scholarly journals Female and male Sirex noctilio use age and size to select a mate

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joséphine Queffelec ◽  
Jeremy D. Allison ◽  
Bernard Slippers ◽  
Jaco M. Greeff
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Sirex Noctilio ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Lek Mating ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Male To Female

ABSTRACTWhile male mate choice in insects is a widely accepted concept, there is still limited evidence showing that lek formation is compatible with the evolution of male mate choice. In the woodwasp Sirex noctilio, males form leks that are used by females to select a mate. However, males have been observed to ignore certain females, suggesting the presence of male mate choice despite the presence of a lek mating system. In this study we demonstrate that males only attempt to mate with certain females. To understand the criteria used by males and females to select a mate, we also tested the effect of age, size, and male to female size ratio on the number of mating attempts made by males and on female receptivity. We demonstrate that size and age play a role in both male and female mate choice. Our results suggest that males must reach sexual maturity after emergence and are neither receptive nor attractive to females during the first few days of their lives. We also show that older females become less attractive to males, suggesting that female S. noctilio switch to a strict host location phase sometime after emergence. Our results show that male and female size, and the ratio between them, play a role in mate choice. While larger males are more motivated to mate, their large size can physically prevent them from mating with small females. Small females are also more attractive and more receptive to males, consistent with the presence of convenience polyandry in S. noctilio.

scholarly journals Coevolution of male and female mate choice can destabilize reproductive isolation

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Aubier ◽  
Hanna Kokko ◽  
Mathieu Joron
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate

Abstract Sexual interactions play an important role in the evolution of reproductive isolation, with important consequences for speciation. Theoretical studies have focused on the evolution of mate preferences in each sex separately. However, mounting empirical evidence suggests that premating isolation often involves mutual mate choice. Here, using a population genetic model, we investigate how female and male mate choice coevolve under a phenotype matching rule and how this affects reproductive isolation. We show that the evolution of female preferences increases the mating success of males with reciprocal preferences, favouring mutual mate choice. However, the evolution of male preferences weakens indirect selection on female preferences and, with weak genetic drift, the coevolution of female and male mate choice leads to periodic episodes of random mating with increased hybridization (deterministic ‘preference cycling’ triggered by stochasticity). Thus, counterintuitively, the process of establishing premating isolation proves rather fragile if both male and female mate choice contribute to assortative mating.

scholarly journals Coevolution of male and female mate choice can destabilize reproductive isolation

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas G. Aubier ◽  
Hanna Kokko ◽  
Mathieu Joron
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Female Mate ◽  
Female Preferences ◽  
Mutual Mate Choice ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractSexual interactions play an important role in the evolution of reproductive isolation, with important consequences for speciation. Theoretical studies have focused on the evolution of mate preferences in each sex separately. However, mounting empirical evidence suggests that premating isolation often involves mutual mate choice. Here, using a population genetic model, we investigate how female and male mate choice coevolve under a phenotype matching rule and how this affects reproductive isolation. We show that the evolution of female preferences increases the mating success of males with reciprocal preferences, favouring mutual mate choice. However, the evolution of male preferences weakens indirect selection on female preferences and, with weak genetic drift, the coevolution of female and male mate choice leads to periodic episodes of random mating with increased hybridization (deterministic ‘preference cycling’ triggered by stochasticity). Thus, counterintuitively, the process of establishing premating isolation proves rather fragile if both male and female mate choice contribute to assortative mating.

scholarly journals Exaggerated estrous swellings and male mate choice in primates: testing the reliable indicator hypothesis in the Amboseli baboons.

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney L Fitzpatrick ◽  
Jeanne Altmann ◽  
Susan C Alberts
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Reliable Indicator ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Papio Cynocephalus ◽  
Cycle Number ◽  
Fitness Measures ◽  
Male Mate

The paradigm of competitive males vying to influence female mate choice has been repeatedly upheld, but, increasingly, studies also report competitive females and choosy males. One female trait that is commonly proposed to influence male mate choice is the exaggerated estrous swelling displayed by females of many Old World primate species. The reliable indicator hypothesis posits that females use the exaggerated swellings to compete for access to mates by advertising variation in female fitness. We tested the two main predictions of this hypothesis in a wild population of baboons (Papio cynocephalus). First, we examined the effect of swelling size on the probability of mate-guarding ('consortship') by the highest-ranking male and the behavior of those males that trailed consorshipts ('follower males'). Second, we asked whether a female's swelling size predicted several fitness measures. We found that high-ranking males do not prefer females with larger swellings (when controlling for cycle number and conception) and that females with larger swellings did not have higher reproductive success. In doing so, we have tested and rejected the reliable indicator hypothesis for the function of exaggerated swellings in cercopithecine primates. Furthermore, we found unambiguous evidence that males biased their mating decisions in favor of females who had experienced more sexual cycles since their most recent pregnancy. Thus, rather than tracking the potential differences in fitness between females, male baboons appear to track and target the potential for a given reproductive opportunity to result in fertilization.

scholarly journals Does male mate choice select for female colouration in a promiscuous primate species?

