共查询到20条相似文献,搜索用时 468 毫秒
1.
Sabra L. Klein H. Ray Gamble Randy J. Nelson 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1999,45(5):323-329
Females may choose mates based on secondary sex traits that reflect disease resistance. Accordingly, females should be able
to distinguish between unparasitized and parasitized males, and should prefer to mate with unparasitized individuals. Mate
and odor preferences for uninfected males or males infected with the nematode, Trichinella spiralis, were examined among prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) and meadow voles (M. pennsylvanicus). In a 15-min odor preference test, only female meadow voles distinguished between bedding from parasitized and unparasitized
conspecific males, and preferred to spend time with bedding from unparasitized males. Although T. spiralis infection influenced odor preference in female meadow voles, there was no effect of infection status on mate preference among
either species. Testosterone and corticosterone concentrations were not different between parasitized and unparasitized males.
However, among prairie voles, males that spent an increased amount of time with females during the mate preference test had
elevated testosterone concentrations. Taken together, these data suggest that (1) female meadow voles can discriminate between
unparasitized and parasitized males, (2) the effects of infection on steroid hormone concentrations may be masked by the effects
of social interactions, and (3) parasites may represent a selective constraint on partner preference in voles; however, the
life cycle of parasites may influence female preference and should be considered in studies of female preference.
Received: 23 April 1998 / Accepted after revision: 25 October 1998 相似文献
2.
Katrin Brauch Keith Hodges Antje Engelhardt Kerstin Fuhrmann Eric Shaw Michael Heistermann 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2008,62(9):1453-1466
In a wide variety of species, male reproductive success is determined by contest for access to females. Among multi-male primate
groups, however, factors in addition to male competitive ability may also influence paternity outcome, although their exact
nature and force is still largely unclear. Here, we have investigated in a group of free-ranging Barbary macaques whether
paternity is determined on the pre- or postcopulatory level and how male competitive ability and female direct mate choice
during the female fertile phase are related to male reproductive success. Behavioural observations were combined with faecal
hormone analysis for timing of the fertile phase (13 cycles, 8 females) and genetic paternity analysis (n = 12). During the fertile phase, complete monopolisation of females did not occur. Females were consorted for only 49% of
observation time, and all females had ejaculatory copulations with several males. Thus, in all cases, paternity was determined
on the postcopulatory level. More than 80% of infants were sired by high-ranking males, and this reproductive skew was related
to both, male competitive ability and female direct mate choice as high-ranking males spent more time in consort with females
than low-ranking males, and females solicited copulations mainly from dominant males. As most ejaculatory copulations were
female-initiated, female direct mate choice appeared to have the highest impact on male reproductive success. However, female
preference was not directly translated into paternity, as fathers were not preferred over non-fathers in terms of solicitation,
consortship and mating behaviour. Collectively, our data show that in the Barbary macaque, both sexes significantly influence
male mating success, but that sperm of several males generally compete within the female reproductive tract and that therefore
paternity is determined by mechanisms operating at the postcopulatory level. 相似文献
3.
Effects of male dominance and courtship display on female choice in the ring-necked pheasant 总被引:7,自引:0,他引:7
Male traits and behaviours acting in mate choice and intrasexual competition are expected to be congruent. When studying
their evolution, this often makes it difficult to differentiate between these two components of sexual selection. Studies
are therefore needed on mate choice in conjunction with the role of displays and dominance. We present the results from two
experiments conducted to investigate the effects of male dominance and courtship displays on female choice in the ring-necked
pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, controlling for differences in morphological male traits. We found: (1) different courtship behaviours had different effects
on female choice: females were mainly attracted by the feeding courtship behaviour, while another courtship display (the lateral
display) was effective in producing the copulation-acceptance response by the females; (2) subordinate males performed the
courtship behaviour before females less frequently than dominant males, and females reinforced intrasexual selection by choosing
dominant males, and (3) subordinate males in visual contact with a dominant became less attractive to females. The results
support the idea (armament-ornament model) that female pheasants may benefit from using traits selected in male-male competition
as clues for mate choice.
Received: 23 October 1997 / Accepted after revision: 7 October 1998 相似文献
4.
