scholarly journals Testing Mate Choice Hypotheses in a Transitional Small Scale Population

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda G. Boothroyd ◽  
Jean-Luc Jucker ◽  
Tracey Thornborrow ◽  
Martin J. Tovee ◽  
Carlota Batres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Low Fertility ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
National Capital ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Directional Preference

Abstract Objective Tests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from 271 participants in rural Nicaragua, and 40 from the national capital Managua. We assess pre-registered hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences. Methods Participants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals. Results While urban participants showed a preference for more feminine female faces, this preference was not evident in the rural participants. Neither urban nor rural participants showed any directional preference for masculinised/feminised male faces. Furthermore, there was no support for any other pre-registered hypothesis. Conclusions Our results are consistent with previous studies showing no interest in facial dimorphism in less globally-acculturated, or market integrated, populations. Together, this suggests that while facial dimorphism may be subject to systematically varying preferences amongst some low-fertility, industrialised populations, it is not a feature which is likely to have been important in ancestral populations. We call for further work attempting to replicate well known mate choice phenomena in more diverse samples.

scholarly journals Testing Mate Choice Hypotheses in a Transitional Small Scale Population

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Boothroyd ◽  
Jean-Luc Jucker ◽  
Tracey Thornborrow ◽  
Martin Tovee ◽  
Carlota Batres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Facial Structure ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Objective Tests

Objective: Tests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from c. 300 participants in rural Nicaragua. We assess hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences. Methods: Participants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals.Results and conclusions: Pending

scholarly journals Sexually dimorphic role of oxytocin in medaka mate choice

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 4802-4808 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saori Yokoi ◽  
Kiyoshi Naruse ◽  
Yasuhiro Kamei ◽  
Satoshi Ansai ◽  
Masato Kinoshita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Acid Metabolism ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Medaka Fish ◽  
Amino Butyric Acid ◽  
Monogamous Species ◽  
Courtship Displays

Oxytocin is a central neuromodulator required for facilitating mate preferences for familiar individuals in a monogamous rodent (prairie vole), irrespective of sex. While the role of oxytocin in mate choice is only understood in a few monogamous species, its function in nonmonogamous species, comprising the vast majority of vertebrate species, remains unclear. To address this issue, we evaluated the involvement of an oxytocin homolog (isotocin, referred herein as oxt) in mate choice in medaka fish (Oryzias latipes). Female medaka prefer to choose familiar mates, whereas male medaka court indiscriminately, irrespective of familiarity. We generated mutants of the oxt ligand (oxt) and receptor genes (oxtr1andoxtr2) and revealed that the oxt-oxtr1 signaling pathway was essential for eliciting female mate preference for familiar males. This pathway was also required for unrestricted and indiscriminate mating strategy in males. That is, eitheroxtoroxtr1mutation in males decreased the number of courtship displays toward novel females, but not toward familiar females. Further, males with these mutations exhibited enhanced mate-guarding behaviors toward familiar females, but not toward novel females. In addition, RNA-sequencing (seq) analysis revealed that the transcription of genes involved in gamma-amino butyric acid metabolism as well as those encoding ion-transport ATPase are up-regulated in bothoxtandoxtr1mutants only in female medaka, potentially explaining the sex difference of the mutant phenotype. Our findings provide genetic evidence that oxt-oxtr1 signaling plays a role in the mate choice for familiar individuals in a sex-specific manner in medaka fish.

scholarly journals Identifying female phenotypes that promote behavioral isolation in a sexually dimorphic species of fish (Etheostoma zonale)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie S. Roberts ◽  
Tamra C. Mendelson
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Behavioral Isolation ◽  
Dominant Female ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Etheostoma Zonale ◽  
Dimorphic Species

