scholarly journals Does meiotic drive alter male mate preference?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Ronan Finnegan ◽  
Leslie Nitsche ◽  
Matteo Mondani ◽  
M. Florencia Camus ◽  
Kevin Fowler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Selfish Genetic Element ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Organismal Fitness

AbstractMale mate preferences have been demonstrated across a range of species, including the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. This species is subject to SR, an X-linked male meiotic driver, that causes the dysfunction of Y-sperm and the production all female broods. SR is associated with a low frequency inversion spanning most of the X chromosome that causes reduced organismal fitness. While there has been work considering female avoidance of meiotic drive males, the mating decisions of drive-bearing males have not been considered previously. As drive males are of lower genetic quality they may be less able to bear the cost of choice or may experience weaker selection for its maintenance if they are avoided by females. We investigated preference of drive males using binary choice trials. We confirmed that males prefer to mate with large females (indicative of greater fecundity) but found no evidence that the strength of male mate preference differs between drive and standard males. This suggests that the cost of choice does not restrict male reference among drive males. In a further experiment, we found that large eyespan males showed strong preference whereas small eyespan males showed no preference. This is likely to weaken mate preference in drive males, as on average they have reduced eyespan compared to standard males. In this respect, drive males are subject to and exert weak sexual selection.Lay summaryWe studied male mate preference in stalk-eyed flies. This species suffers from meiotic drive, a selfish genetic element that causes a reduction in sperm production and organismal fitness. We predicted that males with meiotic drive would show weak mate preference. Males preferred to mate with large females, but there was no difference in the strength of preference between drive and non-drive males. Males with larger eyespan showed stronger mate preference. Meiotic drive males usually have reduced eyespan so on average they exert weaker sexual selection on females, but this is mediated by eyespan, not genotype per se.

scholarly journals Does meiotic drive alter male mate preference?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sam Ronan Finnegan ◽  
Leslie Nitsche ◽  
Matteo Mondani ◽  
M Florencia Camus ◽  
Kevin Fowler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Low Frequency ◽  
Meiotic Drive ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
A Minor ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Organismal Fitness ◽  
Minor Extent

AbstractMale mate preferences have been demonstrated across a range of species, including the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. This species is subject to sex-ratio (SR), an X-linked male meiotic driver, which causes the dysfunction of Y-sperm and the production of all-female broods. While there has been work considering female avoidance of meiotic drive males, the mating decisions of drive-bearing males have not been considered previously. Drive males may be less able to bear the cost of choice as SR is associated with a low-frequency inversion that causes reduced organismal fitness. Drive males may also experience weaker selection for preference maintenance if they are avoided by females. Using binary choice trials, across two experiments, we confirmed male preference for large (fecund) females but found no evidence that the strength of male preference differs between drive and standard males. We showed that large eyespan males displayed strong preference for large females, whereas small eyespan males showed no preference. Taken together, these results suggest that, even though meiotic drive is associated with lower genetic quality, it does not directly interfere with male mate preference among available females. However, as drive males tend to have smaller eyespan (albeit only ~5% on average), this will to a minor extent weaken their strength of preference.

scholarly journals Understanding sex differences in the cost of terrestrial locomotion

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1729) ◽  
pp. 826-832 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J. Lees ◽  
Robert L. Nudds ◽  
Lars P. Folkow ◽  
Karl-Arne Stokkan ◽  
Jonathan R. Codd
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Locomotor System ◽  
Terrestrial Locomotion ◽  
Female Data ◽  
Selection For ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
Lagopus Muta ◽  
The Cost

Little is known regarding the physiological consequences of the behavioural and morphological differences that result from sexual selection in birds. Male and female Svalbard rock ptarmigans ( Lagopus muta hyperborea ) exhibit distinctive behavioural differences during the breeding season. In particular, males continuously compete for and defend territories in order to breed successfully, placing large demands on their locomotor system. Here, we demonstrate that male birds have improved locomotor performance compared with females, showing both a lower cost of locomotion (CoL) and a higher top speed. We propose that the observed sex differences in locomotor capability may be due to sexual selection for improved male performance. While the mechanisms underlying these energetic differences are unclear, future studies should be wary when pooling male and female data.