Richard N. C. Milner Michael D. Jennions Patricia R. Y. Backwell 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(7):1419-1424
Non-independent mate selection occurs when the choice behavior of a female is altered by the interactions between other females
and males. In the fiddler crab Uca mjoebergi, males court mate-searching females by waving their one greatly enlarged claw. When a female approaches a male, he initiates
high-intensity waving. We conducted one natural mate choice experiment and two mate choice experiments using custom-built
robotic crabs. We show that the decision of one female to approach a group of males increases the probability that another
female will approach and visit a male from the same group. We suggest that this behavior is best explained by the ‘stimulus
enhancement’ hypothesis, where the presence of a female near a group of males makes them more likely to be detected by other
females due to an increase in male display rate. 相似文献
5.
Male–male competition has historically been considered the major force driving sexual selection. However, female choice and inter-sexual conflict are increasingly recognized as important influences affecting differential mating and reproductive success. Many females exhibit preferences for particular males; however, male strategies may conflict with females’ ability to obtain their mate preferences. To influence paternity, females must affect both (1) whether or not sexual interactions occur, particularly during the periovulatory period (POP) and (2) the outcome of sexual interactions. This study focuses on the effectiveness of female choice in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus). Over 2,600 h of data were collected on two habituated chimpanzee communities in the Taï National Park, Côte d’Ivoire. Female mate preferences were measured by quantifying proceptive and resistance behavior toward males in both the periovulatory period and non-POP phases of estrus. The efficacy of female preference was measured both (1) by measuring success rates of female proceptivity and resistance behaviors and (2) by determining how well measures of female mate preference (proceptivity and resistance rates) predict male mating success. Though male chimpanzees are clearly dominant to females, the results indicate that females could effectively resist male solicitations and, in most cases, unwanted copulations were averted. Both female proceptivity and resistance rates correlate (positively and inversely, respectively) with male mating success in POP. Outside POP, female proceptivity rates corresponded with male mating success, but resistance rates did not. Males (irrespective of rank) that were preferred by females obtained higher mating success compared to other males during the POP, suggesting that females were effective in their mate choice and that, despite clear male dominance, female choice influences paternity in wild chimpanzees. 相似文献
6.
Sexual selection is often characterized by polygynous breeding systems, size dimorphism, and skewed operational sex ratios.
Koalas are sexually dimorphic in multiple domains, yet are absent from the literature on sexual selection and the structure
of their mating system is unclear. We provide the first documentation of the strength of sexual selection in koalas by using
microsatellite markers to identify sires. We combine the genetic data with morphological data in order to assess the role
of body size in regulating reproductive output. During our 4-year study, 37% of males were identified as possible sires. Males
were significantly larger than females, with sires heavier than non-sires. Male body mass correlated with annual reproductive
output, with Crow’s Index of Opportunity for Selection revealing that variation in male reproductive success was threefold
higher than that of females. Since it appears that male koalas rarely engage in physical confrontations over access to females,
size dimorphism could be based upon non-agonistic competition and/or female mate choice. We propose that size dimorphism in
koalas evolved as a consequence of endurance rivalry promoting vocal sexual advertisements that attract females. We suggest
that female choice is a key mediator of male reproductive output. 相似文献
7.
Chad C. Smith 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2014,68(3):415-424
Genetic analyses of parentage provide crucial information about the prevalence of polyandry and the potential for sexual selection to operate in wild populations. In the swordtail Xiphophorus nigrensis, large males are thought to have a competitive advantage due to their superiority in male–male contests and attractiveness to females, who are presumed to mate multiply. I examined the distribution of paternity within broods, the relationship between male body size and paternity and the effect of sire number on fecundity from females collected in the field. Sixty-one percent of females produced offspring from two to four males, with 70% of the offspring typically sired by one of the males represented in the brood. Male body size did not affect paternity share or whether females were multiply mated, as predicted if precopulatory sexual selection has a strong effect on the outcome of postcopulatory sexual selection. Female fecundity increased with the number of sires; however, this relationship was not observed when the smallest broods, where multiple mating is more difficult to detect, were excluded from the analysis. The high levels of multiple paternity and reproductive skew suggest that postcopulatory sexual selection has important evolutionary consequences in X. nigrensis. Traits important in precopulatory sexual selection, such as male body size, however, are more likely to affect sexual selection by increasing the number of mates obtained rather than paternity share within broods. 相似文献
8.
