scholarly journals Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bierbach ◽  
Ronja Wenchel ◽  
Stefan Gehrig ◽  
Serafina Wersing ◽  
Olivia L. O’Connor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Swimming Activity ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Courtship Displays

Mate choice that is based on behavioural traits is a common feature in the animal kingdom. Using the Trinidadian guppy, a species with mutual mate choice, we investigated whether males use female swimming activity – a behavioural trait known to differ consistently among individuals in many species – as a trait relevant for their mate choice. In a first experiment, we assessed male and female activity in an open field test alone (two repeated measures) and afterwards in heterosexual pairs (two repeated measures). In these pairs, we simultaneously assessed males’ mating efforts by counting number of sexual behaviours (courtship displays and copulation). Male and female guppies showed consistent individual differences in their swimming activity when tested both alone and in a pair, and these differences were maintained across both test situations. When controlling for male swimming behaviour and both male and female body size, males performed more courtship displays towards females with higher swimming activity. In a second experiment, we tested for a directional male preference for swimming activity by presenting males video animations of low and high active females in a dichotomous choice test. In congruence with experiment 1, we found males to spend significantly more time in association with the high active female stimulus. Both experiments thus point towards a directional male preference for higher activity levels in females. We discuss the adaptive significance of this preference as activity patterns might indicate individual female quality, health or reproductive state while, mechanistically, females that are more active might be more detectable to males as well.

scholarly journals Male Sexual Preference for Female Swimming Activity in the Guppy (Poecilia reticulata)

Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 147
Author(s):  
David Bierbach ◽  
Ronja Wenchel ◽  
Stefan Gehrig ◽  
Serafina Wersing ◽  
Olivia L. O’Connor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Swimming Activity ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Courtship Displays

Mate choice that is based on behavioural traits is a common feature in the animal kingdom. Using the Trinidadian guppy, a species with mutual mate choice, we investigated whether males use female swimming activity—a behavioural trait known to differ consistently among individuals in many species—as a trait relevant for their mate choice. In the first experiment, we assessed male and female activity in an open field test alone (two repeated measures) and afterwards in heterosexual pairs (two repeated measures). In these pairs, we simultaneously assessed males’ mating efforts by counting the number of sexual behaviours (courtship displays and copulations). Male and female guppies showed consistent individual differences in their swimming activity when tested both alone and in a pair, and these differences were maintained across both test situations. When controlling for male swimming behaviour and both male and female body size, males performed more courtship displays towards females with higher swimming activity. In a second experiment, we tested for a directional male preference for swimming activity by presenting males video animations of low- and high-active females in a dichotomous choice test. In congruence with experiment 1, we found males to spend significantly more time in association with the high-active female stimulus. Both experiments thus point towards a directional male preference for higher activity levels in females. We discuss the adaptive significance of this preference as activity patterns might indicate individual female quality, health or reproductive state while, mechanistically, females that are more active might be more detectable to males as well.

Size-assortative mating in explosive breeders: a case study of adaptive male mate choice in anurans

Behaviour ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Lindsey Swierk ◽  
Tracy Langkilde
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Rana Sylvatica ◽  
Large Male ◽  
Size Mismatch ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Mating Patterns ◽  
Male Mate

Abstract Exploration of size-assortative mating (SAM) in animals has led to a near consensus that it arises through constraints in choice, such as preference for large females combined with a large male advantage during intrasexual competition. Although such ‘apparent’ SAM is well explored, whether SAM arises because of specific preferences for size-matched mates has been less thoroughly considered. We tested for ‘preference-based’ SAM in an explosively breeding frog (Rana sylvatica), quantifying how male and female sizes affected fertilization and if males preferred size-matched females. We found that size mismatch severely reduced fertilization. Furthermore, males preferred size-matched, not larger, females in mate choice trials. Because males that mated with much larger females fertilized fewer eggs overall than they would have with size-matched females, male preference for size-matched females may be adaptive. Our results expand understanding of the mechanisms underlying SAM, suggesting that multiple mechanisms may simultaneously cause size-assortative mating patterns to emerge.

scholarly journals Be prudent if it fits you well: male mate choice depends on male size in a golden orb-weaver spider

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Pollo ◽  
Danilo Germano Muniz ◽  
Eduardo S. A. Santos
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Reproductive Potential ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Male Size ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Male Preference ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Male Mate

