Only females in poor condition display a clear preference and prefer males with an average badge

Abstract

BackgroundFemale condition-dependent variation in mate preference may have important evolutionary implications, not only within the same population but also among populations. There are few experiments, however, on how condition and/or genotype influences female mate preferences. The black throat patch of the male house sparrow, Passer domesticus, is an intensively studied plumage trait. It is often referred to as a 'badge of status' and seems to be involved in female mate choice, but differences exist among populations. Between-population variation in mate preference may occur for condition-dependent mate preferences. We tested the hypothesis that female preference may vary with female quality (body condition). Therefore, we measured female preference for badge size using an aviary two-choice test in which females were presented with two males that had different sizes of badges (enlarged or averaged).ResultsOverall we did not find a female preference for enlarged or average badges, but low-quality females spent more time near average badge males. Conversely, high-quality females did not show a clear preference.ConclusionsCollectively, these results indicate that female preference varies with female quality. Differences in female condition are causes of within-population variation in mating preferences. To our knowledge, our results provide one of the first experimental evidences that variation in preference for a male ornament is associated with female condition. In our study, however, only females of low condition displayed a clear mate preference. Differences observed among populations could be partly explained by differences in female condition.

Feather microstructure predicts size and colour intensity of a melanin-based plumage signal

“…Great tits of both sexes with larger breast stripes get better access to resources and higher mating success, so this trait acts as a honest signal of quality (Järvi and Bakken 1984, Norris 1990, Carrascal et al 1998, Quesada and Senar 2007. The same applies to other species, where melaninbased traits have evolved as signals of individual quality (Jawor and Breitwisch 2003, Hoi and Griggio 2008, Griggio and Hoi 2010. The mechanisms maintaining the honesty of melanin-based traits are currently debated, however Alonso-Alvarez 2008, 2009).…”

An experimental test on time constraint and sexual conflict over parental care

“…Age of birds has been taken into account dividing individuals in two categories: first-year birds (young, ringed as fledglings the year before) and those at least 2 years of age (older). Individual body condition was calculated by dividing body mass by (tarsus length) 3 owing to small values the body condition indices were multiplied by 10 4 (Griggio and Hoi 2010). More details of the methods are given in Pilastro et al (2001); Griggio et al (2005); Griggio and Pilastro (2007).…”

Assortative Pairings in Diamond Firetails (Stagonopleura guttata) are not the Result of Mutual Mate Choice for an Ornament

“…It has been argued that mate choice could be affected by the quality and condition of the individual chooser (Cotton et al. ; Griggio & Hoi ; Holveck & Riebel ; Riebel et al. ).…”

“…We then used experimental trials to test whether there is mutual mate preference for spot number using natural and experimentally manipulated spot number. Recently, it has been argued that mate preference may depend on the direct costs and benefits of mating with certain males, which may vary among females (Griggio & Hoi ; Holveck & Riebel ; Riebel et al. ).…”