The information content of odour, colour and tactile cues in the mate choice of minnows

AbstractSexual displays often involve many different signal components, which may give information about the same or different mate qualities. We studied the information content of different signals in male minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) and tested whether females are able to discriminate between males when only olfactory cues are present. We found that females preferred the odour of males with a more saturated (i.e., redder) belly, but only when the females had been in physical contact with the males before the experiments. Instead, when unfamiliar males were used, females did not discriminate between male odours and also the overall swimming activity (mate choice intensity) of the females was significantly lower. More ornamented males had lower number of Philometra ovata parasites (indicated by belly saturation) and Neoechinorhynchus rutili parasites (indicated by belly hue) than their less ornamented counterparts. We did not find experimental evidence for female odour preference being linked to belly hue and breeding tubercle number, but in the nature these traits were associated with the condition factor of the males. Taken together, our results suggest that belly colouration and breeding tubercles give honest information on several aspects of male quality. In addition females may learn the association between male colouration and their olfactory signals and utilize this information when visual signals are not present.

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The better, the choosier: a meta-analysis on inter-individual variation of male mate choice

10.32942/osf.io/3nytg ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Pietro Pollo ◽

Shinichi Nakagawa ◽

Michael M. Kasumovic

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Individual Variation ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

Male Mating ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Male Body ◽

Male Quality ◽

Medium Quality ◽

Male Mate

Male mate choice occurs in several animal species, but we know little about the factors that influence the expression of this behaviour. Males vary in their capacity to acquire mates (i.e. male quality), which could be crucial to male mate choice expression but it is often overlooked. Using a meta-analytical approach, we explore inter-individual variation in the expression of male mate choice by comparing the mating investment of males of different qualities and phenotypes to high- and low-quality females. We used two datasets that together contained information from 60 empirical studies, comprising 52 species. We found that males of all qualities and phenotypes prefer high-quality females, but differ in the strength of such preference. High- and medium-quality males are choosier than low-quality males. Similarly, males that are larger or in greater body condition are choosier than their counterparts. In contrast, male body mass and age are not associated with changes in male mate choice. We also show that experimental design may influence our understanding of male mating investment patterns, which may limit the generalization of our findings. Nonetheless, we argue that male quality may be an important feature in the expression of male mate choice.

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Females trade off the uncertainty of breeding resource suitability with male quality during mate choice in an anuran

Animal Behaviour ◽

10.1016/j.anbehav.2016.11.002 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 123 ◽

pp. 179-185 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Hugo Cayuela ◽

Thierry Lengagne ◽

Pierre Joly ◽

Jean-Paul Léna

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Male Quality ◽

Trade Off

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Dual functions of a melanin-based ornament in the common yellowthroat

Proceedings of The Royal Society B Biological Sciences ◽

10.1098/rspb.2005.3053 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 272 (1568) ◽

pp. 1121-1127 ◽

Cited By ~ 72

Author(s):

Scott A Tarof ◽

Peter O Dunn ◽

Linda A Whittingham

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Female Choice ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Male Competition ◽

Male Quality ◽

Female Mate ◽

Common Yellowthroat ◽

Mask Size ◽

The Common ◽

Dual Functions

Melanin-based ornaments often function as signals in male–male competition, whereas carotenoid-based ornaments appear to be important in female mate choice. This difference in function is thought to occur because carotenoid pigments are more costly to produce than melanins and are thus more reliable indicators of male quality. We examined the role of melanin- and carotenoid-based ornaments in male–male competition and female choice in the common yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas , a sexually dichromatic passerine. Males display a black facial mask produced by melanin pigmentation and a bright yellow bib (throat, breast and belly) produced by carotenoid pigmentation. In controlled aviary experiments, mask size was the best predictor of both male–male competition and female mate choice, and, therefore, mask size may be regarded as an ornament of dual function. These dual functions may help to maintain the reliability of mask size as an indicator of male quality, despite the potentially low cost of production. The size of the bib was unrelated to male–male competition or female choice, but there was a tendency for females to prefer males with more colourful bibs. We propose that the black mask is important in competition for territories with other males and for attracting females. Our results highlight the need for more studies of the mechanisms of sexual selection in species with ornaments composed of different pigment types.

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Male mate choice, male quality, and the potential for sexual selection on female traits under polygyny

Evolution ◽

10.1111/evo.13107 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 174-183 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Courtney L. Fitzpatrick ◽

Maria R. Servedio

Keyword(s):

Sexual Selection ◽

Mate Choice ◽

Male Mate Choice ◽

Male Quality ◽

Male Mate

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Female and male visually based mate preferences are consistent with reproductive isolation between populations of the Lake Malawi endemic Labeotropheus fuelleborni

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/56.1.65 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 56 (1) ◽

pp. 65-72 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Michael J. Pauers ◽

Timothy J. Ehlinger ◽

Jeffrey S. McKinnon

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Reproductive Isolation ◽

Courtship Behavior ◽

Dominant Role ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Lake Malawi ◽

Mate Preferences ◽

Visual Signals ◽

Male Mating ◽

Haplochromine Cichlids

Abstract Sexual selection via female mate choice is thought to have played a key role in the speciation of haplochromine cichlids, but a dominant role for visual signals in such processes has lately been called into question. In addition, the possible role of male mating preferences in haplochromine speciation has been little studied. We studied patterns of both female and male mate choice, based exclusively on visual signals, in order to evaluate potential reproductive isolation between two populations of the Lake Malawi haplochromine Labeotropheus fuelleborni. In the first experiment, females were allowed to choose between two males, one from the same population and the other allopatric with respect to the female. Females in this experiment responded more frequently to males from their own population. Similarly, the males in these trials displayed more frequently when presented with females of their own population. In the second experiment, a female was allowed to choose between two males, either both from her own population or both allopatric. In these trials, both males and females from the Katale population interacted significantly more frequently in settings in which all three individuals were from the same population (“same-population trios”), and those from the Chipoka population showed a similar trend. Thus, patterns in both male and female courtship behavior suggest that visual signals contribute to at least incipient reproductive isolation between populations of L. fuelleborni.

