scholarly journals Different preference functions act in unison: mate choice and risk-taking behaviour in the Atlantic molly (Poecilia mexicana)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolin Sommer-Trembo ◽  
Michael Schreier ◽  
Martin Plath
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Personality Type ◽  
Animal Personality ◽  
Test Subject ◽  
Phenotypic Traits ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Poecilia Mexicana ◽  
Livebearing Fish

AbstractConsistent individual differences in behaviour (animal personality) are widespread throughout the Animal Kingdom. This includes variation in risk-taking versus risk-averse behavioural tendencies. Variation in several personality dimensions is associated with distinct fitness consequences and thus, may become a target of natural and/or sexual selection. However, the link between animal personality and mate choice—as a major component of sexual selection—remains understudied. We asked (1) whether females and males of the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana prefer risk-taking mating partners (directional mating preference), (2) or if their preferences are dependent on the choosing individual’s own personality type (assortative mating). We characterized each test subject for its risk-taking behaviour, assessed as the time to emerge from shelter and enter an unknown area. In dichotomous association preference tests, we offered two potential mating partners that differed in risk-taking behaviour but were matched for other phenotypic traits (body size, shape, and colouration). Females, but not males, exhibited a strong directional preference for risk-taking over risk-averse mating partners. At the same time, the strength of females’ preferences correlated positively with their own risk-taking scores. Our study is the first to demonstrate that a strong overall preference for risk-taking mating partners does not preclude effects of choosing individuals’ own personality type on (subtle) individual variation in mating preferences. More generally, two different preferences functions appear to interact to determine the outcome of individual mate choice decisions.

scholarly journals Male fish use prior knowledge about rivals to adjust their mate choice

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bierbach ◽  
Antje Girndt ◽  
Sybille Hamfler ◽  
Moritz Klein ◽  
Frauke Mücksch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Public Information ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Social Cues ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
Male Fish ◽  
Mating Preferences ◽  
Poecilia Mexicana ◽  
Livebearing Fish

Mate choice as one element of sexual selection can be sensitive to public information from neighbouring individuals. Here, we demonstrate that males of the livebearing fish Poecilia mexicana gather complex social information when given a chance to familiarize themselves with rivals prior to mate choice. Focal males ceased to show mating preferences when being observed by a rival (which prevents rivals from copying mating decisions), but this effect was only seen when focal males have perceived rivals as sexually active. In addition, focal males that were observed by a familiar, sexually active rival showed a stronger behavioural response when rivals were larger and thus, more attractive to females. Our study illustrates an unparalleled adjustment in the expression of mating preferences based on social cues, and suggests that male fish are able to remember and strategically exploit information about rivals when performing mate choice.

scholarly journals Divergent Evolution of Male Aggressive Behaviour: Another Reproductive Isolation Barrier in Extremophile Poeciliid Fishes?

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bierbach ◽  
Moritz Klein ◽  
Vanessa Sassmannshausen ◽  
Ingo Schlupp ◽  
Rüdiger Riesch ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Hydrogen Sulphide ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Aggressive Behaviour ◽  
Female Mate Choice ◽  
Divergent Evolution ◽  
Poecilia Mexicana ◽  
Spring Area

Reproductive isolation among locally adapted populations may arise when immigrants from foreign habitats are selected against via natural or (inter-)sexual selection (female mate choice). We asked whether also intrasexual selection through male-male competition could promote reproductive isolation among populations of poeciliid fishes that are locally adapted to extreme environmental conditions [i.e., darkness in caves and/or toxic hydrogen sulphide (H2S)]. We found strongly reduced aggressiveness in extremophile Poecilia mexicana, and darkness was the best predictor for the evolutionary reduction of aggressiveness, especially when combined with presence of H2S. We demonstrate that reduced aggression directly translates into migrant males being inferior when paired with males from nonsulphidic surface habitats. By contrast, the phylogenetically old sulphur-endemic P. sulphuraria from another sulphide spring area showed no overall reduced aggressiveness, possibly indicating evolved mechanisms to better cope with H2S.

The Moderating Role of Personal Relevance on Differential Priming of Anxiety and Sadness on Perceived Travel Risk: A Replication

2009 ◽  
Vol 104 (2) ◽  
pp. 500-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wen-Bin Chiou ◽  
Ming-Hsu Chang ◽  
Chien-Lung Chen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Personal Relevance ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Mood Repair ◽  
Neutral Mood ◽  
Motivational Influences ◽  
Relevance Condition ◽  
Moderating Role

Raghunathan and Pham conducted a pioneer study in 1999 on the motivational influences of anxiety and sadness on decision making and indicated that anxiety would motivate individuals to be risk averse, whereas sadness would motivate individuals to be risk taking. A replication study was employed in the domain of perceived travel risk. Compared to participants in a neutral mood, anxious participants showed higher perceived travel risk than sad participants. Moreover, the differential effect of anxiety and sadness on perceived travel risk was only pronounced under the high personal relevance condition, in which participants made personal decisions and expected that they would be affected by the outcomes. In general, the results extend the notion proposed by Raghunathan and Pham suggesting that travelers' implicit goals primed by anxiety or sadness used for mood-repair purposes appear to be moderated by personal relevance.

scholarly journals Gamete-mediated mate choice: towards a more inclusive view of sexual selection

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1883) ◽  
pp. 20180836 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jukka Kekäläinen ◽  
Jonathan P. Evans
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Selection ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Sperm Competition ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Mating Systems ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Random Interactions ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
The Everyday

‘Sperm competition’—where ejaculates from two or more males compete for fertilization—and ‘cryptic female choice’—where females bias this contest to suit their reproductive interests—are now part of the everyday lexicon of sexual selection. Yet the physiological processes that underlie these post-ejaculatory episodes of sexual selection remain largely enigmatic. In this review, we focus on a range of post-ejaculatory cellular- and molecular-level processes, known to be fundamental for fertilization across most (if not all) sexually reproducing species, and point to their putative role in facilitating sexual selection at the level of the cells and gametes, called ‘gamete-mediated mate choice’ (GMMC). In this way, we collate accumulated evidence for GMMC across different mating systems, and emphasize the evolutionary significance of such non-random interactions among gametes. Our overall aim in this review is to build a more inclusive view of sexual selection by showing that mate choice often acts in more nuanced ways than has traditionally been assumed. We also aim to bridge the conceptual divide between proximal mechanisms of reproduction, and adaptive explanations for patterns of non-random sperm–egg interactions that are emerging across an increasingly diverse array of taxa.

Solo Sailing: An “Ordinary Girl”, Voluntary Risk-Taking and (Ir)Responsibility

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 267-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Brown ◽  
Dawn Penney
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Risk Averse ◽  
Perceptions Of Risk ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Public Reaction ◽  
Contemporary Western Society

This article draws on material associated with a solo sailing circumnavigation, undertaken by 16 year old Jessica Watson in 2009–2010, to discuss how her voyage provided a focal point for debates relating to voluntary risk-taking conducted within the sport and leisure context. Specifically, we illustrate how public and media commentaries on her voyage reflect discourses of risk being infused and conflated with discourses of responsibility, youth and gender. Our analysis brings to the fore the contested, moral and political nature of risk discourses in contemporary western society. Public reaction to Watson’s voyage indicates that descriptions of western society as risk-averse fail to capture the situated and dynamic perceptions of risk.

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