Selection for Reduced Male Size in Raptorial Birds: The Possible Roles of Female Choice and Mate Guarding

Oikos ◽  
1984 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carl Safina
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Selection For

scholarly journals Amplifiers and the origin of animal signals

2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1832) ◽  
pp. 20160324 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurens Bogaardt ◽  
Rufus A. Johnstone
Keyword(s):  
Signal Detection ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Signal Detection Theory ◽  
Animal Communication ◽  
Detection Theory ◽  
Direct Selection ◽  
Simple Explanation ◽  
Male Quality ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Selection For

In 1989, Hasson introduced the concept of an ‘amplifier’ within animal communication. This display reduces errors in the assessment of traits for which there is direct selection and renders differences in quality among animals more obvious. Amplifiers can evolve to fixation via the benefit they confer on high-quality animals. However, they also impose a cost on low-quality animals by revealing their lower quality, potentially leading these to refrain from amplifying. Hence, it was suggested that, if the level of amplification correlates with quality, direct choice for the amplifying display might emerge. Using the framework of signal detection theory, this article shows that, if the use of an amplifier is observable, direct choice for the amplifying display can indeed evolve. Consequently, low-quality animals may choose to amplify to some extent as well, even though this reveals their lower quality. In effect, the amplifier evolves to become a signal in its own right. We show that, as amplifiers can evolve without direct female choice and are likely to become correlated with male quality, selection for quality-dependent amplification provides a simple explanation for the origin of reliable signals in the absence of pre-existing preferences.

Mate grasping in drosophila pegasa by

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (4) ◽  
pp. 545-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Pruett-Jones ◽  
Matthew Deangelis ◽  
Carina Gronlund ◽  
Philip Ward ◽  
Jerry Coyne
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Behavior ◽  
Social Environment ◽  
Reproductive Biology ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Average Duration ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Drosophila Species ◽  
Courtship Behaviour ◽  
Evolutionary Changes ◽  
Observation Period

AbstractAmong all species in the genus Drosophila whose sexual behavior has been studied, D. pegasa is unique in that males exhibit no courtship behaviour before they mount females. Instead, the male simply climbs on top of the female and rides on her abdomen ('grasping') for long intervals, often an entire 8-h observation period. In this study we conducted a series of observations and experiments to quantitatively describe grasping behaviour in D. pegasa and examine its relationship to social environment and the reproductive biology of the species. All observed courtship bouts involved grasping behavior, and males always initiated copulation during a grasping bout. The frequency of grasping and the average duration of a single grasping bout increased with the number of flies present. Males often copulated several times during a single grasping bout, and such multiple copulations during a single mounting also appear unique in the genus. Unexpectedly, the number of sperm that a male transferred to a female during a single grasping bout was negatively correlated with the number of copulations. This relationship was apparently due to repeated copulations by males who were unsuccessful at transferring sperm. Multiple copulations without sperm transfer may result from cryptic female choice. Male grasping behaviour in this species appears to have evolved as a substitute for display and courtship behaviours, but possibly also as a mate-guarding behaviour since males continue to grasp after they have successfully transferred sperm. The tarsal claws and pulvillar pads of D. pegasa are disproportionately larger than those of related Drosophila species, evolutionary changes that may facilitate grasping by males.

scholarly journals The multiple signals assessed by female satin bowerbirds: could they be used to narrow down females' choices of mates?

2005 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 264-267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy E Robson ◽  
Anne W Goldizen ◽  
David J Green
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Plant Material ◽  
Multiple Traits ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Multiple Signals ◽  
Visitation Rates ◽  
Satin Bowerbird ◽  
Satin Bowerbirds ◽  
Polygynous Mating System ◽  
Multiple Male

Female choice based on multiple male traits has been documented in many species but the functions of such multiple traits are still under debate. The satin bowerbird has a polygynous mating system in which males attract females to bowers for mating; females choose mates based on multiple aspects of males and their bowers. In this paper, we demonstrate that females use some cues to decide which males to examine closely and other cues to decide which males to mate with. Female visitation rates to bowers were significantly related to male size and the males' ‘solitary’ display rates, and, to a lesser extent, to the numbers of bower decorations. After controlling for female visitation rates, it was found that a male's mating success was significantly related to his size and the rate at which he ‘painted’ his bower with saliva and chewed up plant material.

Influence of advertisement calls on reproductive success in the male midwife toad Alytes obstetricans

Behaviour ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 140 (7) ◽  
pp. 885-898 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominique Le Jacques ◽  
Thierry Lodé
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Fundamental Frequency ◽  
Female Choice ◽  
Hatching Success ◽  
Advertisement Call ◽  
Male Mating ◽  
Evolutionary Trend ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Midwife Toad ◽  
Alytes Obstetricans

AbstractConsidering the advertisement call in anuran as a sexually selected trait, we investigated the effects of male call parameters on reproductive success in midwife toad Alytes obstetricans. The pattern of advertisement call was studied in 81 males. The mean fundamental frequency varied among males. Fundamental frequency, call duration and male size correlated with the male mating success. From the stepwise regression analysis, the low call frequency was found to influence significantly the number of carried eggs and the hatching success. The fact that a single male may fertilise the eggs of several females and a single female may mate with several males constitutes an original sexual system. Large males obtained more matings and showed a higher hatching success. Female choice for dominant frequency may be regarded as a related-fitness trait being correlated with male size. Anyway, the male size and the female choice for low calls result in a same evolutionary trend favouring a best fitness.

