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Tracey Chapman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Variation in Male Mate Choice in Drosophila melanogaster
PloS one, 2013Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:Male Mate Choice has been reported in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, even though males of this species were previously thought to maximise their fitness by mating with all available females. To understand the evolution of male Mate Choice it is important to understand variation in male mating preferences. Two studies, using different stock populations and different methods, have reported contrasting patterns of variation in male Mate Choice in D. melanogaster. Two possible explanations are that there are evolved differences in each stock population or that the methods used to measure Choice could have biased the results. We investigated these hypotheses here by repeating the methods used in one study in which variable male Mate Choice was found, using the stock population from the other study in which Choice was not variable. The results showed a significant resource-independent male preference for less fecund, smaller females, which contrasts with previous observations of male Mate Choice. This indicates that different selection pressures between populations have resulted in evolved differences in the expression of male Mate Choice. It also reveals phenotypic plasticity in male Mate Choice in response to cues encountered in each Choice environment. The results highlight the importance of variation in male Mate Choice, and of identifying mechanisms in order to understand the evolution of Mate Choice under varying ecological conditions.
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MEASURING THE FITNESS BENEFITS OF MALE Mate Choice IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2012Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:It is increasingly realized that the potential for male Mate Choice is widespread across many taxa. However, measurements of the relative magnitude of the fitness benefits that such Choice can confer are lacking. Here, we directly measured, in a comprehensive set of tests that manipulated key variables, the fitness benefits of male Mate Choice in Drosophila melanogaster by measuring egg production in females that were chosen or rejected by males. The results provided significant evidence for male Mate Choice. In absolute terms, the observed degree of Choice increased male fitness by an average of only 1.59 eggs. However, using a novel technique we show that this benefit of Choice represented 14.5% of the maximum potential fitness benefit of Choice. The magnitude of Mate Choice was not significantly altered by variation in (1) Mate compatibility, (2) phenotypic plasticity in male Mate Choice, or (3) whether choosing males were preferred or nonpreferred by females. Overall, we show that male Mate Choice represents a subtle but significant opportunity for sexual selection, and we offer a novel and widely applicable method for quantifying Mate Choice.
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The evolution and significance of male Mate Choice
Trends in ecology & evolution, 2011Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:The distinct reproductive roles of males and females, which for many years were characterised in terms of competitive males and choosy females, have remained a central focus of sexual selection since Darwin's time. Increasing evidence now shows that males can be choosy too, even in apparently unexpected situations, such as under polygyny or in the absence of male parental care. Here, we provide a synthesis of the theory on male Mate Choice and examine the factors that promote or constrain its evolution. We also discuss the evolutionary significance of male Mate Choice and the contrasts in male versus female Mate Choice. We conclude that Mate Choice by males is potentially widespread and has a distinct role in how mating systems evolve.
Dominic A. Edward - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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The description of Mate Choice
Behavioral Ecology, 2014Co-Authors: Dominic A. EdwardAbstract:Mate Choice is an important evolutionary process influencing a vast array of traits and ecological processes. Although the study of Mate Choice has proved to be hugely popular, the number of ways in which Mate Choice can be described is complex and a bewildering array of terminology has developed. The author begins by summarizing some examples of the range of terms used to describe Choice that expose this complexity. The author then shows how the information conveyed by different Mate Choice descriptors can be better understood by comparison to null expectations, that is, the expected variation in a trait when Mate Choice is not expressed. This comparison is important because many traits that might be affected by Mate Choice, such as mating rate, Mate search effort, and responsiveness, also vary in non-choosy individuals. This is in contrast to other traits, such as the slope of a preference function and Mate assessment effort, for which null expectations are predictable. By understanding the null expectation for a trait, its utility as a descriptor of Mate Choice can be gauged. From this basis, the author suggests an alternative approach to the description of Mate Choice based upon a principle of describing variation in both "what" is preferred and "by how much" it is preferred. Crucially, the author describes how this approach might apply to a wide range of preference function shapes, thus aiding comparisons across taxa. Finally, the author considers how an improved appreciation of the way Mate Choice is described can inform future research.
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Variation in Male Mate Choice in Drosophila melanogaster
PloS one, 2013Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:Male Mate Choice has been reported in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, even though males of this species were previously thought to maximise their fitness by mating with all available females. To understand the evolution of male Mate Choice it is important to understand variation in male mating preferences. Two studies, using different stock populations and different methods, have reported contrasting patterns of variation in male Mate Choice in D. melanogaster. Two possible explanations are that there are evolved differences in each stock population or that the methods used to measure Choice could have biased the results. We investigated these hypotheses here by repeating the methods used in one study in which variable male Mate Choice was found, using the stock population from the other study in which Choice was not variable. The results showed a significant resource-independent male preference for less fecund, smaller females, which contrasts with previous observations of male Mate Choice. This indicates that different selection pressures between populations have resulted in evolved differences in the expression of male Mate Choice. It also reveals phenotypic plasticity in male Mate Choice in response to cues encountered in each Choice environment. The results highlight the importance of variation in male Mate Choice, and of identifying mechanisms in order to understand the evolution of Mate Choice under varying ecological conditions.