J. Scott Keogh Kate D. L. Umbers Eleanor Wilson Jessica Stapley Martin J. Whiting 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2013,67(4):629-638
Sexual selection theory predicts different optima for multiple mating in males and females. We used mating experiments and genetic paternity testing to disentangle pre- and postcopulatory mechanisms of sexual selection and alternate reproductive tactics in the highly promiscuous lizard Eulamprus heatwolei. Both sexes mated multiply: 30–60 % of clutches were sired by two to four fathers, depending on the experiment. Larger males sired more offspring when we allowed male contest competition: 52 % of large males but only 14 % of small males sired at least one offspring. In the absence of male contest competition, females mated promiscuously and there was no large male advantage: 80 % of large males and 90 % of small males sired at least one offspring, and there was no evidence for last-male precedence. Multiple mating did not yield obvious direct or indirect benefits to females. E. heatwolei represents a complex system in which males attempt to improve their fertility success by limiting rivals from access to females and through adopting alternate reproductive tactics. Conversely, females exhibit no obvious precopulatory mate choice but may influence fitness through postcopulatory means by either promoting sperm competition or through cryptic female choice. Our results support the hypothesis that female multiple mating in nonavian reptiles is best explained by the combined effect of mate encounter frequency and high benefits to males but low costs to females. 相似文献
9.
Robert M. Gibson 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1996,39(1):55-59
Previous studies of female choice in sage grouse Centrocercus urophasianus have implicated both the acoustic quality and repetition rate of the stereotyped strut display as putative cues for female
choice. Stages in the choice process at which specific components of male courtship display influence female decisions were
investigated using field observations of female pre-mating behavior. Females visited a subset of territorial males and then
actively chose one of these as a mate. The order in which males were visited suggested that females searched until an acceptable
mate was found, rather than employing a “best-of-n” tactic. Numbers of females visiting a male were related to differences
in an acoustical component of display (inter-pop interval) whereas the probability that a visiting female mated was related
to display rate (Table 3), indicating that initial attraction and active choice are influenced by different components of
display. In addition, inter-pop interval and display rate tended to covary inversely (Fig. 1), suggesting that attraction
and active choice may impose conflicting selection pressures on display performance.
Received: 11 November 1995/Accepted after revision: 16 March 1996 相似文献
10.
R. Terry Bowyer Janet L. Rachlow Kelley M. Stewart Victor Van Ballenberghe 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2011,65(12):2251-2260
Evidence of female fomentation of male–male aggression as a mechanism of mate choice is rare, especially in mammals. Female
choice of mates in polygynous species may be masked by intense male competition or by males attempting to restrict female
choice. We studied protest moans of female Alaskan moose Alces alces gigas in interior Alaska, USA, from 1987 to 1990, to determine if moans incited male–male aggression. Alaskan moose exhibit a mating
system in which one dominant male (the harem master) herds, defends, courts, and attempts to mate with females in his harem.
Protest moans were given by females only in response to courtship. We hypothesized that if protest moans were related to females
reducing harassment and exercising mate choice, females should give protest moans more frequently when courted by small males
and less often when courted by large males, and that rates of male–male aggression would be elevated following protest moans.
Harems were composed of one large male, with a mean of 4.4 females (median = 3 females); 10% of 132 harems included ≥10 females.
The temporal pattern of protest moans from late August through November was associated with, but tended to lag behind, mating
behavior. The rate of protest moans given by females decreased with increasing size of males courting them. Male–male aggression
was significantly less during periods without protest moans than during periods in which protest moans occurred. These results
indicate that female moose gave protest moans to reduce harassment by smaller males, and assure a mating opportunity with
the most dominant male. Such a subtle mechanism of indirect mate choice by females may occur in other vertebrates in which
choice is limited by a mating system in which male–male combat and male dominance over females reduces opportunities for female
choice. The importance of female choice may be undervalued in studies of sexual selection in mammals. 相似文献
11.