Female Choice for an Indicator of Male Size in the Song of the Black-Horned Tree Cricket, Oecanthus nigricornis (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae)

Evolution ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 2400 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Brown ◽  
Julie Wideman ◽  
Maydianne C. B. Andrade ◽  
Andrew C. Mason ◽  
Darryl T. Gwynne
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Tree Cricket ◽  
Oecanthus Nigricornis

Mate Guarding in Male Sand Lizards (Lacerta Agilis)

Behaviour ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 133 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 367-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annica Gullberg ◽  
Mats Olsson ◽  
Hakan Tegelström
Keyword(s):  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Operational Sex Ratio ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
Museum Collection ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Female Age ◽  
In The Wild ◽  
Mate Acquisition ◽  
Lacerta Agilis

AbstractWe investigated factors that may determine mate guarding tactics in male sand lizards. In a sample of lizards from a museum collection, larger males had larger testis, but in laboratory experiments and in a natural population larger males did not sire more offspring. Males with long inter-copulatory intervals were more successful in sperm competition than males with short inter-copulatory intervals. In the wild, the operational sex ratio (OSR, No of receptive females/No of sexually active males) declined throughout the mating season. Mean duration of mate guardings was unaffected by OSR, time to ovulation, female age and mass, and clutch size. Larger males guarded females longer and were more likely to mate guard a female of similar age. Larger males had more partners but there was no correlation between male size or guarding time and the proportion of young that males sired in clutches from females mated with several partners. Males with more partners were more successful at siring offspring in clutches from females that mated with more than one partner. We suggest that fitter males are better at both mate acquisition and have more competitive sperm.

Detecting Cryptic Female Choice in Decapod Crustaceans

2020 ◽  
pp. 364-393
Author(s):  
Colin L. McLay ◽  
Stefan Dennenmoser
Keyword(s):  
Female Choice ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Seminal Receptacle ◽  
Multiple Paternity ◽  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Cryptic Female Choice ◽  
Mating History ◽  
Decapod Crustacea ◽  
Hard Shell ◽  
Male Mate

Decapod Crustacea (shrimps, lobsters, and crabs) employ a range of different reproductive mechanisms that affect paternity, but does it include cryptic female choice (CFC)? This chapter focuses on events surrounding the fertilization of an egg by a sperm and the opportunities where cryptic fertilization bias might occur. It presents a new model of decapod fertilization, defined in terms of space and time to fertilization. Females have several ways to store sperm and influence fertilization outcomes, which should be affected by (1) their growth pattern (indeterminate or determinate), (2) the link between molting and mating (soft-shell or hard-shell mating), (3) fertilization latency, and (4) how sperm are protected (no protection or storage is separate from the oviduct, or storage in a seminal receptacle is linked to the oviduct). Paternity data available for 26 decapods show that in 85% of species, females carry broods with multiple paternity and 15% have broods with single paternity. Therefore many (if not most) females mate with several males and so they certainly could make a choice. However, whether this pattern is due to CFC or merely reflects mating history is a matter of debate. At present, there are no unequivocal data that demonstrate CFC: outcomes caused by male mate guarding and sperm competition cannot be distinguished from female choice. The challenge is to understand what females might be choosing and how to detect that choice. Detecting CFC in field data is difficult, if not impossible, because both single and multiple paternities could be favored.

Extra-pair paternity and mate-guarding behaviour in the brown thornbill

2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (6) ◽  
pp. 565 ◽  
Author(s):  
David J. Green ◽  
Anne Peters ◽  
Andrew Cockburn
Keyword(s):  
Mate Guarding ◽  
Male Size ◽  
Fertile Period ◽  
Young Males ◽  
Extra Pair Paternity ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Multilocus Dna Fingerprinting ◽  
Socially Monogamous ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Older Males

We used multilocus DNA fingerprinting to assess parentage in the brown thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla, a socially monogamous Australian passerine. Extra-pair paternity was uncommon (6.2% of 178 offspring; 11.9% of 67 broods) and there was no evidence of intra-specific brood parasitism. Extra-pair paternity was limited because pairs spent more time together when females were fertile and males were able to evict intruding males before they could approach the female. Males were responsible for the close proximity of partners during the fertile period. Mate guarding therefore appears to be a male tactic aimed at preventing female infidelity rather than a cooperative behaviour of the pair aimed at preventing extra-pair copulations and/or female harassment. Females did not attempt to escape male guarding and were rarely observed to solicit copulations from intruding males. Nevertheless, females paired to smaller and younger males were more likely to cuckold their mates than females paired to larger and older males. This suggests that females may be more likely to seek or accept extra-pair matings when paired to small, young males or that old, large males are better at preventing their mates from engaging in extra-pair copulations. We found that male age but not male size influences mate-guarding behaviour. Older males tended to respond more aggressively to intruders. We therefore speculate that the relationship between male size/age and extra-pair paternity in brown thornbills may arise because female thornbills prefer large males as mates but are unable to express this preference as easily when paired to older males.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document