scholarly journals Diversification under sexual selection: the relative roles of mate preference strength and the degree of divergence in mate preferences

2013 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. 964-974 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael L. Rodríguez ◽  
Janette W. Boughman ◽  
David A. Gray ◽  
Eileen A. Hebets ◽  
Gerlinde Höbel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Preference Strength

Variation in male mate preference for female size in the swordtail Xiphophorus malinche

Behaviour ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 146 (6) ◽  
pp. 727-740 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scarlett Tudor ◽  
Molly Morris
Keyword(s):  
Preference Test ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Large Female ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractMale and female mate preferences have the potential to influence one another, and such interactions could help explain variation in female mate preferences. In Xiphophorus malinche, larger females prefer asymmetrical males while smaller females prefer symmetrical males. We used a two-part preference test to determine if there were differences in mate preferences between symmetrical and asymmetrical males for female size that could influence female mate preference. We found no significant difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical male's preferences. A preference for large female size was detected during the time males directly interacted with females and in standard dichotomous choice tests that followed, as long as the males had been isolated less than 30 days. We did detect variation in male preference for female size depending on male size and the amount of time a male was isolated. These results suggest that variation in male mate preference is not likely to have produced the difference in female preference for symmetry between large and small females, but should be considered where females vary in their preference for male size. In addition, our results suggest that males may shift their preferences from large to small females depending on time since last mating opportunity.

scholarly journals Conspecific sperm precedence is reinforced but sexual selection weakened in sympatric populations ofDrosophila

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean M. Castillo ◽  
Leonie C. Moyle
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Direct Selection ◽  
Sperm Precedence ◽  
Sympatric Populations ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Cost

SUMMARYSexual selection is well recognized as a driver of reproductive isolation between lineages. However, selection for increased reproductive isolation could reciprocally change the outcomes of sexual selection, when these processes share a genetic basis. Direct selection for reproductive isolation occurs in the context of ‘reinforcement’, where selection acts to increase prezygotic barriers to reduce the cost of heterospecific matings. Many studies of reinforcement focus on premating reproductive barriers, however postmating traits-such as conspecific sperm precedence (CSP)-can also respond to reinforcing selection. We tested whether i) CSP responded to reinforcing selection, and ii) this response in sympatric populations altered intraspecific sperm competition (ISC) and the strength of sexual selection, with the sister speciesDrosophila pseudoobscuraandD. persimilis. We used sperm competition experiments to evaluate differences in CSP and ISC between two sympatric and two allopatric populations ofD. pseudoobscura. Using multiple genotypes for each population allowed us to estimate not only patterns of phenotype divergence, but also the opportunity for sexual selection within each population. Consistent with a pattern of reinforcement, the sympatric populations had higher mean CSP. Moreover, ISC was altered in sympatric populations, where we observed decreased average offensive sperm competitive ability against conspecific males, allowing less opportunity for sexual selection to operate within these populations. These data demonstrate that strong reinforcing selection for reproductive isolation can have consequences for sexual selection and sexual interactions within species, in these important postmating sperm competition traits.

scholarly journals Evolved human male preferences for female body shape

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Rebecca Chastain ◽  
Daniel Taub
Keyword(s):  
Resource Availability ◽  
Female Body ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Research Literature ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Human Male ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Apparent Influence

Female body shape has an apparent influence on mate value as perceived by males. Some researchers have suggested that human male mate preference has evolved to universally favor a specific body shape which can be quantified with a particular value for Waist-Hip Ratio and/or Body Mass Index. Other research has presented evidence that populations of males exhibit differentiated preferences for female body shape. The research literature largely supports the hypothesis that male mate preference for female body shape is variable and dependent upon local resource availability. These conclusions provide insight into the evolutionary processes that have acted to produce adaptive flexibility in human male mate preferences in accordance with the environment.

