scholarly journals Aesthetic evolution by mate choice: Darwin's really dangerous idea

2012 ◽  
Vol 367 (1600) ◽  
pp. 2253-2265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard O. Prum
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Null Model ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Aesthetic Theory ◽  
Communication Signal ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Selection Research ◽  
Aesthetic Evolution

Darwin proposed an explicitly aesthetic theory of sexual selection in which he described mate preferences as a ‘taste for the beautiful’, an ‘aesthetic capacity’, etc. These statements were not merely colourful Victorian mannerisms, but explicit expressions of Darwin's hypothesis that mate preferences can evolve for arbitrarily attractive traits that do not provide any additional benefits to mate choice. In his critique of Darwin, A. R. Wallace proposed an entirely modern mechanism of mate preference evolution through the correlation of display traits with male vigour or viability, but he called this mechanism natural selection. Wallace's honest advertisement proposal was stridently anti-Darwinian and anti-aesthetic. Most modern sexual selection research relies on essentially the same Neo-Wallacean theory renamed as sexual selection. I define the process of aesthetic evolution as the evolution of a communication signal through sensory/cognitive evaluation, which is most elaborated through coevolution of the signal and its evaluation. Sensory evaluation includes the possibility that display traits do not encode information that is being assessed, but are merely preferred. A genuinely Darwinian, aesthetic theory of sexual selection requires the incorporation of the Lande–Kirkpatrick null model into sexual selection research, but also encompasses the possibility of sensory bias, good genes and direct benefits mechanisms.

Synthesis and Outlook

2021 ◽  
pp. 153-161
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sex Ratios ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Female Ornamentation ◽  
Female Quality ◽  
Investment In Reproduction ◽  
Selection Research ◽  
Male Mate

In this final chapter I want to briefly recap what I presented in the previous chapters and provide a few ideas on what might be done in the future to move the field forward. All three factors I discussed as relevant in male mate choice—male investment in reproduction, sex ratios, and variability in partner quality—are still emerging fields in sexual selection research and need more theoretical and empirical work. I suggest that variability in female quality is more important and more complex than currently known. The same is true for sex ratios. On the other hand, I suggest that sheer investment in gametes may be a little less important than currently assumed. Most importantly we need to explore the interactions of these three pathways to male mate choice. Female competition and also female ornamentation are still somewhat enigmatic and both topics are likely to grow in importance for our understanding of sexual selection. I think considering male and female choice together, as well as female and male competition will ultimately provide a more complete picture of Darwinian sexual selection.

scholarly journals Sexual selection on color and behavior within and between cichlid populations: Implications for speciation

2012 ◽  
Vol 58 (3) ◽  
pp. 475-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Pauers ◽  
Jeffrey S. Mckinnon
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Assortative Mating ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Separate Experiment ◽  
Color Patterns ◽  
Male Behavior ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Different Color

Abstract Sexual selection is widely viewed as playing a central role in haplochromine cichlid speciation. Hypothetically, once divergent mate preferences evolve among populations of these fishes, reproductive isolation follows and the populations begin to behave as different species. Various studies have examined patterns of assortative mating among species and sometimes populations, but few have examined variation in directional preferences, especially among populations of the same species. We investigated mate choice behavior in two populations of Labeotropheus fuelleborni, a Lake Malawi endemic. We test whether mating preferences between populations are based on the same traits and in the same direction as preferences within populations. We examine the potential contributions of two classes of trait, color patterns and behaviors, to reproductive isolation. When females chose between either two males of their own population, or two from another, female preferences were generally similar (for the female population) across the two contexts. Mate choice patterns differed between (female) populations for a measure of color, but only modestly for male behavior. In a separate experiment we simultaneously offered females a male of their own population and a male from a different population. In these trials, females consistently preferred males from their own population, which were also the males that displayed more frequently than their opponents, but not necessarily those with color traits suggested to be most attractive in the previous experiment. Thus directional preferences for chroma and related aspects of color may be important when females are presented with males of otherwise similar phenotypes, but may play little role in mediating assortative mating among populations with substantially different color patterns. A preference for male behavior could play some role in speciation if males preferentially court same-population females, as we have observed for the populations studied herein.

scholarly journals The Peacock Fallacy: Art as a Veblenian Signal

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Mendoza Straffon
Keyword(s):  
Mate Choice ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Art Practice ◽  
Indirect Benefits ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
And Function ◽  
Original Concept ◽  
Genetic Fitness

