Male Mating History Influences Female Mate Choice in the Trinidadian Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Ethology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 121 (11) ◽  
pp. 1091-1103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Scarponi ◽  
Deepro Chowdhury ◽  
Jean-Guy J. Godin
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Mating History ◽  
Trinidadian Guppy

Male Courtship Displays, Ornaments and Female Mate Choice in Captive Red Jungle Fowl

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 821-836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Torgeir S. Johnsen ◽  
Stacey L. Popma ◽  
Marlene Zuk
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Plasma Testosterone ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Courtship ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Red Jungle Fowl ◽  
Highly Correlated ◽  
Spur Length

AbstractWe studied the role of male courtship behaviour in female mate choice in red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus), the ancestor of domestic chickens. The traits most highly correlated with behavioural displays were those most relied upon by females in making mate choice decisions. These traits (comb length, comb colour, eye colour, and spur length) are highly condition-dependent in jungle fowl. Females chose males that displayed at a greater overall intensity in the period after the female was allowed to interact with the males (post-release), but were indifferent to displays during the period before the female could approach the roosters (pre-release). After accounting for the effect of morphology on mate choice, waltzes were the only display that explained a significant amount of variation in male mating success. Chosen and rejected males had different display rates even when the female was not present. Plasma testosterone level was correlated with pre-release behaviours, but not with post-release behaviours or mating success.

Interplay of male traits, male mating strategies and female mate choice in the Asian elephant, Elephas maximus

Behaviour ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 152 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1113-1144 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karpagam Chelliah ◽  
Raman Sukumar
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Asian Elephant ◽  
Dominant Male ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Male Body ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Male Mating Strategies

Elaborate male traits with no apparent adaptive value may have evolved through female mate discrimination. Tusks are an elaborate male-only trait in the Asian elephant that could potentially influence female mate choice. We examined the effect of male body size, tusk possession and musth status on female mate choice in an Asian elephant population. Large/musth males received positive responses from oestrous females towards courtship significantly more often than did small/non-musth males. Young, tusked non-musth males attempted courtship significantly more often than their tuskless peers, and received more positive responses (though statistically insignificant) than did tuskless males. A positive response did not necessarily translate into mating because of mate-guarding by a dominant male. Female elephants appear to choose mates based primarily on traits such as musth that signal direct fertility benefits through increased sperm received than for traits such as tusks that may signal only indirect fitness benefits.

Male phenotype and sperm number in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (10) ◽  
pp. 1891-1896 ◽  
Author(s):  
Trevor E Pitcher ◽  
Jonathan P Evans
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Colour Pattern ◽  
River Population ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Male Phenotype ◽  
Colour Patterns

The idea that female mate choice might be adaptive is relatively easy to understand in species with resource-based mating systems in which females gain access to a territory, food, or other forms of parental care from the males with whom they mate. In contrast, the evolution of female mate choice in species exhibiting resource-free mating systems remains controversial. One such species in which males contribute nothing but sperm during mating is the guppy (Poecilia reticulata). Here, we examined whether female guppies can obtain information on male fertility (i.e., direct fertility benefits) via cues used during mate choice. Specifically, we examined whether male guppy colour patterns, body size, and mating behaviour signal their functional fertility, that is, their ability to supply a large number of sperm at copulation. We found significant correlations between male phenotype parameters and the number of sperm in male guppies originating from two wild Trinidadian populations. There were, however, significant interpopulation differences with respect to which traits were good predictors of sperm load. In the low-predation Paria River population, larger males and males with relatively more carotenoid colouration had significantly larger sperm loads, but mating behaviour (i.e., sigmoids) and melanin colouration were not good predictors of sperm load. In the high-predation Tacarigua River population, larger males, males that displayed more, and males with less yellow colouration had significantly more sperm, but other colour pattern components (area of orange and black colouration) were not good predictors of sperm load. Overall, our results suggest that there is the potential for direct fertility benefits through mate choice in the promiscuous, non-resource-based mating system of the guppy.

Orange Spots as a Visual Cue for Female Mate Choice in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Ethology ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 316-324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin D. Long ◽  
Anne E. Houde
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Visual Cue ◽  
Female Mate

scholarly journals Male ultraviolet reflectance and female mating history influence female mate choice and male mating success in a polyandrous lizard

2020 ◽  
Vol 130 (3) ◽  
pp. 586-598
Author(s):  
Arnaud Badiane ◽  
Mélissa Martin ◽  
Sandrine Meylan ◽  
Murielle Richard ◽  
Beatriz Decencière Ferrandière ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Fertilization Success ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Lower Probability ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Female Mating ◽  
Mating History ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Uv Coloration

Abstract Pre-copulatory female mate choice based on male ultraviolet (UV) coloration has been demonstrated in several vertebrate species; however, post-copulatory mechanisms have been largely overlooked. Here, we investigated female mate preference based on male UV coloration in the common lizard Zootoca vivipara, in which males display conspicuous UV coloration on their throat. During two successive years, we staged sequential mating trials between females and four different males with UV-reduced or control belly and throat coloration. We recorded pre-copulatory female behaviour, copulation behaviour and assigned paternity to all offspring. Females were more aggressive towards UV-reduced males and, during the second year, UV-reduced males had a lower probability of siring at least one egg (fertilization success) during the last mating trials. However, in the second year, copulation was shorter with control males. Altogether, our results suggest that females exert subtle pre-copulatory mate preference based on male UV ornaments and, conditional on the study year and female mating history, some degree of post-copulatory preference for UV-control males leading to differential male fertilization success. This study suggests that UV-based female mate choice may be more widespread than previously thought in vertebrates, and emphasizes the importance of using a study design well adapted to the species reproductive behaviour.

Social influences on female mate choice in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata: generalized and repeatable trait-copying behaviour

2005 ◽  
Vol 69 (4) ◽  
pp. 999-1005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Guy J. Godin ◽  
Emily J.E. Herdman ◽  
Lee A. Dugatkin
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Social Influences ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate
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