scholarly journals Colourful traits in female birds relate to individual condition, reproductive performance and male-mate preferences: a meta-analytic approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 20210283
Author(s):  
América Hernández ◽  
Margarita Martínez-Gómez ◽  
René Beamonte-Barrientos ◽  
Bibiana Montoya
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Communication ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Analytic Approach ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Primary Focus ◽  
Individual Condition

Colourful traits in females are suggested to have evolved and be maintained by sexual selection. Although several studies have evaluated this idea, support is still equivocal. Evidence has been compiled in reviews, and a handful of quantitative syntheses has explored cumulative support for the link between condition and specific colour traits in males and females. However, understanding the potential function of females' colourful traits in sexual communication has not been the primary focus of any of those previous studies. Here, using a meta-analytic approach, we find that evidence from empirical studies in birds supports the idea that colourful female ornaments are positively associated with residual mass and immune response, clutch size and male-mate preferences. Hence, colourful traits in female birds likely evolved and are maintained by sexual selection as condition-dependent signals.

scholarly journals Sex differences in developmental plasticity and canalization shape population divergence in mate preferences

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1797) ◽  
pp. 20141636 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik I. Svensson ◽  
Anna Runemark ◽  
Machteld N. Verzijden ◽  
Maren Wellenreuther
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Species Recognition ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Secondary Contact ◽  
Population Divergence ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Local Species ◽  
Selection For

Sexual selection of high-quality mates can conflict with species recognition if traits that govern intraspecific mate preferences also influence interspecific recognition. This conflict might be resolved by developmental plasticity and learned mate preferences, which could drive preference divergence in populations that differ in local species composition. We integrate field and laboratory experiments on two calopterygid damselfly species with population genetic data to investigate how sex differences in developmental plasticity affect population divergence in the face of gene flow. Whereas male species recognition is fixed at emergence, females instead learn to recognize heterospecifics. Females are therefore more plastic in their mate preferences than males. We suggest that this results from sex differences in the balance between sexual selection for high-quality mates and selection for species recognition. As a result of these sex differences, females develop more pronounced population divergence in their mate preferences compared with males. Local ecological community context and presence of heterospecifics in combination with sex differences in plasticity and canalization therefore shape population divergence in mate preferences. As ongoing environmental change and habitat fragmentation bring formerly allopatric species into secondary contact, developmental plasticity of mate preferences in either or both sexes might facilitate coexistence and prevent local species extinction.

scholarly journals Conspecific sperm precedence is reinforced, but postcopulatory sexual selection weakened, in sympatric populations of Drosophila

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1899) ◽  
pp. 20182535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dean M. Castillo ◽  
Leonie C. Moyle
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Competitive Ability ◽  
Reproductive Traits ◽  
Sister Species ◽  
Direct Selection ◽  
Sympatric Populations ◽  
Collateral Effect ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Cost

Sexual selection can accelerate speciation by driving the evolution of reproductive isolation, but forces driving speciation could also reciprocally feedback on sexual selection. This might be particularly important in the context of ‘reinforcement’, where selection acts directly to increase prezygotic barriers to reduce the cost of heterospecific matings. Using assays of sperm competition within and between two sister species, we show a signature of reinforcement where these species interact: populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura that co-occur with sister species D. persimilis have an elevated ability to outcompete heterospecific sperm, consistent with selection for increased postcopulatory isolation. We also find these D. pseudoobscura populations have decreased sperm competitive ability against conspecifics, reducing the opportunity for sexual selection within these populations. Our findings demonstrate that direct selection to increase reproductive isolation against other species can compromise the efficacy of sexual selection within species, a collateral effect of reproductive traits responding to heterospecific interactions.

The cost of horniness: Heat loss may counter sexual selection for large horns in temperate bovids

Ecoscience ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 280-284 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karine Picard ◽  
Marco Festa-Bianchet ◽  
Donald Thomas
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Heat Loss ◽  
Selection For ◽  
The Cost
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