scholarly journals Contemporary sexual selection does not explain variation in male display traits among populations

Evolution ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 73 (9) ◽  
pp. 1927-1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Colton Watts ◽  
Allissa Flynn ◽  
Brigitte Tenhumberg ◽  
Eileen A. Hebets
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Male Display

Amplifiers and the handicap principle in sexual selection: a different emphasis

1989 ◽  
Vol 235 (1281) ◽  
pp. 383-406 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Genetic Association ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Genetic Models ◽  
Handicap Principle ◽  
Resolution Power ◽  
Male Display

Population genetic models have shown that female choice is a potential cause of the evolution of male display. In these models the display is assumed to be the immediate object of female choice. Here I present an explicit genetic model that shows that male display can evolve as a consequence of female choice even when the display is not the immediate object of choice. When females initially base their preferences on the existence of variance in a cue that is correlated with male viability, a rare display can evolve to fixation if it amplifies the previously recognized differences in males, (i. e. if it increases the resolution power of females with respect to the original cue). By definition, amplifying displays (or amplifiers) increase mating success of the more viable males and decrease mating success of the less viable males. Therefore, the higher the frequency of the preferred, more viable males, the more likely it is that amplifiers will evolve to fixation. The evolution of an amplifier is further facilitated by a genetic association that is built up between the amplifier allele and the more viable allele. If the expression of the amplifier is limited to the more viable males, the amplifier will evolve to fixation provided only that the change in total fitness to the more viable males (higher mating success, lower viability), is positive.

Feathers in the spotless starling nests: a sexually selected trait?

Behaviour ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 148 (11-13) ◽  
pp. 1355-1371 ◽  
Author(s):  
José P. Veiga ◽  
Vicente Polo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Alternative Hypothesis ◽  
Chemical Defence ◽  
Passerine Bird ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Feeding Rates ◽  
Male Display ◽  
Pair Mating ◽  
Spotless Starling ◽  
Second Clutch

AbstractThe carrying of feathers to adorn the nest has been recently described as a female behaviour that indicates quality in a passerine bird — the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) —, but the consequences that the variability of this trait may have on breeding success are still unknown. The feather-carrying behaviour is a sexual behaviour that is performed in response to a male display: the carrying of green plants. In this paper we explore whether foreign feathers affect male investment on chick rearing or reinforce the pair mating bonds. The experimental addition of feathers to nests caused an increase in clutch size and a reduction of nestling mortality, although it did not affect feeding rates or the removal of faecal sacs by males or females. Nest feathers did not increase the frequency with which females laid a second clutch in the same nest and with the same male. Thus, our results do not support the sexual selection hypothesis for the evolution of the carrying feathers behaviour. An alternative hypothesis that deserves to be addressed in specifically designed studies is that foreign feathers may be taken to nests as a sort of chemical warfare against nest parasites. The sexual selection and the chemical defence hypotheses are, however, not mutually exclusive and future research should evaluate whether the pre-existence of a behavioural trait arising by natural selection may drive the evolution of a signalling trait.

scholarly journals Strong spatial population structure shapes the temporal coevolutionary dynamics of costly female preference and male display

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maximilian Tschol ◽  
Jane M. Reid ◽  
Greta Bocedi
Keyword(s):  
Population Structure ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Genetic Drift ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Structured Populations ◽  
Spatial Population ◽  
Spatial Population Structure ◽  
Male Display ◽  
Sexual Traits

Female mating preferences for exaggerated male display traits are commonplace. Yet, comprehensive understanding of the evolution and persistence of costly female preference through indirect (Fisherian) selection in finite populations requires some explanation for the persistence of additive genetic variance (Va) underlying sexual traits, given that directional preference is expected to deplete Va in display and hence halt preference evolution. However, the degree to which Va, and hence preference-display coevolution, may be prolonged by spatially variable sexual selection arising solely from limited gene flow and genetic drift within spatially structured populations has not been examined. Our genetically and spatially explicit model shows that spatial population structure arising in an ecologically homogeneous environment can facilitate evolution and long-term persistence of costly preference given small subpopulations and low dispersal probabilities. Here, genetic drift initially creates spatial variation in female preference, leading to persistence of Va in display through migration-bias of genotypes maladapted to emerging local sexual selection, thus fuelling coevolution of costly preference and display. However, costs of sexual selection increased the probability of subpopulation extinction, limiting persistence of high preference-display genotypes. Understanding long-term dynamics of sexual selection systems therefore requires joint consideration of coevolution of sexual traits and metapopulation dynamics.

scholarly journals Female signalling to male song in the domestic canary, Serinus canaria

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 140196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Amy ◽  
Pauline Salvin ◽  
Marc Naguib ◽  
Gerard Leboucher
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Interaction ◽  
Serinus Canaria ◽  
Male Song ◽  
Male Display ◽  
Female Specific ◽  
Female Signalling ◽  
Sensitization Effect ◽  
Female Canaries

Most studies on sexual selection focus on male characteristics such as male song in songbirds. Yet female vocalizations in songbirds are growing in interest among behavioural and evolutionary biologists because these vocalizations can reveal the female's preferences for male traits and may affect male display. This study was designed to test whether male song performance influences the different female signals in the domestic canary ( Serinus canaria ). Female canaries were exposed to three types of song performance, differing in the repetition rate of sexy syllables. This experiment demonstrates that female birds are engaged in multimodal communication during sexual interaction. The results support the copulation solicitation hypothesis for female-specific trills: these trills were positively correlated and had a similar pattern to the copulation solicitation displays; responses were higher to the songs with higher performance and responses decreased with the repetition of the stimulation. Also, we observed a sensitization effect with the repetition of the song of the highest performance for the simple calls. Simple trills and other calls were more frequent during the broadcast of canary songs compared with the heterospecific control songs. The differential use of female signals in response to different song performance reveals a highly differentiated female signalling system which is discussed in light of the role of female traits to understand sexual selection in a broader perspective.

Sexual selection strategy and sexism in the Greek system: Mating strategies represented in Greek life

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick J. Ewell ◽  
C. Veronica Smith ◽  
Rosanna E. Guadagno
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Selection Strategy ◽  
Greek Life ◽  
Greek System

Natural and sexual selection in the evolution of creativity

2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory J. Feist
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Natural And Sexual Selection

Sexual selection and human geographic variation.

2008 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 169-191 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Frost
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Geographic Variation
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