Review
Ecology
Roshan Kumar Vijendravarma, Pierre Leopold
Summary: The postulates of developmental instability-sexual selection hypothesis are being actively debated, and this article aims to examine the plausibility of animals perceiving symmetry and subsequently discriminating against asymmetric mates. It emphasizes the importance of considering non-visual perception of asymmetry and discusses methodological challenges in testing multimodal cues for detecting mate asymmetry.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Peter K. Jonason, Kaitlyn P. White, Abigail H. Lowder, Laith Al-Shawaf
Summary: This study replicated the relative importance of dealbreakers and dealmakers in romantic and sexual relationships and extended it to include self-reports of mate value, self-esteem, and loneliness. The results showed that learning about dealbreakers decreased people's interest in potential partners, and individuals with lower self-esteem or higher loneliness were more receptive to partners with dealbreakers. Conversely, individuals who believed they had higher mate value, higher self-esteem, or lower loneliness were more receptive to partners with dealmakers. These findings are discussed in relation to sociometer, prospect, and sexual strategies theories.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Fisheries
Taylor N. Black, Aakriti Rastogi, Abby Saegert, Joseph Dib, Rachel L. Moran
Summary: Male orangethroat darters and rainbow darters show a preference for conspecific females and use olfaction for conspecific identification. This study provides insights into the signals that facilitate species recognition and behavioral isolation.
JOURNAL OF FISH BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Matthew J. Fuxjager, Leonida Fusani, Barney A. Schlinger
Summary: This passage discusses the fascination of biologists with the elaborate courtship displays in the animal kingdom, as well as the specialized neural, sensory and motor systems involved in courtship behavior evolution. It also highlights the androgen-dependent neuromuscular and metabolic specializations in male golden-collared manakins for elaborate courtship routines and evolutionary exaggeration, and how physiological specializations can create trade-offs and influence courtship evolution.
Article
Ecology
Kathy Darragh, Tess A. Linden, Santiago R. Ramirez
Summary: The study found that orchid bee perfumes exhibit stable species-specific differences, which may contribute to reproductive isolation between species. Despite considerable differences within species, species specificity remains consistent throughout the year, suggesting that these perfumes play an important role in reproductive isolation and are affected by stabilizing selection towards the species mean. The study also identified strong correlations in the abundance of some perfume compounds, possibly due to shared collection sources between species.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Seiji Saoshiro, Kenji Karino
Summary: This study examines how male guppies use chemical cues from females to choose suitable mates. The findings suggest that male guppies can discriminate the reproductive status of females based on chemical cues and generally prefer females who have copulated with other males as mates.
ZOOLOGICAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Biology
Robin E. Morrison, Eric Ndayishimiye, Tara S. Stoinski, Winnie Eckardt
Summary: Mating with close kin can have negative consequences, leading to the evolution of inbreeding avoidance mechanisms. This study on mountain gorillas examined multiple mechanisms of inbreeding avoidance, including dispersal, mate choice, kin discrimination, and post-copulatory biases. The findings suggest that partial dispersal reduces kinship in groups, and there is significant kin discrimination in mate choice, particularly towards maternal kin. However, there is limited avoidance of paternal kin, and no evidence for post-copulatory inbreeding avoidance. These results demonstrate that multiple complementary mechanisms for inbreeding avoidance can evolve within a single species, and mate choice may enable more flexible dispersal systems to evolve.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Katharina Weiss, Jutta M. Schneider
Summary: This study examined kin recognition behavior in the orb-weaver spider and found a chemical signal-based mechanism for kin recognition. Males showed a preference for mating with sisters over leaving, possibly due to the ability to recognize relatives through specific cuticular substances.
Article
Zoology
Zehai Hou, Songshan Wei, Cong Wei, Zhi-Yun Jia
Summary: This study investigated the effects of acoustic features and morphological traits on mate choice in an East Asian cicada species. The results showed that females of this species prefer males with higher calling song rate and certain acoustic characteristics. However, no correlation was found between morphological traits and mating success. Furthermore, the study found that after mating, only a few males emitted calling songs again, but failed to attract new mates. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the diversity of mating preference and the mechanism of mate choice in acoustic insects.
