hybridization (deterministic ‘preference cycling’ triggered by stochasticity). Thus, counterintuitively, the process of establishing premating isolation proves rather fragile if both male and female mate choice contribute to assortative mating.

Mate guarding and male mate choice in the chameleon grasshopper Kosciuscola tristis (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter C. Mahoney ◽  
Nikolai J. Tatarnic ◽  
James C. O’Hanlon ◽  
Kate D. L. Umbers
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate

scholarly journals Mate-guarding duration is mainly influenced by the risk of sperm competition and not by female quality in a golden orb-weaver spider

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lygia A. Del Matto ◽  
Renato Chaves de Macedo Rego ◽  
Eduardo S. A. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Body Condition ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Male Mate

Males are expected to mate with as many females as possible, but can maximize their reproductive success through strategic mating decisions. For instance, males can increase their own fitness by mating with high quality females that produce more offspring. Additionally, males can adjust mating effort based on the relative distribution of females and male competitors. To test factors that influence male mate choice, we assessed male mating decisions in the golden-web spider, Trichonephila clavipes (Nephilidae), a species in which females are polyandrous and males guard females before and after copulation occurs. We tested the hypothesis that males spend more time guarding high quality females that are spatially isolated, and when the risk of sperm competition is higher. We assessed solitary and aggregated female webs in the field and quantified female quality (i.e. female body condition), the risk of sperm competition (i.e. number of males in each female web), and mate-guarding duration (i.e. number of days each male spent in each web). We found that mate-guarding behaviour is influenced by the presence of male competitors. In addition, the type of web seems to moderately influence male mating decisions, with males spending more time guarding a female when on solitary webs. Finally, female body condition seems to play a small role in mate-guarding behaviour. As mate-guarding duration considerably increased per each additional male competitor in the web, and guarding behaviour prevents males from seeking additional mates, it seems that males do benefit from guarding females. We conclude that failing to guard a sexual partner promotes high costs derived from sperm competition, and a male cannot recover his relative loss in fertilization success by seeking and fertilizing more females. In addition, the search for more sexual partners can be constrained by possible high costs imposed by predators and fights against other males, which may explain why the type of web only moderately influenced male mate choice. Following the same rationale, if high-quality females are not easy to find and/or mating with a high-quality female demands much effort, males may search females and guard them regardless of female quality. In conclusion, the factor that most influences male mate-guarding behaviour among T. clavipes in the field is the risk of sperm competition.

Male Mate Choice in a Natural Population of the Parasitic Copepod Lernaeocera Branchialis (Copepoda: Pennellidae)

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 221-239 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Schram ◽  
Peter Andreas Heuch
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Natural Population ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Parasitic Copepod ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Adult Males ◽  
Larval Stages ◽  
Adult Females ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractVariations in age and sex structure of a natural population of the copepod Lernaeocera branchialis, parasitic on flounder, Platichthys flesus were examined in a 15-month study. Recent laboratory studies and literature on reproductive strategies indicate that male mate choice in this species should depend on the sex ratios of the parasite on its hosts, and on the age and mating status of females. Sex ratios suggested a strong intra-male competition for females. The ratio of chalimus 4 and virgin adult females (preferred stages) to adult males exceeded 1 female: 4 males on 50% of the hosts. In four out of the six sampling periods, more than 50% of hosts harboured more adult males than the total number of females. The males preference for the different female stages was estimated from the number of precopula and copula associations. The data were fitted to a logistic regression model. At most sex ratios, males preferred chalimus 4 and virgin adult females, and discriminated against younger stages. Mated females were about as attractive as the youngest larval stages at female-biased sex ratios, but they were chosen more frequently at strongly male-biased sex ratios. Most adult L. branchialis females had copulated more than once, and some had accommodated at least 5 ejaculates in the their sperm storage organs. The patterns of mate guarding and potential for sperm competition strongly suggest that L. branchialis males take the intrasexual competition into account when choosing mates. On this basis, they minimize guarding time and maximize the possibility of paternity.

scholarly journals Female and male Sirex noctilio use age and size to select a mate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joséphine Queffelec ◽  
Jeremy D. Allison ◽  
Bernard Slippers ◽  
Jaco M. Greeff
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Sirex Noctilio ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Lek Mating ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Male To Female

ABSTRACTWhile male mate choice in insects is a widely accepted concept, there is still limited evidence showing that lek formation is compatible with the evolution of male mate choice. In the woodwasp Sirex noctilio, males form leks that are used by females to select a mate. However, males have been observed to ignore certain females, suggesting the presence of male mate choice despite the presence of a lek mating system. In this study we demonstrate that males only attempt to mate with certain females. To understand the criteria used by males and females to select a mate, we also tested the effect of age, size, and male to female size ratio on the number of mating attempts made by males and on female receptivity. We demonstrate that size and age play a role in both male and female mate choice. Our results suggest that males must reach sexual maturity after emergence and are neither receptive nor attractive to females during the first few days of their lives. We also show that older females become less attractive to males, suggesting that female S. noctilio switch to a strict host location phase sometime after emergence. Our results show that male and female size, and the ratio between them, play a role in mate choice. While larger males are more motivated to mate, their large size can physically prevent them from mating with small females. Small females are also more attractive and more receptive to males, consistent with the presence of convenience polyandry in S. noctilio.

A study of mate choice in mice with experimental Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis: can males choose?

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ernest François Gourbal ◽  
Claude Gabrion
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Dyadic Interactions ◽  
Taenia Crassiceps ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Mating Choice ◽  
Additional Support

The detection and avoidance of infected males has been proposed as a component of female mate choice. However, male mate choice and sexual behaviour in the face of infected females have been rarely investigated. Here, we assessed the exact role displayed by each protagonist in mate choice during experimental Taenia crassiceps (Zeder, 1800) Rudolphi, 1810 cysticercosis. Mate choice was studied at two levels: (1) based on animal odour cues, using a two-choice test and (2) during dyadic interactions, using sexual behaviour and courtship analysis, but also ultrasonic vocalization recordings. Our results showed that female BALB/c mice (Mus musculus L., 1758) spent more time investigating odours in the two-choice test than males, but they were also able to repel infected males during dyadic interactions. Males did not display a clear mating choice with female odours, but during dyadic sexual interactions, they showed a significant aggressiveness towards infected females. Males were able to refrain from copulating with infected females. As shown by a number of studies on female mice, males were able to detect, select, and avoid infected females, and thus express a real mate choice. These observations provided an additional support to the sperm/ejaculate cost and male mate-choice hypothesis.

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