AbstractIn sexually dimorphic species characterized by exaggerated male ornamentation, behavioral isolation is often attributed to female preferences for conspecific male signals. Yet, in a number of sexually dimorphic species, male mate choice also results in behavioral isolation. In many of these cases, the female traits that mediate species boundaries are unclear. Females in sexually dimorphic species typically lack many of the elaborate traits that are present in males and that are often diagnostic of species. In a diverse and largely sexually dimorphic group of fishes called darters (Percidae: Etheostoma), male mate choice contributes to behavioral isolation between a number of species; however, it is not clear which female traits males prefer. In the current study, we identified the dominant female pattern for two sympatric species, Etheostoma zonale and E. barrenense, using pattern energy analysis, and we used discriminate function analysis to identify which aspects of female patterning can reliably classify species. We then tested the role of female features in male mate choice for E. zonale, by measuring male preference for computer animations displaying the identified (species-specific) conspecific features as well as the dominant male pattern that is preferred by females. We found that the region above the lateral line is important in mediating male mate preferences, with males spending significantly more time with animations exhibiting conspecific female patterning in this region than with animations exhibiting heterospecific female patterning. Our results suggest that the aspects of female phenotypes that are the target of male mate choice are different from the male phenotypes that characterize species. This research highlights the importance of using objective measures in the study of behavioral isolation via male mate choice.

scholarly journals Identifying female phenotypes that promote behavioral isolation in a sexually dimorphic species of fish (Etheostoma zonale)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie S Roberts ◽  
Tamra C Mendelson
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Behavioral Isolation ◽  
Dominant Female ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Etheostoma Zonale ◽  
Dimorphic Species

Abstract In sexually dimorphic species characterized by exaggerated male ornamentation, behavioral isolation is often attributed to female preferences for conspecific male signals. Yet, in a number of sexually dimorphic species, male mate choice also results in behavioral isolation. In many of these cases, the female traits that mediate species boundaries are unclear. Females in sexually dimorphic species typically lack many of the elaborate traits that are present in males and that are often used for taxonomic classification of species. In a diverse and largely sexually dimorphic group of fishes called darters (Percidae: Etheostoma), male mate choice contributes to behavioral isolation between a number of species; however, studies addressing which female traits males prefer are lacking. In this study, we identified the dominant female pattern for two sympatric species, Etheostoma zonale and Etheostoma barrenense, using pattern energy analysis, and we used discriminate function analysis to identify which aspects of female patterning can reliably classify species. We then tested the role of female features in male mate choice for E. zonale, by measuring male preference for computer animations displaying the identified (species-specific) conspecific features. We found that the region above the lateral line is important in mediating male mate preferences, with males spending a significantly greater proportion of time with animations exhibiting conspecific female patterning in this region than with animations exhibiting heterospecific female patterning. Our results suggest that the aspects of female phenotypes that are the target of male mate choice are different from the conspicuous male phenotypes that traditionally characterize species.

Cod courtship song: a song at the expense of dance?

1999 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 542-550 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frode Engen ◽  
Ivar Folstad
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Courtship Song ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Individual Quality ◽  
Allocation Of Resources ◽  
Parasite Resistance ◽  
Sperm Density ◽  
Tentative Explanation

Sexually selected characters may reveal information about individual quality during mate choice. Fin display and sound emitted with the aid of specific drumming muscles are characters described as being of importance in the reproductive behaviour of cod (Gadus morhua L.). We examined whether the mass of drumming muscles or fin size was sexually dimorphic, and whether these characters could provide information about male cod that was potentially of benefit to mate-seeking females. The mass of drumming muscles, but not fin size, was sexually dimorphic, with males having larger muscles than females. Neither the mass of drumming muscles nor fin size apparently revealed information about traits that may be associated with parasite resistance in males (i.e., parasite intensities and leukocyte densities). However, variation in fertilization potential (i.e., spermatocrit level) among males was related to both mass of drumming muscles and fin size. Thus, by evaluating sound and fin size, mate-seeking females may obtain information about fertilization ability among males. This may be of particular importance for females in a species whose eggs commonly remain unfertilized. Furthermore, males with large drumming muscles and small fins had low spermatocrit levels. This may reflect reductions in sperm density resulting from frequent ejaculations by attractive males. A costly allocation of resources for the development of drumming muscles at the expense of fin muscles used for propulsion is presented as a tentative explanation as to why females should pay attention to these particular traits during courtship. Increased investment in "song" may thus appear at the expense of "dance."

