scholarly journals Domains of Female Choice in Human Evolution

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory Gorelik
Keyword(s):  
Present Article ◽  
Human Evolution ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Cognitive Architecture ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Additional Domain

The present article advances the view that women’s mate preferences can be grouped into at least two overarching domains: competitiveness and fatherhood. Theoretical and empirical considerations suggest that female mate preferences evolve in contexts of male competitiveness and often amplify the effects of male-male competition. Evidence for the importance of male-male competition and female choice for competitiveness in humans is reviewed. Evidence is likewise offered for the importance of human fatherhood as an additional domain of female choice outside of male competitiveness. Implications of more inclusive mate preferences for the evolution of cognitive architecture are discussed.

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

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1568) ◽  
pp. 1121-1127 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Fluctuating mate preferences in a marine fish

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Topi K. Lehtonen ◽  
Bob B. M. Wong ◽  
Kai Lindström
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variation ◽  
Marine Fish ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Sexual Ornaments ◽  
Pomatoschistus Minutus ◽  
Sexual Traits ◽  
Mature Fish ◽  
Average Size

According to theory, directional female choice for male sexual ornaments is expected to erode underlying genetic variation. Considerable attention, in this regard, has been given to understanding the ubiquity of heritable genetic variation in both female choice and male sexual traits. One intriguing possibility emerging from this work is that persistent genetic variation could be maintained, over time, by variation in female mate preferences. Here, we report the results of a four-year study showing significant year-to-year fluctuations in mate preferences in a small marine fish, the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus . Although the average size of mature fish varied across years, we were unable to find direct evidence linking this variation to differences in female preferences among years. Our results, nevertheless, underscore the importance of temporal fluctuations in female mate preferences, as these can have important consequences for understanding variation in sexual traits and the intensity of sexual selection.

scholarly journals Sexual conflict over mating in Gnatocerus cornutus ? Females prefer lovers not fighters

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1785) ◽  
pp. 20140281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kensuke Okada ◽  
Masako Katsuki ◽  
Manmohan D. Sharma ◽  
Clarissa M. House ◽  
David J. Hosken
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Conflict ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Female Fitness ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Horned Beetle

Female mate choice and male–male competition are the typical mechanisms of sexual selection. However, these two mechanisms do not always favour the same males. Furthermore, it has recently become clear that female choice can sometimes benefit males that reduce female fitness. So whether male–male competition and female choice favour the same or different males, and whether or not females benefit from mate choice, remain open questions. In the horned beetle, Gnatocerus cornutus, males have enlarged mandibles used to fight rivals, and larger mandibles provide a mating advantage when there is direct male–male competition for mates. However, it is not clear whether females prefer these highly competitive males. Here, we show that female choice targets male courtship rather than mandible size, and these two characters are not phenotypically or genetically correlated. Mating with attractive, highly courting males provided indirect benefits to females but only via the heritability of male attractiveness. However, mating with attractive males avoids the indirect costs to daughters that are generated by mating with competitive males. Our results suggest that male–male competition may constrain female mate choice, possibly reducing female fitness and generating sexual conflict over mating.

Female Choice in Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella Ochotensis)

The Auk ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 103 (4) ◽  
pp. 694-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hisashi Nagata
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Food Abundance ◽  
Territory Size ◽  
Territory Quality ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Nest Sites ◽  
Grasshopper Warbler

Abstract Morphological and territorial factors that influence female mate choice were examined in the monogamous Middendorff's Grasshopper-Warbler (Locustella ochotensis) on an islet near Fukuoka, Japan. I assumed that pairing date corresponded with female mate choice. Pairing date was correlated with both territory size and food abundance but was not correlated with selected morphological characteristics of males. Territorial quality was assumed to be correlated with territory size because preferable food resources and nest sites were distributed randomly. I conclude that female mate choice was influenced by territory quality rather than by the morphological characteristics of males.

Living with Other Flowers: Competition and Pollination Ecology

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pat Willmer
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Seed Dispersal ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Intraspecific Competition ◽  
Pollen Dispersal ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Pollination Ecology ◽  
Potential Outcomes ◽  
Selective Force ◽  
Genetic Level

This chapter examines competition in the context of pollination ecology. Competition is typically treated from the perspective of the plants, but it is also likely to occur among and between the pollinators. Furthermore, competition can occur at various levels—as a structuring factor in communities, as a selective force on an individual plant’s phenology, morphology, or rewards, and at a genetic level structuring competition for pollens between males, and female choice between possible mates. The chapter first considers several types of of competition in pollination ecology, potential outcomes of competition, and competition between pollinators before discussing how selection reduces intraspecific competition among plants and competition among pollinators. It also explores paternity, maternity, and gene flow in coflowering communities, focusing in particular on male competition and female choice, along with gene flow via pollen dispersal and seed dispersal.

Female mate choice through spawning parade formed by male-male competition in filefishRudarius ercodes

1998 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-113
Author(s):  
Izumi Akagawa ◽  
Takeshi Kanda ◽  
Muneo Okiyama
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Competition ◽  
Female Mate
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