Sex ratio and density may affect temporal variation in size-assortative mating in a Neotropical ant species

Moura, Rafael Rios; Gonzaga, Marcelo O.

doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2018.07.001

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…However, additional mechanisms can lead to the emergence of such assortments (Burley 1983; Burley et al . 2018; Moura & Gonzaga 2018, 2019). For example, although all males prefer large females in a population, large males can exclude smaller competitors in intrasexual competition, restricting mating opportunities for small males to small females (Shine et al .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative approach is to explicitly incorporate the spatial and/or temporal dimension in the statistical analytical models. For example, Moura & Gonzaga (2018) investigated assortative mating in an ant species and included two different periods of the breeding season when the data were collected as levels of a categorical predictor variable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative approach is to explicitly incorporate the spatial and/or temporal dimension in the statistical analytical models. For example, Moura & Gonzaga (2018) investigated assortative mating in an ant species and included Figure 5 Comparison of the effect size of size-assortative mating patterns between the subphyla of animals using the data without spatial and temporal pooled estimates, and the average effect size. Dots represent the back-transformed r from Zr, and bars correspond to 95% confidence intervals.…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Effects On Sam Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Mate choice is assumed to be the main mechanism promoting assortative mating (Crespi 1989;Jiang et al 2013;Rolán-Alvarez et al 2015;Janicke et al 2019), because it is expected to generate positive assortments when one or both sexes prefer large partners (Ridley 1983;Crespi 1989). However, additional mechanisms can lead to the emergence of such assortments (Burley 1983;Burley et al 2018;Moura & Gonzaga 2018, 2019. For example, although all males prefer large females in a population, large males can exclude smaller competitors in intrasexual competition, restricting mating opportunities for small males to small females (Shine et al 2001;Baldauf et al 2009).…”

Section: Consistency Assortative Mating Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assortative mating in space and time: patterns and biases

Moura

Gonzaga

Pinto³

et al. 2021

Ecology Letters

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Despite the important roles of assortative mating for understanding evolutionary processes, our knowledge on the variation in assortative mating across populations and breeding periods has been overshadowed by the greater attention given to general patterns. Obtaining data on mating pairs are difficult for most species; therefore, researchers often group data from different populations or breeding periods, which can increase positive biases in detecting and estimating assortative mating. We used a meta‐analytic approach to investigate the biases caused by spatially or temporally pooling data and the assortative mating consistency across populations and breeding periods. We describe assortative mating patterns across and within animal taxa. We performed a systematic review to search studies reporting measures of size‐assortative mating (SAM). Grouping data from multiple populations and seasons incurred positive biases. Overall, assortative mating moderately exhibited low repeatability in space and time, but it was inconsistent for most taxa. After excluding pooled measures, the average estimate for assortative mating was moderate and positive. Thus, our findings demonstrate that pooling data can produce misleading results. We also highlight the importance of further investigation of hypotheses that explain spatial and temporal variation in assortative mating, after its detection. Our study reinforces the significance of investigating mating patterns at various spatial and temporal scales before drawing broad conclusions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative approach is to explicitly incorporate the spatial and/or temporal dimension in the statistical analytical models. For example, Moura & Gonzaga (2018) investigated assortative mating in an ant species and included two different periods of the breeding season when the data were collected as levels of a categorical predictor variable.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An alternative approach is to explicitly incorporate the spatial and/or temporal dimension in the statistical analytical models. For example, Moura & Gonzaga (2018) investigated assortative mating in an ant species and included Figure 5 Comparison of the effect size of size-assortative mating patterns between the subphyla of animals using the data without spatial and temporal pooled estimates, and the average effect size. Dots represent the back-transformed r from Zr, and bars correspond to 95% confidence intervals.…”

Section: Spatial and Temporal Effects On Sam Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Consistency Assortative Mating Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Assortative mating in space and time: patterns and biases

Moura

Gonzaga

Pinto³

et al. 2021

Ecology Letters

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“…In the ant Tranopelta gilva assortative mating occurs only when mating competition is weak (low ant density and a slightly male-biased sex ratio) (Moura & Gonzaga, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive behaviours in male parasitoids: From mating system to pairing pattern

et al. 2022

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It is now acknowledged that mating system is a dynamic characteristic within species or populations. Indeed, behavioural characteristics shaping the mating system can vary at the inter‐individual level, providing raw material for sexual and natural selections, and at the intra‐individual level, because of phenotypic plasticity and ontogeny of individual behaviours. Social environment is an additional source of variation in sexual behaviours. By focusing on males of the parasitoid wasp Venturia canescens, we assessed how sexual behaviours (courtship and mating) vary between and within individuals, considering males' size as inter‐individual source of variation, and age and mating experience as intra‐individual sources of variation. Consequences of the variations in sexual behaviours at the individual level are appraised by quantifying the costs in longevity and offspring production incurred by (repeatedly) mated males. At the population level, we tested the “agility hypothesis” predicting that smaller males win the male–male competition to access females, resulting in a non‐random assortative mating by size and a negative sexual selection on body size. We showed that V. canescens males are polygynous and that mating incurred longevity cost. Old males had a higher probability to court females, but no mating advantage. Smaller males tended to have a higher mating probability, but size was not under sexual selection and there was a random mating pattern according to individual size. Male–male competition intensity did not influence pairing pattern but tended to influence mating dynamic. Overall, our results suggest that sexual behaviours tended to vary at the inter‐ and intra‐individual levels and the effect of social environment remains to be more precisely described. These variations may impact individuals' reproductive success with potential ecological and evolutionary consequences that are discussed.

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