scholarly journals FEMALE MATE PREFERENCE IS FOR MALE TOTAL LENGTH, NOT TAIL LENGTH IN FERAL GUPPIES

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1491-1508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Karino ◽  
Jun Matsunaga
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Tail Length ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Handicap Principle ◽  
Total Length ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Selected Traits

AbstractExaggerated male traits can evolve either directly by female choice of males with those traits or indirectly by female preferences for related traits. In this study, we tested whether female choice was based upon male tail length or total length in a feral guppy population in Okinawa, Japan. In this population, about 30% of the males had elongated sword-like tails, and even swordless males had longer tails than females. A series of dichotomous female choice experiments revealed that female guppies chose mates by total length, not by tail length itself. This is inconsistent with the handicap principle. Tail elongation of male guppies may have evolved as a male mating strategy to enhance their attraction to females, mediated by female preference for longer male total length. However, only one-third of the males developed pronounced sword-like tails. This suggests that there are some costs for tail elongation or trade-offs between multiple sexually selected traits. Alternatively, tail elongation may be a deceptive male strategy with frequency-dependent success.

scholarly journals Female preference for multi-modal courtship: multiple signals are important for male mating success in peacock spiders

2015 ◽  
Vol 282 (1820) ◽  
pp. 20152222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Madeline B. Girard ◽  
Damian O. Elias ◽  
Michael M. Kasumovic
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Complex Signals ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Redundant Signal ◽  
Multiple Messages ◽  
Selected Traits

A long-standing goal for biologists has been to understand how female preferences operate in systems where males have evolved numerous sexually selected traits. Jumping spiders of the Maratus genus are exceptionally sexually dimorphic in appearance and signalling behaviour. Presumably, strong sexual selection by females has played an important role in the evolution of complex signals displayed by males of this group; however, this has not yet been demonstrated. In fact, despite apparent widespread examples of sexual selection in nature, empirical evidence is relatively sparse, especially for species employing multiple modalities for intersexual communication. In order to elucidate whether female preference can explain the evolution of multi-modal signalling traits, we ran a series of mating trials using Maratus volans . We used video recordings and laser vibrometry to characterize, quantify and examine which male courtship traits predict various metrics of mating success. We found evidence for strong sexual selection on males in this system, with success contingent upon a combination of visual and vibratory displays. Additionally, independently produced, yet correlated suites of multi-modal male signals are linked to other aspects of female peacock spider behaviour. Lastly, our data provide some support for both the redundant signal and multiple messages hypotheses for the evolution of multi-modal signalling.

Sexual selection: the handicap principle does work – sometimes

1987 ◽  
Vol 231 (1262) ◽  
pp. 123-145 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Threshold Value ◽  
Female Preference ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Handicap Principle ◽  
Feedback Process ◽  
Fitness Effects ◽  
High Viability ◽  
Female Mating Preferences ◽  
Line Of Equilibria ◽  
Threshold Increase

Zahavi’s ‘handicap principle’ proposes that females prefer males with handicaps (mating characters that reduce survival chances) because handicaps are indicators of heritable viability. It is shown here that there are conditions under which the ‘handicap principle’ causes the runaway exaggeration of male handicaps and female mating preferences. The conditions required are ( a ) that the fitness effects of the handicap and ‘viability’ genes combine non-multiplicatively (Zahavi’s handicap), and/or ( b ) that the handicap should directly reveal the presence or absence of genes for high viability (the revealing handicap). The ‘handicap principle’ by itself cannot initiate increases in female preference when the handicap is rare. It only works when a threshold value of female preference is exceeded, and Fisher’s feedback process operates. When Fisher’s feedback process occurs alone, a line of equilibria exists, where for each intensity of female preference there is a corresponding equilibrium development of the male mating character. When the ‘handicap principle’ also operates, the internal line of equilibria is eliminated, and only boundary equilibria persist (i. e. fixation or loss of the handicap). All populations at what were previously internal equilibria, or in which the intensity of female preference is above threshold, increase in a runaway to fixation of the handicap; therefore, handicapping male mating characters are more likely to be exaggerated when they are also indicators of viability.