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucie Rigaill ◽  
Cécile Garcia
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Social Rank ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Japanese Macaques ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Cycle Phase ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Cycle Number ◽  
Female Ornaments ◽  
Male Mate

AbstractThe traditional view of sex roles and sexual selection emphasises the evolution of male ornaments as a result of female mate choice and male-male competition. Female ornaments are now receiving more attention, although their roles in mating decision are still less well understood, especially considering cases in which colourful ornaments are expressed by both sexes. In this study, we analysed whether female skin colouration (luminance and redness of the face and hindquarters) influenced male mate choice and sexual behaviours in relation to intra-cycle (cycle phase), inter-cycle (number of consecutive cycles, conceptive nature of the cycle), and inter-individual (age, social rank, weight, and parity) variation in a captive population of Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Males did not preferentially choose darker/redder females. Moreover, males did not appear to use female skin colouration to apportion their mating efforts on the most fertile period of the menstrual cycle or during cycles that lead to conception, or to discriminate between females. To our knowledge, our study is among the few to report a lack of male choice for female colouration in a species where both sexes potentially display ornamentation. While female colouration appeared to contain information about intra-cycle, inter-cycle, and inter-individual variation in fecundity, this study further demonstrates that this trait may not have been sexually selected and that males mated regardless of such variation across females. This study adds to the growing research on the role and evolution of female colouration in the context of sexual signalling and mate attraction.

Association patterns among male and female spotted hyenas ( Crocuta crocuta ) reflect male mate choice

2001 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micaela Szykman ◽  
Anne Engh ◽  
Russell Van Horn ◽  
Stephan Funk ◽  
Kim Scribner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Crocuta Crocuta ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Association Patterns ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Spotted Hyenas ◽  
Male Mate

Males increase their fitness by choosing large females in the common bedbug Cimex lectularius

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Kaufmann ◽  
Oliver Otti
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Seminal Fluid ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Female Body Size ◽  
Mating Costs ◽  
The Common ◽  
Fitness Benefits ◽  
Male Mate

Abstract Mate choice is often a role assigned to females. Already Darwin realised that males are eager to copulate, and females are choosy. However, male mate choice is not as rare as assumed. Males should choose females if females vary in quality, i.e., fecundity. Indeed, males often choose larger mates and through this preference increase fitness benefits. In addition, if mating costs reduce the number of copulations a male can potentially perform, he should be choosy. Bedbug females vary in their fecundity and female size is positively related to fecundity. Male bedbugs are limited in seminal fluid availability and, hence, the number of consecutive matings they can perform. Traumatic insemination gives males full control over mating, therefore low female mating resistance could further allow males to be choosy. Here, using mate choice arenas, we investigated if male bedbugs prefer to mate with large females. We observed mating behaviour and measured female fecundity to investigate potential male fitness benefits. Males chose to mate with large females 1.8 times more often than small females and large females laid significantly more eggs than small females. Our study provides first evidence for male mate choice based on female body size in bedbugs and males can increase their fitness by mating large females. It has to be further established if male mate choice is driven by mating costs in terms of ejaculate investment and if such male mate choice based on female size could be a driver of sexual size dimorphism in bedbugs.

scholarly journals The role of female dominance hierarchies in the mating behaviour of mosquitofish

2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 343-345 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese Chen ◽  
Madeleine Beekman ◽  
Ashley J. W. Ward
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mating Behaviour ◽  
Dominance Rank ◽  
Female Dominance ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Female Size ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Dominance Hierarchies ◽  
Male Mate

While studies of sexual selection focus primarily on female choice and male–male competition, males should also exert mate choice in order to maximize their reproductive success. We examined male mate choice in mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki , with respect to female size and female dominance. We found that the number of mating attempts made by a male was predicted by the dominance rank of females in a group, with dominant females attracting more mating attempts than subordinates. The number of mating attempts made by males was independent of the female size. The observed bias in the number of mating attempts towards dominant females may be driven either by straightforward male mate choice, since dominance and female fecundity are often closely related, or via the dominant females mediating male mating behaviour by restricting their access to subordinate females.

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.

A study of mate choice in mice with experimental Taenia crassiceps cysticercosis: can males choose?

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 635-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Ernest François Gourbal ◽  
Claude Gabrion
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Choice Test ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Dyadic Interactions ◽  
Taenia Crassiceps ◽  
Male Mate ◽  
Mating Choice ◽  
Additional Support

The detection and avoidance of infected males has been proposed as a component of female mate choice. However, male mate choice and sexual behaviour in the face of infected females have been rarely investigated. Here, we assessed the exact role displayed by each protagonist in mate choice during experimental Taenia crassiceps (Zeder, 1800) Rudolphi, 1810 cysticercosis. Mate choice was studied at two levels: (1) based on animal odour cues, using a two-choice test and (2) during dyadic interactions, using sexual behaviour and courtship analysis, but also ultrasonic vocalization recordings. Our results showed that female BALB/c mice (Mus musculus L., 1758) spent more time investigating odours in the two-choice test than males, but they were also able to repel infected males during dyadic interactions. Males did not display a clear mating choice with female odours, but during dyadic sexual interactions, they showed a significant aggressiveness towards infected females. Males were able to refrain from copulating with infected females. As shown by a number of studies on female mice, males were able to detect, select, and avoid infected females, and thus express a real mate choice. These observations provided an additional support to the sperm/ejaculate cost and male mate-choice hypothesis.

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