Do female association preferences predict the likelihood of reproduction?

Walling, Craig A.; Royle, Nick J.; Lindström, Jan; Metcalfe, Neil B.

doi:10.1007/s00265-009-0869-4

Cited by 94 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…the relative number of females that approach a stimulus in phonotaxis experiments, Gerhardt, 1995), the speed and direction on a walking compensator or of tethered movements (i.e phonotaxis in insects, Doherty, 1985),association time (i.e. the proportion of time spent in proximity to a visual stimulus in fish, Cummings and Mollaghan, 2006;Walling et al, 2010, andbirds Hoi andGriggio, 2011; or to a chemical stimulus in mammals, CluttonBrock and McAuliffe, 2009), or the number of signals elicited (i.e. contact calls in birds, Moravec et al, 2006).…”

Section: The Preference Function Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Castellano

Cadeddu

Cermelli

2012

Behavioural Processes

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a b s t r a c tThe present review is based on the thesis that mate choice results from information-processing mechanisms governed by computational rules and that, to understand how females choose their mates, we should identify which are the sources of information and how they are used to make decisions. We describe mate choice as a three-step computational process and for each step we present theories and review empirical evidence. The first step is a perceptual process. It describes the acquisition of evidence, that is, how females use multiple cues and signals to assign an attractiveness value to prospective mates (the preference function hypothesis). The second step is a decisional process. It describes the construction of the decision variable (DV), which integrates evidence (private information by direct assessment), priors (public information), and value (perceived utility) of prospective mates into a quantity that is used by a decision rule (DR) to produce a choice. We make the assumption that females are optimal Bayesian decision makers and we derive a formal model of DV that can explain the effects of preference functions, mate copying, social context, and females' state and condition on the patterns of mate choice. The third step of mating decision is a deliberative process that depends on the DRs. We identify two main categories of DRs (absolute and comparative rules), and review the normative models of mate sampling tactics associated to them. We highlight the limits of the normative approach and present a class of computational models (sequential-sampling models) that are based on the assumption that DVs accumulate noisy evidence over time until a decision threshold is reached. These models force us to rethink the dichotomy between comparative and absolute decision rules, between discrimination and recognition, and even between rational and irrational choice. Since they have a robust biological basis, we think they may represent a useful theoretical tool for behavioural ecologist interested in integrating proximate and ultimate causes of mate choice.

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Section: The Preference Function Hypothesismentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Castellano

Cadeddu

Cermelli

2012

Behavioural Processes

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“…We defined association based on the descriptions of platyfish courtship provided by Schlosberg et al (1949), which include behaviors such as posing, sigmoidal flexing, and arching. The amount of time female X. maculatus spend associating with males has been shown to be a reliable indicator of mate selection and final reproductive outcomes in previous studies involving various Xiphophorus species (Cummings and Mollaghan, 2006;Walling et al, 2010). All data analyses were performed using SAS 9.3 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Negative Assortative Mating Based on Body Coloration in the Freshwater Platyfish (Poecillidae: Xiphophorus maculatus)

Frankel

2017

AJB

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The ability of individuals within a population to survive and thrive is highly dependent upon the maintenance of genetic variation and phenotypic diversity, thereby ensuring adaptation to dynamic environments. A fundamental method of maintaining such variation is through a negative assortative mating strategy, in which individuals would be expected to reproductively select members of the opposite sex that exhibit dissimilar phenotypes. Employing three uniform body color morphs, red, yellow and blue, of the platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus), this study was designed to investigate whether X. maculatus females would preferentially be attracted to males exhibiting an alternative color, thereby enabling an examination of the effect of male body coloration on mate choice by adult females. Mate choice was determined based on the initial preference of each female, as well as the amount of time females spent associating with each male. Initial preferences were analyzed using a binomial distribution test, and overall preference data using Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Red females initially selected for dissimilar colored males, and spent a significantly larger amount of time associating with blue and yellow males, as did yellow females with red and blue males. Blue females initially selected and spent a significantly larger amount of time associating with red males but, interestingly, showed no selective preference between blue and yellow males. In these experimental trials, the overall strong mate selection exhibited by female platyfish for males of dissimilar coloration is suggestive of a negative assortative mating strategy and provides evidence for the maintenance of color polymorphism in nature populations.

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“…Firstly, female preference behaviour is often measured in a choice environment where males and females are physically prevented from interacting, and quantified using behavioural assays validated as a proxy for reproductive intent (e.g. association time [34]). Preventing contact between the sexes isolates the mechanistic responses in the brain from the confound of sexual contact and the physiological responses associated with it (e.g.…”

Section: The Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Looking for sexual selection in the female brain

Cummings

2012

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Female mate choice behaviour has significant evolutionary consequences, yet its mechanistic origins are not fully understood. Recent studies of female sensory systems have made great strides in identifying internal mechanisms governing female preferences. Only recently, however, have we begun to identify the dynamic genomic response associated with mate choice behaviour. Poeciliids provide a powerful comparative system to examine genomic responses governing mate choice and female preference behaviour, given the great range of mating systems: from female mate choice taxa with ornamental courting males to species lacking male ornamentation and exhibiting only male coercion. Furthermore, they exhibit laboratory-tractable preference responses without sexual contact that are decoupled from reproductive state, allowing investigators to isolate mechanisms in the brain without physiological confounds. Early investigations with poeciliid species ( Xiphophorus nigrensis and Gambusia affinis ) have identified putative candidate genes associated with female preference response and highlight a possible genomic pathway underlying female social interactions with males linked functionally with synaptic plasticity and learning processes. This network is positively correlated with female preference behaviour in the female mate choice species, but appears inhibited in the male coercive species. This behavioural genomics approach provides opportunity to elucidate the fundamental building blocks, and evolutionary dynamics, of sexual selection.

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Do female association preferences predict the likelihood of reproduction?

Abstract: 2526

Cited by 94 publications

References 45 publications

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Negative Assortative Mating Based on Body Coloration in the Freshwater Platyfish (Poecillidae: Xiphophorus maculatus)

Looking for sexual selection in the female brain

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