Preferential Sex Linkage of Sexually Selected Genes: Evidence and a New Explanation

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaus Reinhold
Keyword(s):  
Natural Selection ◽  
X Chromosome ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Sex Linkage ◽  
Fluctuating Selection ◽  
X Linkage ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Selected Traits

This chapter discusses evidence and theory on sex chromosomal linkage of sexually selected traits that may be the key to a functional separation of sexual and natural selection. It reviews the evidence showing that the X chromosome has a disproportional share concerning the inheritance of sexually selected traits in animals with heterogametic males, and suggests a new explanation that relates this X bias with female choice of heterozygotic males. With numeric simulations, it shows that female choice of heterozygotic males is usually disadvantageous. Because this disadvantage cannot occur when females prefer X-linked male traits, preferential X linkage of sexually selected traits can be expected. As an alternative to fluctuating selection on sex-limited traits, the disadvantage of heterozygotic choice may thus explain the X bias observed for sexually selected traits.

scholarly journals Cancer susceptibility and reproductive trade-offs: a model of the evolution of cancer defences

2015 ◽  
Vol 370 (1673) ◽  
pp. 20140220 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy M. Boddy ◽  
Hanna Kokko ◽  
Felix Breden ◽  
Gerald S. Wilkinson ◽  
C. Athena Aktipis
Keyword(s):  
Cell Proliferation ◽  
Body Size ◽  
Cancer Susceptibility ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Large Body Size ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Extrinsic Mortality ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Selected Traits

The factors influencing cancer susceptibility and why it varies across species are major open questions in the field of cancer biology. One underexplored source of variation in cancer susceptibility may arise from trade-offs between reproductive competitiveness (e.g. sexually selected traits, earlier reproduction and higher fertility) and cancer defence. We build a model that contrasts the probabilistic onset of cancer with other, extrinsic causes of mortality and use it to predict that intense reproductive competition will lower cancer defences and increase cancer incidence. We explore the trade-off between cancer defences and intraspecific competition across different extrinsic mortality conditions and different levels of trade-off intensity, and find the largest effect of competition on cancer in species where low extrinsic mortality combines with strong trade-offs. In such species, selection to delay cancer and selection to outcompete conspecifics are both strong, and the latter conflicts with the former. We discuss evidence for the assumed trade-off between reproductive competitiveness and cancer susceptibility. Sexually selected traits such as ornaments or large body size require high levels of cell proliferation and appear to be associated with greater cancer susceptibility. Similar associations exist for female traits such as continuous egg-laying in domestic hens and earlier reproductive maturity. Trade-offs between reproduction and cancer defences may be instantiated by a variety of mechanisms, including higher levels of growth factors and hormones, less efficient cell-cycle control and less DNA repair, or simply a larger number of cell divisions (relevant when reproductive success requires large body size or rapid reproductive cycles). These mechanisms can affect intra- and interspecific variation in cancer susceptibility arising from rapid cell proliferation during reproductive maturation, intrasexual competition and reproduction.

scholarly journals Rapid courtship evolution in grouse (Tetraonidae): contrasting patterns of acceleration between the Eurasian and North American polygynous clades

2007 ◽  
Vol 274 (1613) ◽  
pp. 1079-1086 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen Spaulding
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Species Pairs ◽  
Rapid Divergence ◽  
Nucleotide Divergence ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Dimorphic Species

Sexual selection is thought to be a powerful diversifying force, based on large ornamental differences between sexually dimorphic species. This assumes that unornamented phenotypes represent evolution without sexual selection. If sexual selection is more powerful than other forms of selection, then two effects would be: rapid divergence of sexually selected traits and a correlation between these divergence rates and variance in mating success in the ornamented sex. I tested for these effects in grouse (Tetraonidae). For three species pairs, within and among polygynous clades, male courtship characters had significantly greater divergence than other characters. This was most pronounced for two species in Tympanuchus . In the Eurasian polygynous clade, relative courtship divergence gradually increased with nucleotide divergence, suggesting a less dramatic acceleration. Increase in relative courtship divergence was associated with mating systems having higher variance in male mating success. These results suggest that sexual selection has accelerated courtship evolution among grouse, although the microevolutionary details appear to vary among clades.

