Nonadaptive female pursuit of extrapair copulations can evolve through hitchhiking

Lyu, Nan; Servedio, Maria R.; Sun, Yue

doi:10.1002/ece3.3915

Cited by 4 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Thus, whether this means that apparently nonadaptive extra‐pair mating behaviour by females can actually evolve remains unclear. Although recent theoretical work suggests that this might be true when the behaviour is selectively neutral or only slightly maladaptive (Lyu, Servedio, & Sun, ).…”

Section: Adaptive and Nonadaptive Hypotheses To Explain Variation Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extra‐pair paternity in birds

2019

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Since the first molecular study providing evidence for mating outside the pair bond in birds over 30 years ago, >500 studies have reported rates of extra‐pair paternity (EPP) in >300 bird species. Here, we give a detailed overview of the current literature reporting EPP in birds and highlight the sampling biases and patterns in the data set with respect to taxonomy, avian phylogeny and global regions, knowledge of which will be crucial for correct interpretation of results in future comparative studies. Subsequently, we use this comprehensive dataset to simultaneously test the role of several ecological and life history variables. We do not find clear evidence that variation in EPP across socially monogamous species can be explained by latitude, density (coloniality), migration, generation length, genetic structuring (dispersal distance), or climatic variability, after accounting for phylogeny. These results contrast previous studies, most likely due to the large heterogeneity within species in both EPP and the predictor of interest, indicating that using species averages might be unreliable. Despite the absence of broadscale ecological drivers in explaining interspecific variation in EPP, we suggest that certain behaviours and ecological variables might facilitate or constrain EPP, as indicated by our finding that EPP was negatively associated with latitude within noncolonial species, suggesting a role of breeding synchrony. Thus, rather than focussing on general explanations for variation in EPP across all species, a future focus should be on how various aspects of ecology or life history might have driven variation in EPP among groups of species or populations of the same species. Hence, we argue that variation in EPP can be partly explained when taking the right perspective. This comprehensive overview, and particularly the dataset provided herein will create a foundation for further studies.

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Section: Adaptive and Nonadaptive Hypotheses To Explain Variation Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extra‐pair paternity in birds

2019

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“…Our results extend the current understanding of the direction of sexual selection and suggests the possibility that male preferences and female traits are more widespread in nature, only awaiting to be tested empirically. It has been suggested that in many animals cuckoldry may be an important source of selection pressure on behaviors or morphologies in both sexes 15 , 32 , thus the mechanism proposed by our models may be relevant in many species. We suggest that understanding the evolutionary consequences of the effect of cuckoldry deserves more attention.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 87%

“…The commonly accepted principle of cuckoldry is that the social father loses some paternity but can also potentially gain some extra paternity from engaging in additional mating with females that are already paired 48 . Whether cuckoldry is advantageous or disadvantageous to males thus depends on net yields 15 , 32 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The significant role of post-pairing male behavior on the evolution of male preferences and female traits

et al. 2022

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Existing sexual selection theory postulates that a sufficiently large variation in female fecundity or other direct benefits are fundamental for generating male mate choice. In this study, we suggest that, in addition to pre-pairing preferences, choosy males can also have different post-pairing behaviors, a factor which has been comparatively overlooked by previous studies. We found that both male preferences and female traits could evolve much more easily than previously expected when the choosy males that paired with unpreferred females would allocate more efforts to seeking additional post-pairing mating opportunities. Furthermore, a costly female trait could evolve when there was a trade-off between seeking additional mating and paternal care investment within social pair for choosy males. Finally, a costly male preference and a costly female trait might still evolve and reach a stable polymorphic state in the population, which might give rise to a high variability in male choice and female traits in nature. We suggest that male mate choice may be even more common than expected, which needs to be verified empirically.

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