Space use,longevity, and reproductive success in meadow voles 总被引:4,自引:0,他引:4
Summary We addressed the question of how reproductive success (RS) was limited in the shortlived but highly fecund meadow vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus. In so doing, we asked how differential space use patterns could affect longevity and hence RS in each sex. The sample comprised all voles achieving sexual competency over the course of a 40-week breeding season in a live-trapped population in Manomet, MA USA. Matrilineal families were determined using a radionuclide labelling technique; paternity was estimated using a maximum likelihood model. Individual RS was defined as the number of offspring successfully recruited into the trappable population per adult. We found that the variance in RS among female meadow voles was greater than the variance among males. In an attempt to explain this pattern, reproductively successful individuals were compared to reproductively unsuccessful individuals with regard to survivorship, maximum body weight achieved, and spatial mobility. The only difference between fathers and reproductively unsuccessful males was that fathers were heavier. In contrast, mothers differed from unsuccessful females in every measurement. Females lived longer than males, and mothers lived longer than either fathers or reproductively unsuccessful females. The observed differences in longevity may have been largely the result of differences in levels of mobility, assuming more mobile voles were more susceptible to predation. Mothers were significantly more site tenacious than were either males or unsuccessful females. These patterns explain the distribution of RS in our population if predation differentially affects male and female meadow voles. The meadow vole is the only non-polyandrous vertebrate reported to date in which the variance in RS among females exceeds the variance in RS among males. 相似文献
12.
Antje Engelhardt Michael Heistermann J. Keith Hodges Peter Nürnberg Carsten Niemitz 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2006,59(6):740-752
One of the basic principles of sexual selection is that male reproductive success should be skewed towards strong males in
species with anisogamous sex. Studies on primate multi-male groups, however, suggest that other factors than male fighting
ability might also affect male reproductive success. The proximate mechanisms leading to paternity in multi-male primate groups
still remain largely unknown since in most primate studies mating rather than reproductive success is measured. Furthermore,
little research focuses on a female’s fertile phase. The aim of this study was to investigate the relative importance of male
monopolisation and female direct mate choice for paternity determination. We also investigated the extent to which paternity
was decided post-copulatory, i.e. within the female reproductive tract. We used a combined approach of behavioural observations
with faecal hormone and genetic analysis for assessment of female cycle stage and paternity, respectively. The study was carried
out on a group of wild long-tailed macaques living around the Ketambe Research Station, Gunung Leuser National Park, Indonesia.
Our results suggest that both male monopolisation and post-copulatory mechanisms are the main determinants of male reproductive
success, whereas female direct mate choice and alternative male reproductive strategies appear to be of little importance
in this respect. Female cooperation may, however, have facilitated male monopolisation. Since paternity was restricted to
alpha and beta males even when females mated with several males during the fertile phase, it seems that not only male monopolisation
but also post-copulatory mechanisms may operate in favour of high-ranking males in long-tailed macaques, thus reinforcing
the reproductive skew in this species. 相似文献
13.
For intersexual selection to occur, it is necessary that females choose between males. It is now well appreciated that constraints
exist, which preclude females sampling all the available males in a population. These constraints are likely to have caused
the evolution of sampling rules (such as the “best-of-n” rule) by which females sample males. Here we investigate the impact of female subsampling of the male population, not on
the evolution of sampling behaviour, but on the population-level correlation between a male trait and currencies such as reproductive
success. This study is important as it illustrates when population-level correlations can be safely used to infer the presence
and strength of sexual selection in the field. We find that the correlation between a male trait and a mate choice variable
rises steeply as the number of males sampled by each female increases, flattening above seven to ten males sampled. This shape
is found to be remarkably robust, and little affected by, for example, the mate choice variable used, by noise in assessment,
by sampling behaviour depending on female quality, or by population size. The only variable found to have a large impact is
male clumping according to their “quality”. If females are sampling about four males, the maximum correlation that can be
found at the population level is in the range 0.4–0.6, perhaps as little as 0.1 if males are strongly clumped. A recent review
of the literature suggests that four is the average number of males that females sample. Thus, the absence of a strong correlation
cannot by itself be used to infer that sexual selection is weak, as it may be due to females sampling few males.
Received: 18 May 1998 / Accepted after revision: 18 July 1998 相似文献
14.
