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Preferences for Exaggerated Traits Exist… Control I ! Control II (Unmanipulated)

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Preferences for Exaggerated Traits Exist… Control I ! Control II (Unmanipulated) Long-tailed dance flies Long-tailed dance fly – Rhamphomyia longicauda Trait preferences exist… Rhamphomyia longicauda Preferences for exaggerated traits exist… Control I ! Control II (unmanipulated) Peacocks Widowbirds Number of matings Shortened ! Elongated barn swallow Is tail length associated with mating success in barn swallows? Moller (1988) Nature 332:640 Control Elongated Control Shortened Do males with long tails mate more frequently (compared to short-tailed males)? Do females prefer to mate with long tailed Change in number of matings Experimental males over short-tailed males? (remove eyesptos) ! ! ! ! barn swallow barn swallow Moller (1988) Nature 332:640 Moller (1988) Nature 332:640 Males with elongated tails found Males with elongated tails mates more quickly re-mated more frequently …but what is it that males (or females) choosing? Hypotheses for how mate choice evolves... ! ! • Honest advertisement • Individuals increase their fitness by selecting mates whose characteristics indicate that they are of high quality. • Direct benefits to individuals of the choosy sex • Indirect benefits (e.g., good genes for offspring of choosy sex) barn swallow Females paired with short-tailed males more likely to accept extra matings Males with elongated tails had more offspring long-tailed males were Extra pair copulations more successful at By males gaining extra matings By their female pair- mates Indirect benefits: Good genes hypothesis Direct benefits: food In nature… Bittacus apicalis Exaggerated traits indicate the genetic quality of a mate superb lyrebird Handicap principle Costly signals likely to be honest indicators of In laboratory… Bittacus apicalis genetic quality Video: Spatuletail hummingbird Direct benefits: spermatophores Direct benefits: spermatophores Some transferred directly to females Mormon cricket Requena verticalis Female consuming spermatophore Some deposited on substrate Spermatophylax Sperm Experimental manipulations show that spermatophylax increases sperm transfer time Sexual cannibalism: the ultimate nuptial gift Direct benefits: protection praying mantis Newly rattlebox moth protected female moth being rejected by spider redback spider Male moth Cannibalized males copulate longer and fertilize more transfers eggs than those that survive copulation. Rattlebox moth feeding alkaloids to off rattlebox plant, Females are more likely to reject subsequent suitors female after consuming their first mate. obtaining alkaloids Direct benefits: protection Direct benefits: protection Drosophila mojavensis Drosophila mojavensis (colonized dry SW habitats) (colonized dry SW habitats) Figure 1. Desiccation resistance in females (measured in hours) (a) between mated (filled bars) and unmated (open bars) females, and (b) among populations. The relative contribution of mating in each population is identified by comparison with unmated females, indicated by the open bars. Direct and indirect benefits: male parental care Hypotheses for how mate choice evolves... • Honest advertisement • • Males s/t responsible for nest ! Individuals increase their fitness by selecting mates whose characteristics construction, parental care indicate that they are of high quality. •!Female choice based on • Direct benefits to individuals of the choosy sex (e.g., food, protection) benefits to offspring Betta • Indirect benefits (e.g., good genes for offspring of choosy sex) splendens • Sensory exploitation • Traits evolve because they attract the attention of the opposite sex. There is a pre-existing bias that individuals will prefer mates with these traits. Some sounds, shapes, colors, odors, etc. are more noticeable to potential mates due to the way their sensory systems work.) sedge warbler Swordtails & platyfish Preference for exaggerated NOVEL traits – small fish, genus Xiphophorus – males have elongated caudal fins (extensions), sometimes also brightly colored Preference exists even if trait is novel black-throated and zebra finches Basolo (1990) Science 250:808 Priapella (outgroup) Basolo (1990) Science 250:808 Priapella (outgroup) Basolo (1995) Proc R Soc 259:307 Basolo (1995) Proc R Soc 259:307 Basolo (1995) Anim Behav 50:365 Basolo (1995) Anim Behav 50:365 Platyfish Platyfish species in which preference females prefer males with long swords swords swords Swordtails Swordtails In some cricket species, Sceloporus virgatus S. virgatus respond to lack blue ventral patches spermatophylax contains no nutrients artificial blue patches Close relatives have them Females in non-spermatophylax producing species accept them (sensory exploitation) Hypotheses for how mate choice evolves... • Honest advertisement • Individuals increase their fitness by selecting mates whose characteristics indicate that they are of high quality. • Direct benefits to individuals of the choosy sex (e.g., food, protection) • Indirect benefits (e.g., good genes for offspring of choosy sex) Pisaura mirabilis • Sensory exploitation • Traits evolve because they attract the attention of the opposite sex. There is a pre-existing bias that individuals will prefer mates with these traits. Some sounds, shapes, colors, odors, etc. are more noticeable to potential mates due to the way their sensory systems work.) • Runaway selection • Male traits evolve due to assortative mating between females with a preference for some trait and males who possess that trait. Such matings result in offspring both with the preference (daughters) and the trait (sons). Runaway (Fisherian) selection (“sexy sons” hypothesis) Female guppies prefer males with orange spots... ! ! Slope is an indicator of preference preference of F’s (higher slopes = greater preference) orange spot size Trait unrelated to male quality Trait passed to sons Preference passed on to daughters RA Fisher Female guppies prefer males with orange spots... Female control of copulation Male-orange & female preference are positively correlated across populations. In most cases, females retain control of mating red junglefowl Females from “big orange” populations had strong preference for orange spots Houde & Endler (1990) Science 248:1405 Imposed artificial selection (directional) on the degree of orange in males. High lines (males selected for more orange) Selection on males resulted in a correlated response in female preference for orange spots (!) orange spot size Low lines (males selected for less orange) Houde (1994) generations Proc Roy Soc 256:125 Cryptic female choice Cryptic female choice Females of many species may store sperm Sperm storage: choice of sire? ambrosia beetle Xiphophorus multilineatus redback spider Pulex spp. Sperm storage an adaptation Female mollies mate with multiple males, for delayed conception but one sires ~70% of offspring .
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