Large- and small-scale vortical motions in a shear layer perturbed by tabs

1999 ◽  
Vol 382 ◽  
pp. 307-329 ◽  
Author(s):  
JUDITH K. FOSS ◽  
K. B. M. Q. ZAMAN
Keyword(s):  
Shear Layer ◽  
Pitch Angle ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Dimensional Space ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Streamwise Vortices ◽  
Streamwise Vorticity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Scale Population

The large- and small-scale vortical motions produced by ‘delta tabs’ in a two-stream shear layer have been studied experimentally. An increase in mixing was observed when the base of the triangular shaped tab was affixed to the trailing edge of the splitter plate and the apex was pitched at some angle with respect to the flow axis. Such an arrangement produced a pair of counter-rotating streamwise vortices. Hot-wire measurements detailed the velocity, time-averaged vorticity (Ωx) and small-scale turbulence features in the three-dimensional space downstream of the tabs. The small-scale structures, whose scale corresponds to that of the peak in the dissipation spectrum, were identified and counted using the peak-valley-counting technique. The optimal pitch angle, θ, for a single tab and the optimal spanwise spacing, S, for a multiple tab array were identified. Since the goal was to increase mixing, the optimal tab configuration was determined from two properties of the flow field: (i) the large-scale motions with the maximum Ωx, and (ii) the largest number of small-scale motions in a given time period. The peak streamwise vorticity magnitude [mid ]Ωx−max[mid ] was found to have a unique relationship with the tab pitch angle. Furthermore, for all cases examined, the overall small-scale population was found to correlate directly with [mid ]Ωx−max[mid ]. Both quantities peaked at θ≈±45°. It is interesting to note that the peak magnitude of the corresponding circulation in the cross-sectional plane occurred for θ≈±90°. For an array of tabs, the two quantities also depended on the tab spacing. An array of contiguous tabs acted as a solid deflector producing the weakest streamwise vortices and the least small-scale population. For the measurement range covered, the optimal spacing was found to be S≈1.5 tab widths.

scholarly journals Female mate choice in convict cichlids is transitive and consistent with a self-referent directional preference

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 69 ◽  
Author(s):  
François-Xavier Dechaume-Moncharmont ◽  
Marine Freychet ◽  
Sébastien Motreuil ◽  
Frank Cézilly
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Convict Cichlids ◽  
Directional Preference

scholarly journals Heightened condition dependent expression of structural colouration in the faces, but not wings, of male and female flies

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas E White ◽  
Amy Locke ◽  
Tanya Latty
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Condition Dependence ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Honest Signals ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Close Range ◽  
Males And Females ◽  
Structural Colouration

Abstract Structurally coloured sexual signals are a conspicuous and widespread class of ornament used in mate choice, though the extent to which they encode information on the quality of their bearers is not fully resolved. Theory predicts that signalling traits under strong sexual selection as honest indicators should evolve to be more developmentally integrated and exaggerated than nonsexual traits, thereby leading to heightened condition dependence. Here we test this prediction through examination of the sexually dimorphic faces and wings of the cursorial fly Lispe cana. Males and females possess structural UV-white and golden faces, respectively, and males present their faces and wings to females during close-range, ground-based courtship displays, thereby creating the opportunity for mutual inspection. Across a field-collected sample of individuals, we found that the appearance of the faces of both sexes scaled positively with individual condition, though along separate axes. Males in better condition expressed brighter faces as modelled according to conspecific flies, whereas condition scaled with facial saturation in females. We found no such relationships for their wing interference pattern nor abdomens, with the latter included as a nonsexual control. Our results suggest that the structurally coloured faces, but not the iridescent wings, of male and female Lispe cana are reliable guides to individual quality and support the broader potential for structural colours as honest signals. They also highlight the potential for mutual mate choice in this system, while arguing for one of several alternate signalling roles for wing interferences patterns among the myriad taxa which bear them.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document