scholarly journals Female mate choice and the potential for ornament evolution in túngara frogs Physalaemus pustulosus

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Ryan ◽  
Ximena E. Bernal ◽  
A. Stanley Rand
Keyword(s):  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Signal Evolution ◽  
Physalaemus Pustulosus ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Novel Traits ◽  
Tungara Frogs ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Ornament Evolution

Abstract The potential for ornament evolution in response to sexual selection rests on the interaction between the permissiveness or selectivity of female preferences and the constraints on male development of signaling related traits. We investigate the former by determining how latent female preferences either exaggerate the magnitude of current traits (i.e. elaborations) or favor novel traits (i.e. innovations). In túngara frogs, females prefer complex mating calls (whine-chucks) to simple calls (whine only). The whine is critical for mate recognition while the chuck further enhances the attractiveness of the call. Here we use a combination of synthetic and natural stimuli to examine latent female preferences. Our results show that a diversity of stimuli, including conspecific and heterospecific calls as well as predator-produced and human-made sounds, increase the attractiveness of a call when added to a whine. These stimuli do not make simple calls more attractive than a whine-chuck, however. In rare cases we found stimuli that added to the whine decrease the attractiveness of the call. Overall, females show strong preferences for both elaborations and innovations of the chuck. We argue that the emancipation of these acoustic adornments from mate recognition allows such female permissiveness, and that male constraints on signal evolution are probably more important in explaining why males evolved their specific adornment. Experimentally probing latent female preferences for stimuli out of the species‘ range is a useful means to gain insights about the potential of female choice to influence signal evolution and thus the astounding diversity in male sexually-selected traits.

scholarly journals Evolutionary trade-offs between male secondary sexual traits revealed by a phylogeny of the hyperdiverse tribe Eumaeini (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

2021 ◽  
Vol 288 (1950) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy A. Valencia-Montoya ◽  
Tiago B. Quental ◽  
João Filipe R. Tonini ◽  
Gerard Talavera ◽  
James D. Crall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Secondary Sexual Traits ◽  
Secondary Sexual Characteristics ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Sexual Characteristics ◽  
Phylogenetic Framework ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Secondary Sexual

Male butterflies in the hyperdiverse tribe Eumaeini possess an unusually complex and diverse repertoire of secondary sexual characteristics involved in pheromone production and dissemination. Maintaining multiple sexually selected traits is likely to be metabolically costly, potentially resulting in trade-offs in the evolution of male signals. However, a phylogenetic framework to test hypotheses regarding the evolution and maintenance of male sexual traits in Eumaeini has been lacking. Here, we infer a comprehensive, time-calibrated phylogeny from 379 loci for 187 species representing 91% of the 87 described genera. Eumaeini is a monophyletic group that originated in the late Oligocene and underwent rapid radiation in the Neotropics. We examined specimens of 818 of the 1096 described species (75%) and found that secondary sexual traits are present in males of 91% of the surveyed species. Scent pads and scent patches on the wings and brush organs associated with the genitalia were probably present in the common ancestor of Eumaeini and are widespread throughout the tribe. Brush organs and scent pads are negatively correlated across the phylogeny, exhibiting a trade-off in which lineages with brush organs are unlikely to regain scent pads and vice versa . In contrast, scent patches seem to facilitate the evolution of scent pads, although they are readily lost once scent pads have evolved. Our results illustrate the complex interplay between natural and sexual selection in the origin and maintenance of multiple male secondary sexual characteristics and highlight the potential role of sexual selection spurring diversification in this lineage.

scholarly journals A conserved trans regulatory loop involving an odorant binding protein controls male mating behavior in flies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pablo J Delclos ◽  
Kiran Adhikari ◽  
Oluwatomi Hassan ◽  
Alexander A Oderhowho ◽  
Vyshnika Sriskantharajah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Mating Behavior ◽  
House Fly ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Y Chromosomes ◽  
Male Mating Behavior ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Regulatory Loop ◽  
Odorant Binding

