Male mate preference for female eyespan and fecundity in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni

Cotton, Alison J.; Cotton, Samuel; Small, Jennifer; Pomiankowski, Andrew

doi:10.1093/beheco/aru192

Cited by 34 publications

(47 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Similar male preference for female traits that are good predictors of fecundity has been observed in a range of species, typically for traits correlated with female size (Bonduriansky, ) and female ornament size, when ornaments are female specific (Amundsen , Amundsen and Forsgren, ) or exaggerated in both sexes (Baldauf, Bakker, Kullmann, & Thünken, ; Doutrelant et al., ; Potti, Canal, & Serrano, ). This finding does not identify the character used by males, as female eyespan is tightly correlated with body size and other morphological traits both in D. meigenii and other stalk‐eyed fly species (Cotton et al., , ; Harley et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

“…Such male choice echoes the finding that males mate for longer and ejaculate more sperm when mating with large eyespan females (Harley et al., ). In addition, in the related stalk‐eyed fly species T. dalmanni , males show preference for large eyespan females, both in the wild and under controlled laboratory conditions (Cotton et al., ). The likely reason for male preference in both these stalk‐eyed fly species is that female eyespan strongly correlates positively with fecundity (Cotton et al., ; Harley et al., ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Males with larger testes and accessory glands attract more females to their lek sites (even after controlling for body size covariation; Cotton, Small, Hashim, & Pomiankowski, ), and these well‐endowed males gain more matings under controlled laboratory conditions (Baker et al., ; Fry, ; Hingle et al., ; Rogers et al., ; Rogers, Chapman, Fowler, & Pomiankowski, ; Rogers, Denniff, Chapman, Fowler, & Pomiankowski, ; Wilkinson, Kahler, & Baker, ). In addition, observations in the wild as well as laboratory experiments demonstrate that T. dalmanni males neither mate at random nor with all females attracted to their lek sites, but rather exert mate preference for females with larger eyespan and higher fecundity (Cotton et al., ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complexity of mating decisions in stalk‐eyed flies

Chapman

Siriwat

Howie

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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All too often, studies of sexual selection focus exclusively on the responses in one sex, on single traits, typically those that are exaggerated and strongly sexually dimorphic. They ignore a range of less obvious traits and behavior, in both sexes, involved in the interactions leading to mate choice. To remedy this imbalance, we analyze a textbook example of sexual selection in the stalk‐eyed fly (Diasemopsis meigenii). We studied several traits in a novel, insightful, and efficient experimental design, examining 2,400 male–female pairs in a “round‐robin” array, where each female was tested against multiple males and vice versa. In D. meigenii, females exhibit strong mate preference for males with highly exaggerated eyespan, and so we deliberately constrained variation in male eyespan to reveal the importance of other traits. Males performing more precopulatory behavior were more likely to attempt to mate with females and be accepted by them. However, behavior was not a necessary part of courtship, as it was absent from over almost half the interactions. Males with larger reproductive organs (testes and accessory glands) did not make more mating attempts, but there was a strong tendency for females to accept mating attempts from such males. How females detect differences in male reproductive organ size remains unclear. In addition, females with larger eyespan, an indicator of size and fecundity, attracted more mating attempts from males, but this trait did not alter female acceptance. Genetic variation among males had a strong influence on male mating attempts and female acceptance, both via the traits we studied and other unmeasured attributes. These findings demonstrate the importance of assaying multiple traits in males and females, rather than focusing solely on prominent and exaggerated sexually dimorphic traits. The approach allows a more complete understanding of the complex mating decisions made by both males and females.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The complexity of mating decisions in stalk‐eyed flies

Chapman

Siriwat

Howie

et al. 2017

Ecology and Evolution

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“…It has recently been suggested that there is male mate choice for females with longer eyestalks, suggesting that there are selective pressures acting on female eyespan (Cotton et al. ). Individuals vary in eyestalk length, measured as the span across both eyestalks, and it is easily quantifiable in both sexes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Condition, not eyespan, predicts contest outcome in female stalk‐eyed flies, Teleopsis dalmanni

