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

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.

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Socially transmitted mate preferences in a monogamous bird: a non-genetic mechanism of sexual selection

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3054 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 272 (1567) ◽

pp. 1053-1058 ◽

Cited By ~ 56

Author(s):

John P Swaddle ◽

Mark G Cathey ◽

Maureen Correll ◽

Brendan P Hodkinson

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Genetic Mechanism

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Coevolution of parasite virulence and host mating strategies

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1508397112 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 112 (43) ◽

pp. 13290-13295 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Ben Ashby ◽

Michael Boots

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Comparative Analysis ◽

Initial Conditions ◽

Behavioral Responses ◽

Mating Strategies ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Short Life ◽

Sexually Transmitted ◽

Parasite Evolution ◽

Low Levels

Parasites are thought to play an important role in sexual selection and the evolution of mating strategies, which in turn are likely to be critical to the transmission and therefore the evolution of parasites. Despite this clear interdependence we have little understanding of parasite-mediated sexual selection in the context of reciprocal parasite evolution. Here we develop a general coevolutionary model between host mate preference and the virulence of a sexually transmitted parasite. We show when the characteristics of both the host and parasite lead to coevolutionarily stable strategies or runaway selection, and when coevolutionary cycling between high and low levels of host mate choosiness and virulence is possible. A prominent argument against parasites being involved in sexual selection is that they should evolve to become less virulent when transmission depends on host mating success. The present study, however, demonstrates that coevolution can maintain stable host mate choosiness and parasite virulence or indeed coevolutionary cycling of both traits. We predict that choosiness should vary inversely with parasite virulence and that both relatively long and short life spans select against choosy behavior in the host. The model also reveals that hosts can evolve different behavioral responses from the same initial conditions, which highlights difficulties in using comparative analysis to detect parasite-mediated sexual selection. Taken as a whole, our results emphasize the importance of viewing parasite-mediated sexual selection in the context of coevolution.

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Does meiotic drive alter male mate preference?

Behavioral Ecology ◽

10.1093/beheco/arz176 ◽

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.

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Sexual selection on color and behavior within and between cichlid populations: Implications for speciation

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/58.3.475 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 58 (3) ◽

pp. 475-483 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Michael J. Pauers ◽

Jeffrey S. Mckinnon

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Reproductive Isolation ◽

Assortative Mating ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Separate Experiment ◽

Color Patterns ◽

Male Behavior ◽

Female Population ◽

Different Color

Abstract Sexual selection is widely viewed as playing a central role in haplochromine cichlid speciation. Hypothetically, once divergent mate preferences evolve among populations of these fishes, reproductive isolation follows and the populations begin to behave as different species. Various studies have examined patterns of assortative mating among species and sometimes populations, but few have examined variation in directional preferences, especially among populations of the same species. We investigated mate choice behavior in two populations of Labeotropheus fuelleborni, a Lake Malawi endemic. We test whether mating preferences between populations are based on the same traits and in the same direction as preferences within populations. We examine the potential contributions of two classes of trait, color patterns and behaviors, to reproductive isolation. When females chose between either two males of their own population, or two from another, female preferences were generally similar (for the female population) across the two contexts. Mate choice patterns differed between (female) populations for a measure of color, but only modestly for male behavior. In a separate experiment we simultaneously offered females a male of their own population and a male from a different population. In these trials, females consistently preferred males from their own population, which were also the males that displayed more frequently than their opponents, but not necessarily those with color traits suggested to be most attractive in the previous experiment. Thus directional preferences for chroma and related aspects of color may be important when females are presented with males of otherwise similar phenotypes, but may play little role in mediating assortative mating among populations with substantially different color patterns. A preference for male behavior could play some role in speciation if males preferentially court same-population females, as we have observed for the populations studied herein.