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MEASURING THE FITNESS BENEFITS OF MALE Mate Choice IN DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2012Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:It is increasingly realized that the potential for male Mate Choice is widespread across many taxa. However, measurements of the relative magnitude of the fitness benefits that such Choice can confer are lacking. Here, we directly measured, in a comprehensive set of tests that manipulated key variables, the fitness benefits of male Mate Choice in Drosophila melanogaster by measuring egg production in females that were chosen or rejected by males. The results provided significant evidence for male Mate Choice. In absolute terms, the observed degree of Choice increased male fitness by an average of only 1.59 eggs. However, using a novel technique we show that this benefit of Choice represented 14.5% of the maximum potential fitness benefit of Choice. The magnitude of Mate Choice was not significantly altered by variation in (1) Mate compatibility, (2) phenotypic plasticity in male Mate Choice, or (3) whether choosing males were preferred or nonpreferred by females. Overall, we show that male Mate Choice represents a subtle but significant opportunity for sexual selection, and we offer a novel and widely applicable method for quantifying Mate Choice.
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The evolution and significance of male Mate Choice
Trends in ecology & evolution, 2011Co-Authors: Dominic A. Edward, Tracey ChapmanAbstract:The distinct reproductive roles of males and females, which for many years were characterised in terms of competitive males and choosy females, have remained a central focus of sexual selection since Darwin's time. Increasing evidence now shows that males can be choosy too, even in apparently unexpected situations, such as under polygyny or in the absence of male parental care. Here, we provide a synthesis of the theory on male Mate Choice and examine the factors that promote or constrain its evolution. We also discuss the evolutionary significance of male Mate Choice and the contrasts in male versus female Mate Choice. We conclude that Mate Choice by males is potentially widespread and has a distinct role in how mating systems evolve.
Hanna Kokko - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Coevolution of male and female Mate Choice can destabilize reproductive isolation
Nature Communications, 2019Co-Authors: Thomas Aubier, Hanna Kokko, Mathieu JoronAbstract: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.
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male Mate Choice why sequential Choice can make its evolution difficult
Animal Behaviour, 2010Co-Authors: Katherine L Barry, Hanna KokkoAbstract:Male reproductive success is typically Mate limited, which implies that males should rarely be choosy. On the other hand, females often vary greatly in their fecundity or other determinants of male reproductive success. There are two coexisting threads in the current literature on male Mate Choice: a number of studies emphasize that male Mate Choice has been underappreciated in the past, while another set reminds us that it nevertheless evolves less easily than female Choice. Here we show that when Mate Choice is sequential rather than simultaneous (which is often the case for the Mate-limited sex), male Mate Choice may fail to evolve even if there is large variation among fitness prospects offered by various females, and when mating is very costly. Our model is inspired by the mating system of the sexually cannibalistic praying mantid Pseudomantis albofimbriata. Males of this species do not stop approaching females that have turned to face them even though this female behaviour greatly increases the risk of being cannibalized. We show that low Mate availability can override the effect of all other factors that select for male Mate Choice: rejecting a current mating opportunity in the hope of better future opportunities is then not easily selected for. We conclude that studies of Mate Choice should examine why individuals refuse to take advantage of every opportunity, instead of merely focusing on the fact that some opportunities are better than others. Our results also call for more rigorous empirical tests of Mate Choice.
Robert W. Elwood - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Sexual cannibalism and Mate Choice
Animal Behaviour, 2006Co-Authors: John Prenter, Calum Macneil, Robert W. ElwoodAbstract:Sexual cannibalism, where a female kills and consumes a courting male, represents an extreme form of sexual conflict and has been proposed as a mechanism of Mate Choice. We evaluate the evidence for Mate Choice through premating sexual cannibalism via Mate rejection, other indirect mechanisms of Mate ‘Choice’ and Choice in postmating sexual cannibalism. We highlight a paucity of investigations, particularly of field studies, and note gaps in our knowledge. There is empirical support for the size-dependent sexual cannibalism predicted by Mate Choice through premating sexual cannibalism. This may represent Mate Choice operating on absolute male size but it could be a by-product of female foraging behaviour and greater vulnerability of relatively smaller males. Thus, indirect Mate Choice is as plausible an explanation of size-dependent sexual cannibalism as is direct Mate Choice based on discrimination of male traits. Direct female Choice, mediated through premating sexual cannibalism, has yet to be demonstrated. We suggest a framework for distinguishing direct and indirect Choice and note an absence of information on which to test it. There is evidence for sequential Mate Choice in postmating sexual cannibalism, but the nature or basis of the female's discriminatory behaviour remains unclear. Costs and long-term fitness benefits of the putative Mate Choice have been largely ignored. Reversed sexual cannibalism, in which the male eats the female, presumably occurs when the gain from food is high and potential gain from mating low and probably has little to do with Mate Choice.