Ben C. Sheldon Pete Davidson Gabriella Lindgren 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1999,46(3):141-148
There is increasing evidence that sexual selection may be intense even in socially monogamous birds, resulting from both
mate choice and sperm competition. We studied these two modes of sexual selection experimentally by removing paired male collared
flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, from their mates for 2 days and investigating the factors that influenced the likelihood of a replacement male appearing
and how the removals influenced paternity. Replacement males (usually neighbouring males) appeared at 81% (n = 37) of nests where males were removed. The likelihood of this appearance was unaffected by the probable reproductive value
of the female's clutch to the replacing male. A replacement was, however, less likely when the original male had a large forehead
patch, a trait previously shown to be subject to sexual selection in this population. Experimental removal of males increased
the level of sperm competition: 74% of experimental broods were multiply sired, compared to 29% of unmanipulated broods in
a previous study. Only two factors predicted how paternity was shared between males: removed males fathered more young if
removed closer to laying, and if they had larger forehead patches. The former result is consistent with last-male sperm precedence
determining paternity, whereas the latter adds to other evidence that forehead patch size is the target of female preference
in this species. Our results suggest that females exert some control over male replacement, and also that they may influence
the fertilisation success of males by behavioural means.
Received: 15 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 16 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999 相似文献
15.
Male competition for mates and female mate choice are key mechanisms involved in sexual selection. Surprisingly, these mechanisms
have often been investigated separately although they appear to interact in many species. Male–male competition for territories
located at the best places or to establish dominance relationships often explain mating patterns. Such male behaviours may
affect and sometimes even hinder female mate choice, as in the case of sexual coercion. While in many species females are
able to exert cryptic control over paternity (i.e. a process allowing females to bias offspring production toward certain
males after intromission), in other species external fertilisation prevents females from doing so. This is the case in the
waterfrog hybridisation complex where the hybrid Pelophylax esculentus can only produce viable offspring by pairing with the parental species Pelophylax lessonae (hybridogenetic reproduction). We examined two potential processes that could enhance such mating combinations. Firstly,
by monitoring male spatial distribution within six choruses, we showed that the proportion of P. lessonae males located at the edge (in the best position to grasp females arriving at the chorus) cannot explain the frequency of
mating combinations observed. Secondly, an experimental approach emphasised a new way for anuran females to favour paternity
of a particular male in a sexual coercion context. When females are forcefully paired with an incompatible male, they cannot
remove the male grasped on their back by themselves. Nevertheless, by controlling the movement of the pair within the chorus,
these females often change mates by enhancing male competition instead of laying eggs. In many species with externally fertilised
eggs, it may be thus necessary to take into account this new possibility for females to control offspring paternity. 相似文献
16.
Sperm competition or sperm selection: no evidence for female influence over paternity in yellow dung flies Scatophaga stercoraria 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
L. W. Simmons P. Stockley R. L. Jackson G. A. Parker 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1996,38(3):199-206
Recent studies of non-random paternity have suggested that sperm selection by females may influence male fertilization success.
Here we argue that the problems originally encountered in partitioning variation in non-random mating between male competition
and female choice are even more pertinent to interpreting patterns of non-random paternity because of intense sperm competition
between males. We describe an experiment with the yellow dung fly, Scatophaga stercoraria, designed to partition variance in the proportion of offspring sired by the second male, P
2, between males and females, and to control for sperm competition. Large males were shown to have a higher P
2 than small males but P
2 was independent of the size of the female’s first mate. This result might suggest an absolute female preference for large
males via sperm selection. However, large males have a higher constant rate of sperm transfer and displacement. After controlling
for this effect of sperm competition, large males did not achieve higher paternity than small males. We argue that a knowledge
of the mechanism of sperm competition is essential so that male effects can be controlled before conclusions are made regarding
the influence of sperm selection by females in generating non-random paternity.
Received: 4 April 1995 / Accepted after revision: 17 October 1995 相似文献
17.
Variance in female quality, operational sex ratio and male mate choice in a bushcricket 总被引:8,自引:0,他引:8
Male bushcrickets, Kawanaphila nartee, exercise mate choice when nutrients are limited. Male mate choice is associated with a female-biased operational sex ratio
(OSR) that arises from an increased relative paternal investment under nutrient limitation. However, increased male choosiness
could be attributable to the fact that females vary more in fecundity, and consequently in mate quality, when nutrient limited.
