Mate choice as an information gathering process under time constraint: implications for behaviour and signal design

Sullivan, Matthew

doi:10.1006/anbe.1994.1016

Cited by 135 publications

(88 citation statements)

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“…Although we found a strong relationship between mate fidelity and individual reproductive success, as predicted by the WSLS model [13], contrary to site fidelity, we did not find any interaction of pair reproductive performance and environmental conditions on mate fidelity. Although mate choice follows apparently the same kind of information-gathering process as site (or patch) selection [42], it is considered by some authors to be a by-product of site fidelity ( [11,43], but see [44]), or driven by completely different processes, such as genetic incompatibility [45] or the search for a partner with good parental abilities, especially in monogamous birds with obligate biparental care [46]. Our results are consistent with the view that mate retention is an active process relying on information that is at least partly distinct from the information used for nest fidelity in Monteiro's storm-petrel.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest fidelity is driven by multi-scale information in a long-lived seabird

et al. 2014

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Although the reproductive success of most organisms depends on factors acting at several spatial scales, little is known about how organisms are able to synthesize multi-scale information to optimize reproduction. Using longitudinal data from a long-lived seabird, Monteiro's storm-petrel, we show that average breeding success is strongly related to oceanic conditions at the population level, and we postulate that (i) individuals use proximal information (their own reproduction outcome in year t) to assess the qualities of their mate and nest and to decide to retain them or not in year t þ 1; (ii) the intensity of these responses depends on the quality of the oceanic environment in year t, which affects the predictability of reproduction outcome in year t þ 1. Our results confirm that mate and nest fidelities are higher following successful reproduction and that the relationship between the success of a given pair and subsequent nest fidelity is stronger in years with unfavourable oceanic conditions, suggesting that individuals rely on distant information to modulate their use of proximal information and adjust their breeding strategy.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nest fidelity is driven by multi-scale information in a long-lived seabird

et al. 2014

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“…Sequential-sampling models of decision making are a dynamic variant of signal detection models (Pleskac and Busemeyer, 2010), in that they drop the assumption that decision makers use a fixed sample size of evidence and assume that decision is made as soon as the accumulating noisy evidence reaches a fixed threshold (Castellano, 2009a;Castellano and Cermelli, 2011). Unlike signal detection models, sequential-sampling models incorporate time in the decision process and, thus, they could be used for investigating speed-accuracy tradeoffs in decision making (Chittka et al, 2009;Sullivan, 1994) and for making testable predictions on the relationship between choice probability and time response (Kacelnik et al, 2011;Shapiro et al, 2008). Although these models have been only recently introduced in behavioural ecology (Castellano and Cermelli, 2011;Kacelnik et al, 2011;Shapiro et al, 2008;Trimmer et al, 2008), they have a long history in cognitive psychology (review in Ratcliff and Smith, 2004) and in neurobiology (review in Bogacz, 2007;Gold and Shadlen, 2007;Smith and Ratcliff, 2004) and they could represent a useful theoretical tool for building bridges between neurobiology and behaviour (Busemeyer et al, 2006).…”

Section: Sequential Sampling Models Of Mate Choicementioning

confidence: 99%

“…First, it depends on the amount of the information acquired. Normative models of mate choice typically focus on this aspect and try to find optimal economical rules of information gathering (Luttbeg, 1996(Luttbeg, , 2002Real, 1990;Sullivan, 1994). But uncertainty depends also on the cognitive mechanisms of information processing, that is, on how several sources of information are integrated and used to reach a decision.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Castellano

Cadeddu

Cermelli

2012

Behavioural Processes

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a b s t r a c tThe present review is based on the thesis that mate choice results from information-processing mechanisms governed by computational rules and that, to understand how females choose their mates, we should identify which are the sources of information and how they are used to make decisions. We describe mate choice as a three-step computational process and for each step we present theories and review empirical evidence. The first step is a perceptual process. It describes the acquisition of evidence, that is, how females use multiple cues and signals to assign an attractiveness value to prospective mates (the preference function hypothesis). The second step is a decisional process. It describes the construction of the decision variable (DV), which integrates evidence (private information by direct assessment), priors (public information), and value (perceived utility) of prospective mates into a quantity that is used by a decision rule (DR) to produce a choice. We make the assumption that females are optimal Bayesian decision makers and we derive a formal model of DV that can explain the effects of preference functions, mate copying, social context, and females' state and condition on the patterns of mate choice. The third step of mating decision is a deliberative process that depends on the DRs. We identify two main categories of DRs (absolute and comparative rules), and review the normative models of mate sampling tactics associated to them. We highlight the limits of the normative approach and present a class of computational models (sequential-sampling models) that are based on the assumption that DVs accumulate noisy evidence over time until a decision threshold is reached. These models force us to rethink the dichotomy between comparative and absolute decision rules, between discrimination and recognition, and even between rational and irrational choice. Since they have a robust biological basis, we think they may represent a useful theoretical tool for behavioural ecologist interested in integrating proximate and ultimate causes of mate choice.

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“…Reliability also becomes more problematic if females can only observe the momentary e¡ort of males, which males may adjust according to life-history trade-o¡s (Lotem 1993;Kokko 1997) and current mating opportunities (Wiley 1991). Traits whose appearance can be changed according to short-term bene¢ts are especially prone to be unreliable if time available for assessing them is short; this suggests greater reliability of ¢xed morphological as compared with behavioural characters (Sullivan 1994a;MÖller et al 1998).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female choice selects for lifetime lekking performance in black grouse males

Kokko

Rintamäki

Alatalo

et al. 1999

Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B

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Good genes' models assume that females can use a signal such as mating e¡ort to assess a male's lifetime ¢tness. Inferring long-term performance from short-term behavioural observations can be unreliable, and repeated sampling may be needed for more accurate assessment of males. Additionally, if sexual advertisement is viewed as a life-history trait subject to trade-o¡s, reliable comparison of mates should yield information on all life-history components rather than on one trait value in one season. We show that in the lekking black grouse (Tetrao tetrix), a male's success is best explained by assuming that females are informed of the past history of males up to the beginning of the study (eight years). Much of this extremely lasting`memory' can be attributed to females observing long-term outcomes of male^male competition: current territory position is the only momentarily observable variable that has high power in predicting female choice, and it correlates to a male's past lekking e¡ort on a cumulative lifetime scale. We conclude that females can use territory position as a signal that conveys information of a male's lifetime performance that combines lekking e¡ort and longevity. Females may thus overcome the problem of male allocations varying in time, without the need to pay costs associated with repeated sampling.

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Mate choice as an information gathering process under time constraint: implications for behaviour and signal design

Cited by 135 publications

References 0 publications

Nest fidelity is driven by multi-scale information in a long-lived seabird

Nest fidelity is driven by multi-scale information in a long-lived seabird

Computational mate choice: Theory and empirical evidence

Female choice selects for lifetime lekking performance in black grouse males

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