Genetic variation in social influence on mate preferences

Abstract

Patterns of phenotypic variation arise in part from plasticity owing to social interactions, and these patterns contribute, in turn, to the form of selection that shapes the variation we observe in natural populations. This proximate-ultimate dynamic brings genetic variation in social environments to the forefront of evolutionary theory. However, the extent of this variation remains largely unknown. Here, we use a member of the Enchenopa binotata species complex of treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae) to assess how mate preferences are influenced by genetic variation in the social environment. We used full-sibling split-families as 'treatment' social environments, and reared focal females alongside each treatment family, describing the mate preferences of the focal females. With this method, we detected substantial genetic variation in social influence on mate preferences. The mate preferences of focal females varied according to the treatment families along with which they grew up. We discuss the evolutionary implications of the presence of such genetic variation in social influence on mate preferences, including potential contributions to the maintenance of genetic variation, the promotion of divergence, and the adaptive evolution of social effects on fitness-related traits.

Sexual selection and population divergence I: The influence of socially flexible cuticular hydrocarbon expression in male field crickets (Teleogryllus oceanicus)

“…The fact that sexually selected trait expression may also be flexible depending on the social environment adds further complications to evaluating the role of sexual selection in divergence (Cornwallis and Uller ). However, it also provides a testable prediction: if social effects on expression of sexually selected traits vary in different populations, the ensuing evolutionary dynamics generated by feedback arising from the social environment could push trait evolution in different directions in different populations (Bailey and Moore ; Rebar and Rodríguez , ; Wolf et al. ).…”

Variation in signal–preference genetic correlations in Enchenopa treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae)

“…Important additional questions will involve how the evolutionary processes that arise from direct signal–preference genetic correlations may interact with additional factors that reinforce the action of Fisherian selection (e.g., Bailey and Moore ; Chandler et al. ; Rebar and Rodríguez , ,b, ; Greenfield et al. ), and with factors that oppose it (Kirkpatrick and Ryan ; Servedio and Bürger ).…”

Describing mate preference functions and other function‐valued traits

“…) (see below). The traits are also useful for describing components of variation in mate preferences such as repeatability, heritability and plasticity (Fowler‐Finn & Rodríguez, ,b, ; Rebar & Rodríguez, , ; Rodríguez et al ., .…”