Article
Ecology
Laura L. Dean, Hannah R. Dunstan, Amelia Reddish, Andrew D. C. MacColl
Summary: Ecological divergence in mating characteristics, particularly nesting microhabitat, may be more important than direct mate choice in maintaining reproductive isolation in stickleback species pairs.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Naomi L. Zweerus, Michiel van Wijk, Coby Schal, Astrid T. Groot
Summary: The evolution of sexual signals is influenced by whether one or both sexes engage in mate choice. In the case of the noctuid moth Chloridea virescens, both males and females emit sex-specific pheromones, but females tend to choose larger males for mating. Female mate choice in this moth species is not influenced by male pheromones, and females use behavior and tactile stimuli to make decisions during courtship.
Article
Entomology
Glen Ray Hood, Jackson H. Jennings, Daniel J. Bruzzese, Melanie Beehler, Thomas Schmitt, Jeffrey L. Feder, William J. Etges
Summary: The study found variation in epicuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as a potential factor in mate choice among adults of six Rhagoletis taxa, including the apple and hawthorn-infesting host races. Gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry revealed 36 repeatable and quantifiable hydrocarbon components across all six fly taxa, with at least 53 different CHC compounds present, consisting of n-alkanes, mono-, dimethyl-, and trimethyl-alkanes, alkenes, and alkadienes. The results suggest that CHC variation may contribute to patterns of premating isolation between Rhagoletis taxa, potentially driven by sexual and host-related selection.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sunny K. Boyd, Noah M. Gordon
Summary: The social interactions of animals are determined by a complex interplay of signals and receivers, with mate choice decisions in breeding aggregations being particularly consequential. In a study on female gray treefrogs, it was found that the response towards male advertisement calls was influenced by the intercall interval (ICI), leading to different patterns of preference for stimulus temporal features at greater distances. These findings suggest that female preferences for male characteristics can be influenced by factors such as distance, sampling behavior, and prior experience.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
David Canal, Monika Jablonszky, Katalin Krenhardt, Gabor Marko, Gergely Nagy, Eszter Szasz, Janos Torok, Sandor Zsebok, Laszlo Zsolt Garamszegi
Summary: This study revealed the relative importance of male and female identity in male courtship behavior, as well as the increased male responsiveness to stimulus females as the breeding season progressed. Furthermore, the results suggest that invitation latency is a consistent courtship attribute in males that can be adjusted plastically according to perceived female quality and environmental conditions.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Lauren M. Harrison, Gabriela C. Melo, Daniela M. Perez, Patricia R. Y. Backwell
Summary: Experimental results show that females have a strong preference for leader males, but followers still obtain a certain proportion of mates. Proximity of followers to females does not affect female preference for leaders, but being a leader increases a male's success when he is further from the female than rival males. Furthermore, the presence of a leader male makes females more likely to approach a distant group, suggesting that followers benefit from participating in synchrony.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Neurosciences
Thorsten Herr, Julie Gamain, Robert Fleischmann, Bernhard Lehnert, Marcus Vollmer, Carsten Willert, Birgitt Veit, Andrea Stenner, Jan-Uwe Mueller, Barbara Caspers, Martin Kronenbuerger
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sarah Golueke, Hans-Joachim Bischof, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: This study aimed to test whether birds can recognize their offspring via smell. The experiment results showed that male zebra finches can differentiate between their own and foreign offspring based on odor cues, while females did not show any behavioral response.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Oncu Maraci, Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou, Sebastian Junemann, Omar Castillo-Gutierrez, Tobias Busche, Jorn Kalinowski, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: Microbial communities in the gastrointestinal tracts of animals have significant impacts on host physiological processes. Host-specific and environmental factors interact in shaping gut microbial communities in humans, resulting in inter-individual differences. However, the extent to which microbes are individual-specific and controlled by host-specific factors across different animal taxa remains not fully understood.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Karin Schneeberger, Michael Schulze, Ingo Scheffler, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: Geographic variation in sexually selected male traits and female preference for local males are common in animals, contributing to local adaptation and increased fitness. This study on greater sac-winged bats found significant differences in wing sac odors between geographically distinct populations, with females showing a preference for distant males over local males. The wing sac odor may play a role in ensuring optimal outbreeding in female-biased dispersing species.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Editorial Material
Behavioral Sciences
Oencu Maraci, Barbara A. Caspers
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Zoology
Anbalagan Rathinakumar, Murugavel Baheerathan, Barbara A. Caspers, Joseph J. Erinjery, Perumalswamy Kaliraj, Subbian Baskaran, Ganapathy Marimuthu
Summary: Male greater short-nosed fruit bats attract females through wing fanning and tent marking with saliva to release chemosignals. Experimental results show that females consistently preferred tents with male chemosignals, indicating the importance of chemosignals in male recruitment of females and subsequent harem formation.