The fact that world-over people seem inexplicably motivated to allocate time and effort to apparently useless cultural practices, like the arts, has led several evolutionary scholars to suggest that these might be costly Zahavian signals correlated with genetic fitness, such as the infamous peacock’s tail. In this paper, I review the fundamental arguments of the hypothesis that art evolved and serves as a costly Zahavian signal. First, I look into the hypothesis that humans exert mate choice for indirect benefits and argue that the data supports mate choice for direct benefits instead. Second, I argue that art practice may well be a costly signal, however not necessarily related to good genes. Third, I suggest that Thorstein Veblen’s original concept of conspicuous signals as social tools to obtain and convey prestige provides a better account than the Zahavian model for the evolution and function of art in society. As a Veblenian signal, art could still have many of the effects suggested for visual art as a Zahavian signal, except not for the indirect benefits of optimal offspring, but for the direct benefits of acquiring and conveying social status.

scholarly journals How choosy should I be? The relative searching time predicts evolution of choosiness under direct sexual selection

2014 ◽  
Vol 281 (1785) ◽  
pp. 20140190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Etienne ◽  
François Rousset ◽  
Bernard Godelle ◽  
Alexandre Courtiol
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Strong Influence ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Indirect Selection ◽  
Theoretical Research ◽  
Mating Rate ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Benefits And Costs

Most theoretical research in sexual selection has focused on indirect selection. However, empirical studies have not strongly supported indirect selection. A well-established finding is that direct benefits and costs exert a strong influence on the evolution of mate choice. We present an analytical model in which unilateral mate choice evolves solely by direct sexual selection on choosiness. We show this is sufficient to generate the evolution of all possible levels of choosiness, because of the fundamental trade-off between mating rate and mating benefits. We further identify the relative searching time (RST, i.e. the proportion of lifetime devoted to searching for mates) as a predictor of the effect of any variable affecting the mating rate on the evolution of choosiness. We show that the RST: (i) allows one to make predictions about the evolution of choosiness across a wide variety of mating systems; (ii) encompasses all alternative variables proposed thus far to explain the evolution of choosiness by direct sexual selection; and (iii) can be empirically used to infer qualitative differences in choosiness.

scholarly journals A model of the interaction between ‘good genes’ and direct benefits in courtship-feeding animals: when do males of high genetic quality invest less?

2002 ◽  
Vol 357 (1419) ◽  
pp. 309-317 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. F. Bussière
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Simple Model ◽  
Parental Investment ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Genetic Quality ◽  
Individual Female ◽  
Female Partners ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Courtship Feeding

Conflict between mates over the amount of parental investment by each partner is probably the rule except in rare cases of genetic monogamy. In systems with parental care, males may frequently benefit by providing smaller investments than are optimal for individual female partners. Females are therefore expected to choose males that will provide the largest amounts of parental investment. In some species, however, the preferred males provide less care than their rivals. Focusing on species in which males invest by feeding their mates, I use a simple model to demonstrate the conditions under which males preferred by females may have optimal donations that are smaller than those of less–preferred rivals. Pre–mating female choice may sufficiently bias the perception of mate availability of preferred males relative to their rivals such that preferred males gain by conserving resources for future matings. Similarly, ‘cryptic’ biases in favour of high–quality ejaculates by females can compensate for smaller than average donations received from preferred males. However, post–fertilization cryptic choice should not change the optimal donations of preferred males relative to their rivals. I discuss the implications of this work for understanding sexual selection in courtship–feeding animals, and the relevance of these systems to understanding patterns of investment for animals in general.

Mate Choice and Mating Preferences

Mate Choice ◽  
2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gil G. Rosenthal
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Unified Approach ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Basic Framework ◽  
Preference Functions ◽  
Key Questions

This chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to present a conceptually unified approach to thinking about what Darwin termed the “taste for the beautiful.” It begins by describing a basic framework for thinking about mate choice and mate preferences. It then provides an outline for how the book attempts to address key questions about how they work, how they evolve, and how they act simultaneously as targets and agents of selection. Topics discussed include the meaning of mate choice; mate choice as distinct from sexual selection; preference and antipathy underlie realized mate choices; preference functions; stages of mate choice; and mate choice as a problem in animal communication.

