Beyond magic traits: Multimodal mating cues inHeliconiusbutterflies

During sexual imprinting, offspring learn parental phenotypes and then select mates who are similar to their parents. Imprinting has been thought to contribute to the process of speciation in only a few rare cases; this is despite imprinting's potential to generate assortative mating and solve the problem of recombination in ecological speciation. If offspring imprint on parental traits under divergent selection, these traits will then be involved in both adaptation and mate preference. Such ‘magic traits’ easily generate sexual isolation and facilitate speciation. In this study, we show that imprinting occurs in two ecologically divergent stickleback species (benthics and limnetics: Gasterosteus spp.). Cross-fostered females preferred mates of their foster father's species. Furthermore, imprinting is essential for sexual isolation between species; isolation was reduced when females were raised without fathers. Daughters imprinted on father odour and colour during a critical period early in development. These traits have diverged between the species owing to differences in ecology. Therefore, we provide the first evidence that imprinting links ecological adaptation to sexual isolation between species. Our results suggest that imprinting may facilitate the evolution of sexual isolation during ecological speciation, may be especially important in cases of rapid diversification, and thus play an integral role in the generation of biodiversity.

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Genetic dissection of assortative mating behavior

10.1101/282301 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Richard M. Merrill ◽

Pasi Rastas ◽

Maria C. Melo ◽

Sarah Barker ◽

John Davey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Assortative Mating ◽

Genetic Basis ◽

Mate Recognition ◽

Color Pattern ◽

Disruptive Selection ◽

Wing Pattern ◽

Behavioral Isolation ◽

Ecological Selection ◽

A Genome ◽

Mating Cues

AbstractThe evolution of new species is made easier when traits under divergent ecological selection are also mating cues. Such ecological mating cues are now considered more common than previously thought, but we still know little about the genetic changes underlying their evolution, or more generally about the genetic basis for assortative mating behaviors. The warning patterns of Heliconius melpomene and H. cydno are under disruptive selection due to increased predation of non-mimetic hybrids, and are used during mate recognition. We carried out a genome-wide quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of preference behaviors between these species and showed that divergent male preference has a simple genetic basis. Three QTLs each explain a large proportion of the differences in preference behavior observed between the parental species. Two of these QTLs are on chromosomes with major color pattern genes, including one that is tightly associated with the gene optix. Different loci influence different aspects of attraction, suggesting that behavioral isolation in Heliconius involves the evolution of independently segregating modules, similar to those for the corresponding wing pattern cues. Hybridization and subsequent sharing of wing pattern loci has played an important role during adaptation and speciation in Heliconius butterflies. The existence of large effect preference loci could similarly assist the evolution of novel behavioral phenotypes through recombination and introgression, and should facilitate rapid speciation.

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The Effect of Evolutionary Mating Cues on the Perception of Attractiveness in Celebrity Endorsement

Creating Marketing Magic and Innovative Future Marketing Trends - Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-45596-9_44 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 213-224

Author(s):

Hamid Abbassi ◽

Elmira Shahriari

Keyword(s):

Celebrity Endorsement ◽

Mating Cues

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Magic Traits in Magic Fish: Understanding Color Pattern Evolution Using Reef Fish

Trends in Genetics ◽

10.1016/j.tig.2019.01.006 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 35 (4) ◽

pp. 265-278 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Pauline Salis ◽

Thibault Lorin ◽

Vincent Laudet ◽

Bruno Frédérich

Keyword(s):

Reef Fish ◽

Color Pattern ◽

Magic Traits

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Promoting sustainability in a college café by opposite-sex cashiers

International Journal of Sustainability in Higher Education ◽

10.1108/ijshe-01-2016-0013 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 1279-1290 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sigal Tifferet ◽

Niv Rosenblit ◽

Maya Shalev

Keyword(s):

Evolutionary Psychology ◽

Design Methodology ◽

Mating Strategies ◽

Green Marketing ◽

Altruistic Behavior ◽

Content Type ◽

Green Consumption ◽

Opposite Sex ◽

Sustainable Product ◽

Mating Cues

Purpose People engage in green consumption for many reasons, both conscious and unconscious. This paper aims to draw on evolutionary psychology to propose that hard-wired mating strategies encourage both men and women to increase their green consumption in the presence of members of the opposite sex. Design/methodology/approach Observations were conducted on 324 students who purchased cold drinks in disposable cups from a college café. The students were offered the choice of adding 20 cents to their purchase for a bio-degradable cup. Findings Overall, 160 students agreed to pay the premium for a bio-degradable cup, with green purchases 46 per cent higher among women and 61 per cent higher among men when facing a cashier of the opposite sex. Originality/value The findings suggest that the activation of mating cues prompts students to display prosocial, altruistic behavior and/or to engage in conspicuous consumption (i.e. agreeing to pay more for the sustainable product). The study was conducted in the field using naïve participants and demonstrates the application of evolutionary psychology to green marketing. It also adds to what is a surprisingly small literature on the effect of employee–customer gender mismatch.

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