A major goal in evolutionary biology is to understand how natural variation is maintained in sexually selected and sexually dimorphic traits. Hypotheses to explain genetic variation in sexually selected traits include context-dependent fitness effects, epistatic interactions, and pleiotropic constraints. The house fly, Musca domestica, is a promising system to investigate how these factors affect polymorphism in sexually selected traits. Two common Y chromosomes (YM and IIIM) segregate as stable polymorphisms in natural house fly populations, appear to be locally adapted to different thermal habitats, and differentially affect male mating success. Here, we perform a meta-analysis of RNA-seq data which identifies genes encoding odorant binding proteins (in the Obp56h family) as differentially expressed between the heads of males carrying YM and IIIM. Differential expression of Obp56h has been associated with variation in male mating behavior in Drosophila melanogaster. We find differences in male mating behavior between house flies carrying the Y chromosomes that are consistent with the relationship between male mating behavior and expression of Obp56h in D. melanogaster. We also find that male mating behaviors in house fly are affected by temperature, and the same temperature differentials further affect the expression of Obp56h genes. However, we show that temperature-dependent effects cannot explain the maintenance of genetic variation for male mating behavior in house fly. Using a network analysis and allele-specific expression measurements, we find evidence that the house fly IIIM chromosome is a trans regulator of Obp56h gene expression. Moreover, we find that Obp56h disproportionately affects the expression of genes on the D. melanogaster chromosome that is homologous to the house fly IIIM chromosome. This provides evidence for a conserved trans regulatory loop involving Obp56h expression that affects male mating behavior in flies. The complex regulatory architecture controlling Obp56h expression suggests that variation in male mating behavior could be maintained by epistasis or pleiotropic constraints.

scholarly journals Sexual selection affects the evolution of physiological and life history traits

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin David Garlovsky ◽  
Luke Holman ◽  
Andrew L Brooks ◽  
Rhonda R Snook
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Life History ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Life History Traits ◽  
Experimental Manipulation ◽  
Endurance Capacity ◽  
Development Activity ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Selected Traits

Sexual selection and sexual conflict are expected to affect all aspects of the phenotype, not only traits that are directly involved in reproduction. Here, we show coordinated evolution of multiple physiological and life history traits in response to long-term experimental manipulation of the mating system in populations of Drosophila pseudoobscura. Development time was extended under polyandry relative to monogamy in both sexes, potentially due to higher investment in traits linked to sexual selection and sexual conflict. Individuals (especially males) evolving under polyandry had higher metabolic rates and locomotor activity than those evolving under monogamy. Polyandry individuals also invested more in metabolites associated with increased endurance capacity and efficient energy metabolism and regulation, namely lipid and glycogen. Finally, polyandry males were less desiccation- and starvation-resistant than monogamy males, suggesting trade-offs between resistance and sexually selected traits. Our results provide experimental evidence that mating systems can impose selection that influences the evolution of non-sexual phenotypes such as development, activity, metabolism, and nutrient homeostasis.

scholarly journals Sexual selection: when to expect trade-offs

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 101-104 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Shutler
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Negative Binomial ◽  
Empirical Distributions ◽  
Sexually Selected Traits ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Selected Traits ◽  
Positive Correlations ◽  
The Way ◽  
Normally Distributed

Empirical evidence is mixed for interspecific trade-offs in investment among sexually selected traits. One important reason may be the way resources are allocated among species. Consider a set of species that obtains the same fitness pay-off for investment in song or plumage. Simulations where resources were normally distributed among species revealed significant trade-offs between song and plumage ( ± s.d. of r = −0.54 ± 0.06). However, simulations where resources were distributed in a negative binomial fashion usually produced positive correlations ( r = 0.11 ± 0.09). Repeating simulations on three published studies that concomitantly quantified elaboration of song and plumage indicated that trade-offs are likely, although these analyses make assumptions that require further evaluation. Moreover, there are currently too few empirical distributions to make generalizations about the likelihood of interspecific trade-offs in sexually selected traits.

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