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Female dispersal, inbreeding avoidance and mate choice in Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi)

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/1568539055010093 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 142 (7) ◽

pp. 845-868 ◽

Cited By ~ 39

Author(s):

Jan A.R.A.M van Hooff ◽

Erik P. Willems ◽

Serge A. Wich ◽

Elizabeth H.M. Sterck

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Predation Risk ◽

Female Mate Choice ◽

Inbreeding Avoidance ◽

Male Quality ◽

Adult Males ◽

Data Set ◽

Female Dispersal ◽

Presbytis Thomasi ◽

Offspring Protection

AbstractFemale social dispersal in primates differs from the general mammalian pattern of locational dispersal. Both nulliparous and parous females may disperse to another group. Several hypotheses can explain female social dispersal: reduction of predation risk, inbreeding avoidance, and offspring protection through mate choice. We tested these hypotheses with an extended data set of Thomas langurs (Presbytis thomasi) and investigated parameters of male behaviour that females may use in their dispersal decisions. Data were collected over a 12.5-year period from a wild population in Sumatra, Indonesia, allowing for some critical tests of the hypotheses. Females dispersed to a group smaller than their original one, thereby refuting the predation risk hypothesis. Maturing nulliparous females only dispersed when their father was resident. Therefore, dispersal by nulliparous females was best explained through inbreeding avoidance. Parous females transferred to young, adult males. These males provided better protection to offspring against predation and infanticide than the old, late tenure males. Therefore, females transfer to better protector males. The male behavioural cues that females use to assess male quality were unclear. Females, however, may use proxies of male age, such as group composition and acoustical characteristics of loud calls, as indicators of male quality. The results suggest that female mate choice is an important function of social dispersal by parous females. Its importance in locational dispersal remains to be investigated.

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Mate choice decisions by searchers

Current Zoology ◽

10.1093/czoolo/59.2.184 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 59 (2) ◽

pp. 184-199 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Daniel D. Wiegmann ◽

Lisa M. Angeloni ◽

Steven M. Seubert ◽

J. Gordon

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Theoretical Foundation ◽

Sequential Search ◽

Male Quality ◽

Phenotypic Characters ◽

Fixed Sample ◽

Time Period ◽

Fitness Consequences ◽

Preference Functions ◽

The Empirical Analysis

Abstract For more than two decades rudimentary versions of the fixed sample and sequential search strategies have provided the primary theoretical foundation for the study of mate choice decisions by searchers. The theory that surrounds these models has expanded markedly over this time period. In this paper, we review and extend results derived from these models, with a focus on the empirical analysis of searcher behavior. The basic models are impractical for empirical purposes because they rely on the assumption that searchers—and, for applied purposes, researchers—assess prospective mates based on their quality, the fitness consequences of mate choice decisions. Here we expound versions of the models that are more empirically useful, reformulated to reflect decisions based on male phenotypic characters. For some organisms, it may be possible to use preference functions to derive predictions from the reformulated models and thereby avoid difficulties associated with the measurement of male quality per se. But predictions derived from the two models are difficult to differentiate empirically, regardless of how the models are formulated. Here we develop ideas that illustrate how this goal might be accomplished. In addition, we clarify how the variability of male quality should be evaluated and we extend what is known about how this variability influences searcher behavior under each model. More general difficulties associated with the empirical study of mate choice decisions by searchers are also discussed.

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Reproducible research into human semiochemical cues and pheromones: learning from psychology’s renaissance

10.7287/peerj.preprints.27908 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Tristram D Wyatt

Keyword(s):

Mate Choice ◽

Publication Bias ◽

Life Sciences ◽

Chemical Signals ◽

Olfactory Cues ◽

Reproducible Research ◽

Mammal Species ◽

Human Pheromones ◽

Crisis In Psychology

As with other mammals, smell in the form of semiochemicals is likely to influence the behaviour of humans, as olfactory cues to emotions, health, and mate choice. A subset of semiochemicals, pheromones, chemical signals within a species, have been identified in many mammal species. As mammals, we may have pheromones too. Sadly, the story of molecules claimed to be ‘putative human pheromones’ is a classic example of bad science carried out by good scientists. Much of human semiochemicals research including work on ‘human pheromones’ and olfactory cues comes within the field of psychology. Thus, the research is highly likely to be affected by the ‘reproducibility crisis’ in psychology and other life sciences. Psychology researchers have responded with proposals to enable better, more reliable science, with an emphasis on enhancing reproducibility. A key change is the adoption of study pre-registration which will also reduce publication bias. Human semiochemicals research would benefit from adopting these proposals.

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