Female and Male Mate Choice

2021 ◽  
pp. 21-52
Author(s):  
Ingo Schlupp
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Complete Picture ◽  
Male Mate Choice ◽  
Indirect Benefits ◽  
Short Overview ◽  
Direct Benefits ◽  
Male Mate

Females choose mating partners for three main reasons: direct benefits, indirect benefits, and compatibility, either genetic or social. In this chapter I am not trying to look at all angles of mate choice, but to give a short overview of female choice to provide a basis for a comparison with male choice. This will highlight what studies are needed to reach a more complete picture of sexual selection. I would summarize the chapter like this: it’s the ecology, stupid.

scholarly journals A multivariate analysis of women's mating strategies and sexual selection on men's facial morphology

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 191209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa R. Clarkson ◽  
Morgan J. Sidari ◽  
Rosanna Sains ◽  
Meredith Alexander ◽  
Melissa Harrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Mating Strategies ◽  
Facial Morphology ◽  
Mate Value ◽  
Significant Positive Association ◽  
Facial Masculinity ◽  
Moral Disgust

The strength and direction of sexual selection via female choice on masculine facial traits in men is a paradox in human mate choice research. While masculinity may communicate benefits to women and offspring directly (i.e. resources) or indirectly (i.e. health), masculine men may be costly as long-term partners owing to lower paternal investment. Mating strategy theory suggests women's preferences for masculine traits are strongest when the costs associated with masculinity are reduced. This study takes a multivariate approach to testing whether women's mate preferences are context-dependent. Women ( n = 919) rated attractiveness when considering long-term and short-term relationships for male faces varying in beardedness (clean-shaven and full beards) and facial masculinity (30% and 60% feminized, unmanipulated, 30% and 60% masculinized). Participants then completed scales measuring pathogen, sexual and moral disgust, disgust towards ectoparasites, reproductive ambition, self-perceived mate value and the facial hair in partners and fathers. In contrast to past research, we found no associations between pathogen disgust, self-perceived mate value or reproductive ambition and facial masculinity preferences. However, we found a significant positive association between moral disgust and preferences for masculine faces and bearded faces. Preferences for beards were lower among women with higher ectoparasite disgust, providing evidence for ectoparasite avoidance hypothesis. However, women reporting higher pathogen disgust gave higher attractiveness ratings for bearded faces than women reporting lower pathogen disgust, providing support for parasite-stress theories of sexual selection and mate choice. Preferences for beards were also highest among single and married women with the strongest reproductive ambition. Overall, our results reflect mixed associations between individual differences in mating strategies and women's mate preferences for masculine facial traits.

Testing the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis in male Moor Frogs (Rana arvalis) exhibiting a conspicuous nuptial colouration

2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Attila Hettyey ◽  
Herbert Hoi ◽  
Gábor Herczeg
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Good Genes ◽  
Sexual Dichromatism ◽  
Offspring Survival ◽  
Rana Arvalis ◽  
Moor Frog

AbstractThe conspicuous blue nuptial colouration of Moor Frog (Rana arvalis) males has been associated with sexual selection; it may provide females with information about benefits to be gained through mate choice. Here we investigated the phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis suggesting that exaggerated traits may advertise fertilization ability. We evaluated conspicuousness of males' colouration and related this to the number of sperm stored in their testes. Contrary to our expectation, we did not find a positive relationship between blueness of males and the number of sperm stored in the testes. We discuss this result in the light of alternative traits that may be advertised by colouration, such as sperm quality or good genes for offspring survival. We now need direct studies of female mate choice and the physiology of the blue nuptial colouration to clarify the evolutionary background of the striking temporal sexual dichromatism in the Moor Frog.

scholarly journals Testing Mate Choice Hypotheses in a Transitional Small Scale Population

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynda Boothroyd ◽  
Jean-Luc Jucker ◽  
Tracey Thornborrow ◽  
Martin Tovee ◽  
Carlota Batres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Mate Preferences ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Sexually Dimorphic ◽  
Facial Structure ◽  
Scale Population ◽  
Sexual Selection Theory ◽  
Objective Tests

Objective: Tests of theories of mate choice often rely on data gathered in White, industrialised samples and this is especially the case for studies of facial attraction. Our understanding of preferences for sexual dimorphism is currently in flux and a number of hypotheses require testing in more diverse participant samples. The current study uses opportunistically gathered facial dimorphism preference data from c. 300 participants in rural Nicaragua. We assess hypotheses drawn from sexual selection theory, and from more recent approaches which consider the impacts of economic development and cultural ‘modernisation’ on mate preferences. Methods: Participants verbally reported demographic data, and indicated preferences for five male and five female pairs of faces manipulated to differ in sexually dimorphic facial structure based on a sample of Salvadoran individuals.Results and conclusions: Pending

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