Bath

Wigby

Vincent

et al. 2015

Ecology and Evolution

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In contests among males, body condition is often the key determinant of a successful outcome, with fighting ability signaled by so-called armaments, that is, exaggerated, condition-dependent traits. However, it is not known whether condition and exaggerated traits function in the same way in females. Here, we manipulated adult condition by varying larval nutrition in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni, a species in which eyespan is exaggerated in both sexes, and we measured the outcome of contests between females of similar or different body condition and relative eyespan. We found that females in higher condition, with both larger bodies and eyespan, won a higher proportion of encounters when competing against rivals of lower condition. However, when females were of equal condition, neither eyespan nor body length had an effect on the outcome of a contest. An analysis of previously published data revealed a similar pattern in males: individuals with large relative eyespan did not win significantly more encounters when competing with individuals of a similar body size. Contrary to expectations, and to previous findings in males, there was no clear effect of differences in body size or eyespan affecting contest duration in females. Taken together, our findings suggest that although eyespan can provide an honest indicator of condition, large eyespans provide no additional benefit to either sex in intrasexual aggressive encounters; body size is instead the most important factor.

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“…Females from a wide variety of species also display elaborate ornamental traits that may evolve directly by sexual selection if they provide an advantage to females during competition with conspecifics for access to mates (Johnson, 1988;Rosvall, 2008) or are preferred by males (Amundsen et al, 1997;Griggio et al, 2009;Cotton et al, 2015). In contrast, traits that appear to not be preferred by males or reflect female quality, or are negatively related to offspring quality (e.g., Muma and Weatherhead, 1989;Cuervo et al, 1996;Wolf et al, 2004; reviewed in Nordeide et al, 2013), are hypothesized to evolve as a by-product of selection acting on ornamentation displayed by males (i.e., genetic correlation hypothesis, Lande, 1980).…”

Section: Function and Evolution Of Ornamental Traits Of Femalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

Berzins¹

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Females from a wide variety of taxa display elaborate ornaments and aggressive behaviours that are similar to those expressed by males. Although recent empirical investigation has demonstrated that ornamental traits and behaviours of females may function by attracting mates or signalling competitive ability when competing against conspecifics for access to mates and resources, less is known about how such traits influence the mating success of free-living female birds. For my research, I experimentally examined how variation in plumage brightness and behaviour of female tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) influenced their mating success.Plumage brightness of females had no influence on investment in parental care or mating strategies of males, or the quality of social mate paired to the female. These results suggest that bright plumage is not a signal of attractiveness preferred by male tree swallows.In contrast, I report evidence that plumage brightness of female tree swallows is involved in agonistic interactions with conspecifics. Females whose plumage brightness was enhanced to signal high quality were less able to retain their nest site than females whose plumage brightness was reduced to signal low quality. This suggests that females displaying bright plumage may be challenged by conspecifics of high quality to test the quality signalled by bright plumage, and is supported by the finding that females displaying enhanced plumage brightness suffered social costs, such as delaying breeding and producing low-quality nestlings. Despite these costs, females in the enhanced plumage brightness treatment mated with extra-pair males that were higher quality than their social mate.Behaviour of females, manipulated by elevating testosterone (T), lowered the proportion of extra-pair offspring in the broods of T-treated females. Females manipulated so that the androgenic and estrogenic actions of T were blocked also produced fewer extra-pair iii offspring, and suggest that the androgenic and/or estrogenic actions of T influence extra-pair copulation behavior of female tree swallows. In conclusion, my results show that plumage brightness and behaviour of female tree swallows influence their mating success, and highlight the importance of studies experimentally manipulating ornamental and behavioural traits of free-living female birds prior to breeding.iv

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Male mate preference for female eyespan and fecundity in the stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni

Cited by 34 publications

References 53 publications

The complexity of mating decisions in stalk‐eyed flies

The complexity of mating decisions in stalk‐eyed flies

Condition, not eyespan, predicts contest outcome in female stalk‐eyed flies, Teleopsis dalmanni

Determinants of making success in female Tree Swallows (Tachycineta Bicolor)

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