Variable female preferences drive complex male displays

Coleman, Seth W.; Patricelli, Gail L.; Borgia, Gerald

doi:10.1038/nature02419

Cited by 209 publications

(129 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…First, females of many spe- cies often have preferences for multiple male traits (Brooks and Endler 2001a;Coleman et al 2004). Here, a single trait (g max ) explained 64% of the genetic variance in female preference functions for nine male traits.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Analysis of Female Preference Functions as Function‐Valued Traits

McGuigan

Homrigh

Blows

2008

The American Naturalist

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JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.. abstract: The genetic analysis of female preferences has been seen as a particularly challenging empirical endeavor because of difficulties in generating suitable preference metrics in experiments large enough to adequately characterize variation. In this article, we take an alternative approach, treating female preference as a function-valued trait and exploiting random-coefficient models to characterize the genetic basis of female preference without measuring preference functions in each individual. Applying this approach to Drosophila bunnanda, in which females assess males through a multivariate contact pheromone system, we gain three valuable insights into the genetic basis of female preference functions. First, most genetic variation was attributable to one eigenfunction, suggesting shared genetic control of preferences for nine male pheromones. Second, genetic variance in female preference functions was not associated with genetic variance in the pheromones, implying that genetic variation in female preference did not maintain genetic variation in male traits. Finally, breeding values for female preference functions were skewed away from the direction of selection on the male traits, suggesting directional selection on female preferences. The genetic analysis of female preference functions as function-valued traits offers a robust statistical framework for investigations of female preference, in addition to alleviating some experimental difficulties associated with estimating variation in preference functions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genetic Analysis of Female Preference Functions as Function‐Valued Traits

McGuigan

Homrigh

Blows

2008

The American Naturalist

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“…Decades of research exploring the effect of female preference has established that this mode of selection can lead to exaggerated traits [1][2][3][4]. Despite this, we still have a relatively poor understanding of if/how female preferences have shaped the more extreme examples of sexual ornamentation seen in the animal kingdom, specifically those characterized by an elaboration of a whole suite of signals.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Female preference for multi-modal courtship: multiple signals are important for male mating success in peacock spiders

2015

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A long-standing goal for biologists has been to understand how female preferences operate in systems where males have evolved numerous sexually selected traits. Jumping spiders of the Maratus genus are exceptionally sexually dimorphic in appearance and signalling behaviour. Presumably, strong sexual selection by females has played an important role in the evolution of complex signals displayed by males of this group; however, this has not yet been demonstrated. In fact, despite apparent widespread examples of sexual selection in nature, empirical evidence is relatively sparse, especially for species employing multiple modalities for intersexual communication. In order to elucidate whether female preference can explain the evolution of multi-modal signalling traits, we ran a series of mating trials using Maratus volans. We used video recordings and laser vibrometry to characterize, quantify and examine which male courtship traits predict various metrics of mating success. We found evidence for strong sexual selection on males in this system, with success contingent upon a combination of visual and vibratory displays. Additionally, independently produced, yet correlated suites of multi-modal male signals are linked to other aspects of female peacock spider behaviour. Lastly, our data provide some support for both the redundant signal and multiple messages hypotheses for the evolution of multi-modal signalling.

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“…Moreover, Okida et al (2010) showed a significant e#ect of vocalisation during the display on the mating success in this species. Recent studies on the bower display showed that various characteristics of display a#ected the male mating success, including the quality of the bower structure (Borgia 1985b), decorations (Borgia 1985b, Madden 2003a, 2003b), male's painting behaviour , vocal mimicry (Lo#redo & Borgia 1986, Coleman et al 2007, and intensity of behavioural display (Patricelli et al 2002, Coleman et al 2004. Thus, the bower display is composed of multiple sexual signals.…”

Section: Multiple Components Of Displaymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, the bower display is composed of multiple sexual signals. However, whether individual signals have di#erent functions or convey the same message as redundant signals is still under debate (Coleman et al 2004, Bravery & Goldizen 2007.…”

Section: Multiple Components Of Displaymentioning

confidence: 99%

Bower Structure is a Good Predictor of Mating Success in the Great Bowerbird

Katsuno¹,

Okida²,

Yamaguchi³

et al. 2010

J. Yamashina Inst. Ornithol.

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Abstract. Male Great Bowerbirds Chlamydera nuchalis build a bower and pile decorations around it for courtship display. We tested the e#ect of the bower structure and amounts of decorations on the mating success of owner males in a population of C. n. nuchalis near Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. We collected data on measurements of bowers and mating success of individual owner males for 16 and 14 bowers in 2005 and 2006, respectively. We used five variables (avenue length, avenue width, wall thickness, bower height and degree of asymmetry) corresponding to the bower structure, and two variables (coverage (%) of green decorations and that of all decorations) corresponding to amounts of decorations as explanatory variables. An analysis of the generalized linear mixed model and model selection revealed that avenue length and wall thickness a#ected mating success positively, and that of avenue width, negatively. Avenue length and wall thickness correspond to the size of the bower, which suggests that a larger bower provides females with better protection from a vigorous male's display. A long and narrow avenue may provide a refuge for females from the harassment by an owner male. No variables corresponding to decorations were important for the mating success.

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Variable female preferences drive complex male displays

Cited by 209 publications

References 17 publications

Genetic Analysis of Female Preference Functions as Function‐Valued Traits

Genetic Analysis of Female Preference Functions as Function‐Valued Traits

Female preference for multi-modal courtship: multiple signals are important for male mating success in peacock spiders

Bower Structure is a Good Predictor of Mating Success in the Great Bowerbird

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