How do animals choose their mates?

Gibson, Robert B.; Langen, Tom A.

doi:10.1016/0169-5347(96)10050-1

Cited by 189 publications

(115 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Although mate choice arises by applying a decision rule to a pattern of preferences, these two components of mate choice have been rarely analysed within a unitary theoretical framework (Gibson and Langen, 1996). Typically, studies that focus on mating preferences (i.e.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

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: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Castellano

Cadeddu

Cermelli

2012

Behavioural Processes

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“…In the first place, human mating strategies are highly conditional (Gangestad and Simpson 2000): environmental conditions determine the adaptive value of mating preference and sample tactic. As an example, pooled comparison ('looking for the optimal mate') is preferable in stable and safe environments, whereas threshold-based rules ('looking for a good-enough mate') tend to yield higher fitness in unsafe environments (Gibson and Langen 1996). This seriously complicates the study of human mating games given the fact that even in one society different individuals occupy different environmental niches.…”

Section: Culture As a Mating Gamementioning

confidence: 99%

Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selection

Block

Dewitte²

2006

Biol Philos

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Abstract. In this paper, we argue that mating games, a concept that denotes cultural practices characterized by a competitive element and an ornamental character, are essential drivers behind the emergence and maintenance of human cultural practices. In order to substantiate this claim, we sketch out the essential role of the game's players and audience, as well as the ways in which games can mature and turn into relatively stable cultural practices. After outlining the life phase of mating games -their emergence, rise, maturation, and possible eventual decline -we go on to argue that participation in these games (in each phase) does make sense from an adaptationist point of view. The strong version of our theory which proposes that all cultural practices are, or once were, mating games, allows us to derive a set of testable predictions for the fields of archaeology, economics, and psychology.

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“…This can take the form of variation in the propensity to sample mates (Backwell & Passmore 1996), criteria for mate acceptance (Johnstone et al 1996), resistance to forced copulation attempts (Arnqvist 1992), the propensity to mate-choice copy (Dugatkin & Godin 1993), or the frequency of deployment of di¡erent sampling tactics (Gibson & Langen 1996). Sometimes discrete mating categories are de¢ned based on male type or mating location.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elevated predation risk changes mating behaviour and courtship in a fiddler crab

Koga

Backwell

Jennions

et al. 1998

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

146

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The ¢ddler crab, Uca beebei, lives in individually defended burrows, in mixed-sex colonies on intertidal mud £ats. Avian predation is common, especially of crabs unable to escape into burrows. Mating pairs form in two ways. Females either mate on the surface at their burrow entrance (`surface mating') or leave their own burrow and sequentially enter and leave (`sample') courting males' burrows, before staying in one to mate underground (`burrow mating'). We tested whether perceived predation risk a¡ects the relative frequency of these mating modes. We ¢rst observed mating under natural levels of predation during one biweekly, semi-lunar cycle. We then experimentally increased the perceived predation risk by attracting grackles (Quiscalus mexicanus) to each half of the study site in two successive biweekly cycles. In each experimental cycle, crabs were signi¢cantly less likely to mate on the side with more birds. Moreover, on the side with elevated predation risk, the number of females leaving burrows to sample was greatly reduced relative to the number of females that surface-mated. Males waved less and built fewer mud pillars, which attract females, when birds were present. We discuss several plausible proximate explanations for these results and the e¡ect of changes in predation regime on sexual selection.

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How do animals choose their mates?

Cited by 189 publications

References 30 publications

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Mating games: cultural evolution and sexual selection

Elevated predation risk changes mating behaviour and courtship in a fiddler crab

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