ACTA CHIROPTEROLOGICA
(2021)
Review
Ecology
Nicholas P. Moran, Barbara A. Caspers, Nayden Chakarov, Ulrich R. Ernst, Claudia Fricke, Joachim Kurtz, Navina D. Lilie, Lai Ka Lo, Caroline Mueller, R. Reshma, Elina Takola, Pete C. Trimmer, Koen J. van Benthem, Jamie Winternitz, Meike J. Wittmann
Summary: The role of intraspecific trait variation in determining the cooperative-antagonistic outcome of ecological interactions is significant, with trait frequency effects and systemic variance effects driving shifts in interaction outcomes. Heritable trait differences and phenotypic plasticity play important roles in determining the likelihood of short-term or persistent shifts between cooperation and antagonism. Evidence synthesis methods in ecology and evolution can help bridge knowledge gaps and divergences between empirical and theoretical literature.
Article
Ornithology
Barbara A. Caspers, Reinaldo Marfull, Tim Dannenhaus, Jan Komdeur, Peter Korsten
Summary: Acoustic and visual signals are important in social communication in birds, but growing evidence suggests many bird species also have a well-developed sense of smell. Differences in the chemical composition of the preen gland secretion of Blue Tits were found between sexes, with females having more compounds. The preliminary findings suggest the chemical composition of the preen gland secretion may be a sexually selected trait in Blue Tits.
JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Leanne A. Grieves, Marc Gilles, Innes C. Cuthill, Tamas Szekely, Elizabeth A. MacDougall-Shackleton, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: Smell is an important aspect of avian behavior and ecology, and evidence suggests that birds use odoriferous preen oil to minimize detection by nest predators and for intraspecific olfactory communication. While there is mixed evidence for seasonal and sex differences in preen oil, a systematic review found that seasonal differences were present in 95% of species and sex differences were present in 47% of species. Phylogenetic comparative analyses supported the olfactory crypsis hypothesis for ground-nesting species and suggested that sex differences were more likely in species with uniparental incubation and during breeding.
BIOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Oncu Maraci, Michela Corsini, Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou, Sebastian Juenemann, Joanna Sudyka, Irene Di Lecce, Barbara A. Caspers, Marta Szulkin
Summary: Urbanisation presents ecological and evolutionary challenges to wild populations, and the gut microbiota of vertebrates may respond to these changes. Our study investigated the gut microbiota of juvenile great tits in an urban environment and found that the microbial diversity and composition were influenced by cavity type and environmental factors such as impervious surface and tree cover density.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Jonas Tebbe, Meinolf Ottensmann, Katja Havenstein, Artemis Efstratiou, Tobias L. Lenz, Barbara A. Caspers, Jaume Forcada, Ralph Tiedemann, Joseph Hoffman
Summary: The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is an important component of the vertebrate immune system, and understanding MHC variation is crucial for studying fitness. In this study, intronic primers were used to amplify the MHC genes of Antarctic fur seals, revealing 19 alleles and higher allelic diversity than previous studies. Amino acid similarity at the MHC was associated with genome-wide relatedness, but not with heterozygosity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Zoology
L. G. Hahn, P. Oswald, B. A. Caspers
Summary: The study found that larval fire salamanders from different habitats are able to recognize chemical signals from potential predators and adjust their behavior accordingly. However, there were slight differences in their response to these chemical cues, reflecting varying antipredator strategies in response to habitat-specific differences.
JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Microbiology
Oncu Maraci, Anna Antonatou-Papaioannou, Sebastian Juenemann, Kathrin Engel, Omar Castillo-Gutierrez, Tobias Busche, Joern Kalinowski, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: This study provides a description and analysis of the development of gut microbiota in zebra finches and Bengalese finches, highlighting the changing influence of the social environment and host selection during ontogeny.
Correction
Marine & Freshwater Biology
E. Tobias Krause, Sebastian Steinfartz, Barbara A. Caspers
Article
Marine & Freshwater Biology
E. Tobias Krause, Sebastian Steinfartz, Barbara A. Caspers
Summary: Early nutritional conditions have immediate effects on fire salamanders in various aspects of behavior and physiology. Most effects are compensated within individuals' lifetimes without detectable costs.
