scholarly journals Digest: The evolution of sexual imprinting as an assortative mating mechanism*

Evolution ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 72 (7) ◽  
pp. 1529-1530
Author(s):  
Kwan Lung Elroy Au
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Sexual Imprinting

scholarly journals Diet‐based assortative mating through sexual imprinting

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (21) ◽  
pp. 12045-12050
Author(s):  
Emily K. Delaney ◽  
Hopi E. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Sexual Imprinting

scholarly journals Sexual imprinting on ecologically divergent traits leads to sexual isolation in sticklebacks

2011 ◽  
Vol 278 (1718) ◽  
pp. 2604-2610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genevieve M. Kozak ◽  
Megan L. Head ◽  
Janette W. Boughman
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Critical Period ◽  
Sexual Isolation ◽  
Ecological Speciation ◽  
Mate Preference ◽  
Sexual Imprinting ◽  
Integral Role ◽  
Rapid Diversification ◽  
Species Isolation ◽  
Magic Traits

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.

scholarly journals Diet-based assortative mating through sexual imprinting

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.K. Delaney ◽  
H.E. Hoekstra
Keyword(s):  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Random Mating ◽  
Sexual Isolation ◽  
In Utero ◽  
Sexual Imprinting ◽  
Peromyscus Gossypinus ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Cotton Mouse ◽  
Flavored Water ◽  
Dietary Cues

AbstractSpeciation is facilitated when traits subject to divergent selection also contribute to non-random mating—so-called ‘magic traits.’ Diet is a potential magic trait in animal populations because selection for divergence in consumed food may contribute to assortative mating and therefore sexual isolation. However, the mechanisms causing positive diet-based assortment are largely unknown. Here, using diet manipulations in a sexually imprinting species of mouse, Peromyscus gossypinus (the cotton mouse), we tested the hypothesis that sexual imprinting on a divergent diet could be a mechanism that generates rapid and significant sexual isolation. We provided breeding pairs with novel garlic- or orange-flavored water and assessed whether their offspring, exposed to these flavors in utero and in the nest before weaning, later preferred mates that consumed the same flavored water as their parents. While males showed no preference, females preferred males of their parental diet, which generated significant sexual isolation. Thus, our experiment demonstrates that sexual imprinting on dietary cues learned in utero and/or postnatally can facilitate reproductive isolation and potentially speciation.

scholarly journals Variation in Human Mate Choice: Simultaneously Investigating Heritability, Parental Influence, Sexual Imprinting, and Assortative Mating

2011 ◽  
Vol 177 (5) ◽  
pp. 605-616 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brendan P. Zietsch ◽  
Karin J. H. Verweij ◽  
Andrew C. Heath ◽  
Nicholas G. Martin
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Parental Influence ◽  
Sexual Imprinting

scholarly journals Early learning influences species assortative mating preferences in Lake Victoria cichlid fish

2007 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Machteld N Verzijden ◽  
Carel ten Cate
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Lake Victoria ◽  
Cichlid Fish ◽  
Species Flock ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Sexual Imprinting ◽  
Cichlid Species ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms

The Lake Victoria ‘species flock’ of cichlids is puzzling because reproductive isolation often occurs in the absence of substantial ecological differences among species. Theory predicts that this cannot evolve with most genetic mechanisms for mate choice. We provide the first evidence that learning, in the form of sexual imprinting, helps maintain reproductive isolation among closely related cichlid species. Using a cross-fostering experiment, we show that young females develop a sexual preference for males of their foster mothers' species, even reversing species assortative mating preferences. We suggest that learning creates favourable conditions for reproductive isolation to evolve.

Sexual Imprinting and the Origin of Obligate Brood Parasitism in Birds

2001 ◽  
Vol 158 (4) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Slagsvold ◽  
Hansen
Keyword(s):  
Brood Parasitism ◽  
Sexual Imprinting
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