Our objective was to experimentally partition the influences of OSR (male or female bias) and variance in mate quality (high
or low) and to assess their relative influence on the intensity of mate choice by male bushcrickets. Female quality was manipulated
by controlled feeding regimes that directly affected female fecundity. We found that males and females engaged in sexual interactions
sooner under a male-biased than a female-biased OSR. Males were more likely to reject females on their first encounter when
variance in female quality was high. However, the effect of quality variance on the total number of rejections during a 4-h
observation period was dependent on the perceived OSR. A male's prior experience of variance in female quality did not influence
male choosiness. Our observed rates of mate rejection conformed well with those predicted from recent theoretical models of
sexual differences in choosiness. In conclusion, our results show that the opportunity for selection via male mate choice
is influenced by an interaction between OSR and the variance in mate quality that arises within nutrient-limited populations
of females.
Received: 5 January 1998 / Accepted after revision: 25 October 1998 相似文献
18.
Association patterns of sailfin mollies (Poecilia latipinna): alternative hypotheses 总被引:3,自引:0,他引:3
Caitlin Gabor 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》1999,46(5):333-340
Individuals may associate with each other due to a variety of selective forces, such as intra- and intersexual selection,
and conspecific recognition. Previous studies have concluded that mate choice governs association behavior in polygynous species
of fish. I examined whether mate choice underlies the preference for larger individuals by examining preference for association
(time spent in proximity to a fish) not only between opposite-sex individuals but also between same-sex individuals of the
live-bearing sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna). Males and females from three size classes were tested with a large and a small object fish of the same and opposite sex.
Females preferred to associate with larger over smaller males. Males also preferred to associate with larger over smaller
females, as expected. The same female and male test fish also preferred to associate with larger over smaller fish of the
same sex. Moreover, females demonstrated no significant difference in their strength of preference (large–small) when offered
males or females. The same held true for males. When males and females were subsequently tested with one large male and one
large female, females tended to prefer large males while males showed no significant preference for association based on sex.
In another experiment, females were tested with a large female and a small male, and significantly preferred the former. These
findings suggest that association patterns may have arisen under a variety of conditions, such as predation pressures, shoaling
behavior, and associative preference behavior. The assumption that association behavior is a uniformly sufficient predictor
of mate choice in fish needs to be re-examined for P. latipinna and other species.
Received: 6 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 12 May 1999 / Accepted: 12 May 1999 相似文献
19.
Adam Felton Ross A. Alford Annika M. Felton Lin Schwarzkopf 《Behavioral ecology and sociobiology》2006,59(6):786-795
We examined multiple mate choice criteria in Cophixalus ornatus, a terrestrial breeding, microhylid frog. Mate choice consisted of three stages: mate attraction (male calling), courtship
(male behavior between the call site and the nest), and nest site selection by the female. For male C. ornatus, the possession of a call with low dominant frequency relative to calling neighbors increased the probability that they would
attract females. Dominant frequency was negatively correlated with age independent of male mass and snout vent length. When
escorting the female from the call site to their nest, males traveled along more convoluted paths than when returning to the
nest alone. The convolution of the path was, therefore, considered an aspect of courtship. Females released eggs into nests
with structural characteristics typical of nests constructed by older males. Thus, females increased their chances of locating
an acceptable nest by preferentially approaching males with lower dominant frequencies. This study is the first to demonstrate
that age, independent of mass or snout-vent length, can influence call characteristics in anurans, and it is also the first
to demonstrate the importance of male age to female mate choice in an amphibian. 相似文献
20.
Recent theoretical and empirical studies have shown that male dominance is often at odds with female mate preference and that
indirect (genetic) benefits of mate choice may not be related to male dominance. We tested whether female preference corresponded
to male dominance and whether mating with dominant males conveyed benefits to offspring fitness in a small freshwater fish,
the African annual killifish Nothobranchius korthausae (Cyprinodontiformes), a species without parental care. The experimental design used controlled for the effect of male age,
possibility of sperm and egg depletion, and accounted for a potential that females express their preference through maternal
effects by manipulation of egg mass during ovulation. By sequentially mating females with males of known dominance, we found
that female N. korthausae showed no mate preference in terms of egg numbers deposited with respect to male dominance or body size and no congruent
mate preference to specific males was detected. However, males sired offspring with consistently higher hatching success and
the effect was repeatable across individual females. Thus, some males provided females with indirect benefits related to additive
genetic quality (“good genes”) and expressed via increased hatching rate, but this benefit was not related to male dominance
status or body size. 相似文献