Male Rarity or Novelty, Female Choice Behavior, and Sexual Selection in the Guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters (Pisces: Poeciliidae)

Evolution ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 162 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Farr
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata

Social Behavior Patterns as Determinants of Reproductive Success in the Guppy, Poecilia Reticulata Peters (Pisces: Poeciliidae) an Experimental Study of the Effects of Intermale Competition, Female Choice, and Sexual Selection

Behaviour ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 74 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 38-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A. Farr
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Social Behavior ◽  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Ecological Niches ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Courtship Display ◽  
Male Effect ◽  
Male Coloration

AbstractThe reproductive success of competing male guppies, Poecilia reticulata, was measured and compared to various features of social behavior and secondary sexual coloration. The most important determinant of reproductive success was the rate at which a male courted females relative to those of other males. Males with higher display rates have a greater chance of encountering a receptive female and are preferred by females. Males adjust their display rate in such a way as to be just noticeably more active than a competitor, and inbred strains differ in the maximum rate at which males can court females. No other factor is able to offset the disadvantage of displaying at a relatively low rate. Sexual selection has resulted in the maximization of courtship activity in natural populations. If males court females with equal frequencies, those which also inseminate females through gonopodial thrusting without female cooperation have a selective advantage. Because poeciliid females store sperm, inseminations through gonopodial thrusting can reduce the reproductive success of competitor males which copulate only following a display. A mixed strategy of displaying and gonopodial thrusting is more successful than either pure strategy. The result is a mating system which partially ignores female choice mechanisms. Intermale aggresssion was found to be maladaptive. Males which displayed at higher rates than competitors were less successful if they were also more aggressive than the competitors, than when they were non-aggressive or the competitors were more aggressive. Males were not able to reduce a competitor's courtship display rate through aggression. It was hypothesized that the low level of aggression in natural guppy populations is attributable to the fact that variance in size of males is low and fights would be lengthy before a winner could be determined. This would subtract from time available for courtship, and female preference for high-displaying males would select against aggressive phenotypes. There was little evidence that conspicuousness of male coloration influences female choice of males. Dull males with high courtship display rates were significantly more successful than conspicuous males with low display rates. It was concluded that females prefer conspicuous males only if all males exhibit equal courtship display rates. The frequency of male color patterns in a population did affect reproductive success. Males with rare color patterns sired more offspring than expected given their frequency. The mechanism by which a rare male effect was achieved depended on the relative mating success of phenotypes in control populations (all phenotypes occurring with equal frequency). If a normally preferred phenotype was rare, females continued to prefer that phenotype over the common phenotype. If a normally unpreferred phenotype was rare, females mated with that phenotype in addition to the preferred phenotype, and the rare male effect was thus achieved by multiple inseminations. Females also tended to mate with more than one male in polymorphic populations, and it was concluded that certain female choice patterns with frequent multiple inseminations can maintain a polymorphism in addition to a pure rare male effect. It was hypothesized that courtship displays and conspicuous male coloration are sexually selected characters which evolved in response to the occupation of invariable habitats or specialized ecological niches by a sexually monomorphic ancestor with only gonopodial thrusting as a means of inseminating females. A subsequent reinvasion of variable habitats resulted in female choice mechanisms which maximize the level of heterozygosity of their offspring, thus resulting in polymorphic populations. The coloration of male guppies is a phenotypic cue which influences female choice in such a manner that they mate with those males with whom they most probably have the fewest genes in common.