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Female northern grass lizards judge mates by body shape to reinforce local adaptation

10.21203/rs.3.rs-31966/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kun Guo ◽

Chen Chen ◽

Xiao-Fang Liang ◽

Yan-Fu Qu ◽

Xiang Ji

Keyword(s):

Genetic Differentiation ◽

Genetic Distance ◽

Local Adaptation ◽

Body Shape ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Population Divergence ◽

Female Mate Preference ◽

Local Adaptations ◽

Female Mate

Abstract Background: Identifying the factors that contribute to divergence among populations in mate preferences is important for understanding of the manner in which premating reproductive isolation might arise and how this isolation may in turn contribute to the evolutionary process of population divergence. Here, we offered female northern grass lizards (Takydromus septentrionalis) a choice of males between their own population and another four populations to test whether the preferences that females display in the mating trials correlate with phenotypic adaptation to local environments, or to the neutral genetic distance measured by divergence of mitochondrial DNA sequence loci. Results: Females showed a strong preference for native over foreign males. Females that mated with native versus foreign males did not differ from each other in mating latency, or copulation duration. From results of the structural equation modelling we knew that: 1) geographical distance directly contributed to genetic differentiation and environmental dissimilarity; 2) genetic differentiation and environmental dissimilarity indirectly contributed to female mate preference, largely through their effects on morphological divergence; and 3) females judged mates by body shape (appearance) and discriminated more strongly against morphologically less familiar allopatric males.Conclusions: Local adaptation rather than neutral genetic distance influences female mate preference in T. septentrionalis. The tendency to avoid mating with foreign males may indicate that, in T. septentrionalis, local adaptations are more valuable than genetic novelties. Our results highlight the importance of comprehensive studies integrating ecological, molecular and behavioral approaches to understand population divergence in female mate preferences as the consequence of local adaptations.

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Sexual selection and the role of variation in women's mate preference for masculine traits

10.14264/uql.2015.797 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Anthony Lee

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Preference

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Contrasting Computational Models of Mate Preference Integration Across 45 Countries

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-019-52748-8 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Daniel Conroy-Beam ◽

David M. Buss ◽

Kelly Asao ◽

Agnieszka Sorokowska ◽

Piotr Sorokowski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Computational Models ◽

Computational Design ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Mate Value ◽

The World ◽

Power Of Choice ◽

Mating Psychology ◽

Human Mating

AbstractHumans express a wide array of ideal mate preferences. Around the world, people desire romantic partners who are intelligent, healthy, kind, physically attractive, wealthy, and more. In order for these ideal preferences to guide the choice of actual romantic partners, human mating psychology must possess a means to integrate information across these many preference dimensions into summaries of the overall mate value of their potential mates. Here we explore the computational design of this mate preference integration process using a large sample of n = 14,487 people from 45 countries around the world. We combine this large cross-cultural sample with agent-based models to compare eight hypothesized models of human mating markets. Across cultures, people higher in mate value appear to experience greater power of choice on the mating market in that they set higher ideal standards, better fulfill their preferences in choice, and pair with higher mate value partners. Furthermore, we find that this cross-culturally universal pattern of mate choice is most consistent with a Euclidean model of mate preference integration.

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Mating systems and fluctuating asymmetry: Firm foundations?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x0037337x ◽

2000 ◽

Vol 23 (4) ◽

pp. 600-600

Author(s):

Innes C. Cuthill ◽

Alasdair I. Houston

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Fluctuating Asymmetry ◽

Mating Systems ◽

Theoretical Work ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Selection Theory ◽

Sexual Selection Theory

Gangestad & Simpson review sexual selection theory and discuss their work on fluctuating asymmetry and mate preference in humans. We question some aspects of their account and mention problems with the data. We also suggest that more theoretical work on complex but realistic mating systems is required.

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Variation in preference for a male ornament is positively associated with female eyespan in the stalk-eyed fly Diasemopsis meigenii

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3449 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 273 (1591) ◽

pp. 1287-1292 ◽

Cited By ~ 38

Author(s):

Samuel Cotton ◽

David W Rogers ◽

Jennifer Small ◽

Andrew Pomiankowski ◽

Kevin Fowler

Keyword(s):

Significant Variation ◽

Sequential Sampling ◽

Individual Preference ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Mate Preference ◽

Sexually Dimorphic ◽

Sexual Ornaments ◽

Wide Range ◽

Rejection Response ◽

Male Ornament

There is currently much interest in mate preferences for sexual ornaments. However, few studies have focused on individual variation in mate preference despite its importance for the rate and direction of sexual selection. Females of the sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly, Diasemopsis meigenii , exhibit an unambiguous rejection response towards unattractive males bearing small ornaments. We investigated individual mate preferences using repeated sequential sampling of female rejection or acceptance responses to a wide range of male ornament phenotypes. We found significant variation in the strength of individual preference. In addition, preference was positively associated with female eyespan, a condition-dependent trait putatively linked to visual acuity.

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