Male preference for high-quality females is expected to evolve when male reproductive potential is restricted. However, when there is competition among males, some models predict the evolution of assortative male mate choice, in which good competitors choose high quality females while poor competitors choose lower quality females to avoid competition. In Trichonephila clavipes spiders, males have limited sperm supply and fight for access to females. We tested whether female quality and male size (a proxy of fighting ability) influence male decisions in T. clavipes. We used field experiments in which males could choose among two available females in a scenario free of competition. We found that males choose their mates based on both female size and female recent pairing status (whether the female was accompanied by a male before the experiment). Importantly, male mate choice exhibited plasticity, and varied with male size, as large males preferred larger females that were recently unpaired, medium-sized males showed no preference, and small males preferred smaller, recently paired females. Because all females appear to attract males, we predict that variation on male mate choice attenuates sexual selection on females. Our findings confirm the prediction of variable male mate choice when there is male-male competition and male reproductive potential is restricted, a pattern that may be common, but hard to detect.

The Effects of the BAILAMOSTM Dance Program on Physical Activity Levels and Cognition of Older Latino Adults: A Pilot Study

2021 ◽  
pp. 089826432110209
Author(s):  
Guilherme M. Balbim ◽  
Susan Aguiñaga ◽  
Olusola A. Ajilore ◽  
Eduardo E. Bustamante ◽  
Kirk I. Erickson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Physical Activity Levels ◽  
Global Cognition ◽  
Latino Adults ◽  
And Performance

Objective: To investigate the effects of the BAILAMOSTM dance program on physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory, and cognitive health. Methods: A parallel, two-armed pilot study was conducted with 57 older Latinos randomized to the BAILAMOSTM dance program ( n = 28) or health education (HE) ( n = 29). We conducted two- and three-way repeated-measures ANOVAs. Results: BAILAMOSTM participants increased participation in leisure moderate-to-vigorous PA (LMVPA) ( F[1,53] = 3.17, p = .048, η2 G = .01) and performance in global cognition relative to HE participants ( F[1,52] = 4.19, p = .045, η2 G = .01). Attendance moderated increases in moderate PA, MVPA, LMVPA, and total PA ( p < .05). Participants of both groups with ≥75% attendance increased participation in PA. Among participants with <75% attendance, BAILAMOSTM participants increased PA relative to HE. Discussion: BAILAMOSTM positively impacted self-reported PA and global cognition in older Latinos. Even smaller doses of dance appear to impact self-reported PA levels.

scholarly journals Quantifying male and female pheromone-based mate choice in Caenorhabditis nematodes using a novel microfluidic technique

PLoS ONE ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. e0189679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Flora Borne ◽  
Katja R. Kasimatis ◽  
Patrick C. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Pheromone ◽  
Microfluidic Technique

Effects of male and female personality on sexual cannibalism in the Springbok mantis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pietro Pollo ◽  
Nathan W Burke ◽  
Gregory I Holwell
Keyword(s):  
Personality Traits ◽  
Developmental Stages ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Sexual Cannibalism ◽  
Activity Levels ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Young Females ◽  
Behavioural Syndromes ◽  
Male Activity ◽  
Spillover Hypothesis

Behaviours that are consistent across contexts (also known as behavioural syndromes) can have evolutionary implications, but their role in scenarios where the sexes conflict, such as sexual cannibalism, is poorly understood. The aggressive spillover hypothesis proposes that cannibalistic attacks during adulthood may depend on female aggressiveness during earlier developmental stages, but evidence for this hypothesis is scarce. Male activity may also influence sexual cannibalism if males approach females quickly and carelessly, yet this has not been explored. Here we use the Springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, to explore whether male activity levels and female aggressiveness can explain high rates of sexual cannibalism prior to copulation. We show that male and female personality traits affect male mating decisions, but not sexual cannibalism. Females that were aggressive as juveniles were not more likely to cannibalize males when adult, but these females were approached by males more frequently. More active males were more likely to approach females, but they were neither faster at doing so nor were they more likely to be cannibalized. We also found that size and age influenced mating decisions of both sexes: young females were more like to cannibalize males while young and large males took longer to approach females. Taken together, our results suggest that several traits, including personality, play a role in sexual encounters in M. caffra. Our study further highlights the importance of examining the traits of both sexes when assessing mating dynamics, especially in the context of sexual cannibalism.

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