Reproductive behavior

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Olzer ◽  
Rebecca L. Ehrlich ◽  
Justa L. Heinen-Kay ◽  
Jessie Tanner ◽  
Marlene Zuk
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Reproductive Behavior ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Insect Behavior ◽  
Sequential Approach ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Anatomy And Physiology ◽  
Males And Females

Sex and reproduction lie at the heart of studies of insect behavior. We begin by providing a brief overview of insect anatomy and physiology, followed by an introduction to the overarching themes of parental investment, sexual selection, and mating systems. We then take a sequential approach to illustrate the diversity of phenomena and concepts behind insect reproductive behavior from pre-copulatory mate signalling through copulatory sperm transfer, mating positions, and sexual conflict, to post-copulatory sperm competition, and cryptic female choice. We provide an overview of the evolutionary mechanisms driving reproductive behavior. These events are linked by the economic defendability of mates or resources, and how these are allocated in each sex. Under the framework of economic defendability, the reader can better understand how sexual antagonistic behaviors arise as the result of competing optimal fitness strategies between males and females.

scholarly journals Gamete-mediated mate choice: towards a more inclusive view of sexual selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1883) ◽  
pp. 20180836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Kekäläinen ◽  
Jonathan P. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Random Interactions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
The Everyday

‘Sperm competition’—where ejaculates from two or more males compete for fertilization—and ‘cryptic female choice’—where females bias this contest to suit their reproductive interests—are now part of the everyday lexicon of sexual selection. Yet the physiological processes that underlie these post-ejaculatory episodes of sexual selection remain largely enigmatic. In this review, we focus on a range of post-ejaculatory cellular- and molecular-level processes, known to be fundamental for fertilization across most (if not all) sexually reproducing species, and point to their putative role in facilitating sexual selection at the level of the cells and gametes, called ‘gamete-mediated mate choice’ (GMMC). In this way, we collate accumulated evidence for GMMC across different mating systems, and emphasize the evolutionary significance of such non-random interactions among gametes. Our overall aim in this review is to build a more inclusive view of sexual selection by showing that mate choice often acts in more nuanced ways than has traditionally been assumed. We also aim to bridge the conceptual divide between proximal mechanisms of reproduction, and adaptive explanations for patterns of non-random sperm–egg interactions that are emerging across an increasingly diverse array of taxa.

scholarly journals Sexual selection favours male parental care, when females can choose

2011 ◽  
Vol 279 (1734) ◽  
pp. 1784-1790 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suzanne H. Alonzo
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Parental Care ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Current Theory ◽  
Sharp Contrast ◽  
Recent Theory ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Female Promiscuity ◽  
Male Care

Explaining the evolution of male care has proved difficult. Recent theory predicts that female promiscuity and sexual selection on males inherently disfavour male care. In sharp contrast to these expectations, male-only care is often found in species with high extra-pair paternity and striking variation in mating success, where current theory predicts female-only care. Using a model that examines the coevolution of male care, female care and female choice; I show that inter-sexual selection can drive the evolution of male care when females are able to bias mating or paternity towards parental males. Surprisingly, female choice for parental males allows male care to evolve despite low relatedness between the male and the offspring in his care. These results imply that predicting how sexual selection affects parental care evolution will require further understanding of why females, in many species, either do not prefer or cannot favour males that provide care.

Post-Copulatory Sexual Selection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia L.R. Brennan ◽  
Dara N. Orbach
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Reproductive Tract ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Fertilization Success ◽  
Female Reproductive Tract ◽  
Cryptic Female Choice ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Morphological Criteria

The field of post-copulatory sexual selection investigates how female and male adaptations have evolved to influence the fertilization of eggs while optimizing fitness during and after copulation, when females mate with multiple males. When females are polyandrous (one female mates with multiple males), they may optimize their mating rate and control the outcome of mating interactions to acquire direct and indirect benefits. Polyandry may also favor the evolution of male traits that offer an advantage in post-copulatory male-male sperm competition. Sperm competition occurs when the sperm, seminal fluid, and/or genitalia of one male directly impacts the outcome of fertilization success of a rival male. When a female mates with multiple males, she may use information from a number of traits to choose who will sire her offspring. This cryptic female choice (CFC) to bias paternity can be based on behavioral, physiological, and morphological criteria (e.g., copulatory courtship, volume and/or composition of seminal fluid, shape of grasping appendages). Because male fitness interests are rarely perfectly aligned with female fitness interests, sexual conflict over mating and fertilization commonly occur during copulatory and post-copulatory interactions. Post-copulatory interactions inherently involve close associations between female and male reproductive characteristics, which in many species potentially include sperm storage and sperm movement inside the female reproductive tract, and highlight the intricate coevolution between the sexes. This coevolution is also common in genital morphology. The great diversity of genitalia among species is attributed to sexual selection. The evolution of genital attributes that allow females to maintain reproductive autonomy over paternity via cryptic female choice or that prevent male manipulation and sexual control via sexually antagonistic coevolution have been well documented. Additionally, cases where genitalia evolve through intrasexual competition are well known. Another important area of study in post-copulatory sexual selection is the examination of trade-offs between investments in pre-copulatory and post-copulatory traits, since organisms have limited energetic resources to allocate to reproduction, and securing both mating and fertilization is essential for reproductive success.