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REVIEWS Sexual cannibalism and Mate Choice
2006Co-Authors: John Prenter, Robert W. ElwoodAbstract:Sexual cannibalism, where a female kills and consumes a courting male, represents an extreme form of sexual conflict and has been proposed as a mechanism of Mate Choice. We evaluate the evidence for Mate Choice through premating sexual cannibalism via Mate rejection, other indirect mechanisms of Mate ‘Choice’ and Choice in postmating sexual cannibalism. We highlight a paucity of investigations, particularly of field studies, and note gaps in our knowledge. There is empirical support for the size-dependent sexual cannibalism predicted by Mate Choice through premating sexual cannibalism. This may represent Mate Choice operating on absolute male size but it could be a by-product of female foraging behaviour and greater vulnerability of relatively smaller males. Thus, indirect Mate Choice is as plausible an explanation of sizedependent sexual cannibalism as is direct Mate Choice based on discrimination of male traits. Direct female Choice, mediated through premating sexual cannibalism, has yet to be demonstrated. We suggest a framework for distinguishing direct and indirect Choice and note an absence of information on which to test it. There is evidence for sequential Mate Choice in postmating sexual cannibalism, but the nature or basis of the female’s discriminatory behaviour remains unclear. Costs and long-term fitness benefits of the putative Mate Choice have been largely ignored. Reversed sexual cannibalism, in which the male eats the female, presumably occurs when the gain from food is high and potential gain from mating low and probably has little to do with Mate Choice.
Maria R. Servedio - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Mate Choice and Sexually Selected Traits
Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Biology, 2016Co-Authors: Sumit Dhole, Maria R. ServedioAbstract:Mating displays comprise some of the most elaborate traits in animals. A mechanism that can lead to the evolution of such traits is selection through Mate Choice. Generally, females exhibit stronger Mate Choice than males, preferentially mating with males that exhibit certain traits. In addition to male displays, the evolution of female Mate Choice needs to be explained. Here we discuss how sexual selection through Mate Choice can act on mating displays and preferences. We elaborate on the direct and indirect forms of selection acting on mating preferences. We also discuss the role of sexual selection in the speciation process.
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EVOLUTION OF Mate-Choice IMPRINTING: COMPETING STRATEGIES
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2008Co-Authors: Nora A. Tramm, Maria R. ServedioAbstract:Mate-Choice imprinting, the determination of mating preferences at an early age based on an individual's observation of adults, plays a role in Mate Choice in a wide variety of animals. Theoretical work has thus far been focused either on the effects of Mate-Choice imprinting on the evolution of the male trait used as a mating cue, or on the evolution of imprinting against a nonimprinting background. We ask the question: if multiple types of imprinting are possible in a species, which is likely to evolve? We develop a haploid population genetic model to compare the evolution of three forms of imprinting: paternal, Maternal, and oblique (nonparental adult) imprinting. We find that paternal imprinting is the most likely to evolve, whereas Maternal and oblique are nearly equivalent. We identify two factors that determine a strategy's success: its “imprinting set,” the set of individuals imprinted upon, and phenogenotypic disequilibrium, the association between imprinted preferences and mating cues. We assess the predictive power of these factors, and find that the imprinting set is the primary determinant of a strategy's success. We suggest that the imprinting set concept may be generalized to predict the success of additional imprinting strategies, such as Mate-Choice copying.
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POPULATION GENETIC MODELS OF MALE AND MUTUAL Mate Choice
Evolution; international journal of organic evolution, 2006Co-Authors: Maria R. Servedio, Russell LandeAbstract:Examples of male Mate Choice are becoming increasingly common, even in polygynous species. We create a series of population genetic models to examine the evolutionary equilibria and dynamics resulting from male Mate Choice during polygyny, alone and in the context of mutual Mate Choice by both sexes. We find that unless males with a preference are able to increase their overall courtship output, male preference will be lost. This loss can be counteracted if males choose females not based on arbitrary traits, but based on a trait that indicates high fertility or viability. We also conclude that if male and female preferences and traits are all controlled by different loci, the male and female Mate Choice systems are decoupled; the presence of a male preference then has no influence on the equilibria or dynamics of female Mate Choice. If male and female traits are coupled by pleiotropy, it becomes possible for a male preference to be maintained, regardless of whether preferences between the sexes are pleiotropic or controlled by separate loci.