scholarly journals Imminent risk of predation reduces the relative strength of postcopulatory sexual selection in the guppy

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1813) ◽  
pp. 20200076
Author(s):  
Alexandra Glavaschi ◽  
Silvia Cattelan ◽  
Alessandro Grapputo ◽  
Andrea Pilastro
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Repeated Measures ◽  
Poecilia Reticulata ◽  
Male Reproductive Success ◽  
Sperm Production ◽  
Postcopulatory Sexual Selection ◽  
Repeated Measures Design ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Livebearing Fish

Fifty years of research on sperm competition has led to a very good understanding of the interspecific variation in sperm production traits. The reasons why this variation is often very large within populations have been less investigated. We suggest that the interaction between fluctuating environmental conditions and polyandry is a key phenomenon explaining such variation. We focus here on imminent predation risk (IPR). IPR impacts significantly several aspects of prey behaviour and reproduction, and it is expected to influence the operation of sexual selection before and after mating. We estimated the effect of IPR on the male opportunity for pre- and postcopulatory sexual selection in guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ), a livebearing fish where females prefer colourful males and mate multiply. We used a repeated-measures design, in which males were allowed to mate with different females either under IPR or in a predator-free condition. We found that IPR increased the total opportunity for sexual selection and reduced the relative contribution of postcopulatory sexual selection to male reproductive success. IPR is inherently variable and our results suggest that interspecific reproductive interference by predators may contribute towards maintaining the variation in sperm production within populations. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Fifty years of sperm competition'.

scholarly journals Sexual selection favours good or bad genes for pathogen resistance depending on males' pathogen exposure

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1902) ◽  
pp. 20190226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Joye ◽  
Tadeusz J. Kawecki
Keyword(s):  
Drosophila Melanogaster ◽  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Pathogen Resistance ◽  
Condition Dependence ◽  
Indirect Benefit ◽  
Intestinal Pathogen ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
Pathogen Exposure

Resistance to pathogens is often invoked as an indirect benefit of female choice, but experimental evidence for links between father's sexual success and offspring resistance is scarce and equivocal. Two proposed mechanisms might generate such links. Under the first, heritable resistance to diverse pathogens depends on general immunocompetence; owing to shared condition dependence, male sexual traits indicate immunocompetence independently of the male's pathogen exposure. By contrast, other hypotheses (e.g. Hamilton–Zuk) assume that sexual traits only reveal heritable resistance if the males have been exposed to the pathogen. The distinction between the two mechanisms has been neglected by experimental studies. We show that Drosophila melanogaster males that are successful in mating contests (one female with two males) sire sons that are substantially more resistant to the intestinal pathogen Pseudomonas entomophila —but only if the males have themselves been exposed to the pathogen before the mating contest. By contrast, sons of males sexually successful in the absence of pathogen exposure are less resistant than sons of unsuccessful males. We detected no differences in daughters’ resistance. Thus, while sexual selection may have considerable consequences for offspring resistance, these consequences may be sex-specific. Furthermore, contrary to the ‘general immunocompetence’ hypothesis, these consequences can be positive or negative depending on the epidemiological context under which sexual selection operates.

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