Article
Biology
Nan Lyu, D. Justin Yeh, Huw Lloyd, Yue-Hua Sun
Summary: The study examines the relationship between post-pairing male behaviors and female trait evolution using theoretical models. It finds that male mate choosiness can have surprising influence on the evolution of costly female traits. The study suggests that choosy males can have different post-pairing behaviors, which has been overlooked in previous studies. The findings show that both male preferences and female traits can evolve more easily than previously expected.
COMMUNICATIONS BIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Julian Melgar, Mads F. Schou, Maud Bonato, Zanell Brand, Anel Engelbrecht, Schalk W. P. Cloete, Charlie K. Cornwallis
Summary: This study experimentally tested sex differences in cooperative breeding and their impact on group size variation in ostriches. The results showed that male optimal group size is influenced by competition costs, while female reproductive success is impacted by the benefits of cooperation with group members. Intermediate group sizes were found to be disadvantageous for both males and females.
Article
Biology
Goran Arnqvist, Karl Grieshop, Cosima Hotzy, Johanna Ronn, Michal Polak, Locke Rowe
Summary: The study found that male genital spines in seed beetles have a direct negative impact on female fecundity, but females mating with males from long-spine lines produced more offspring, indicating the presence of indirect effects. Females adapt to male spines through evolutionary selection, influenced by multiple simultaneous processes that affect mating and fertilization biases.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Hieu T. Pham, Mark A. Elgar, Emile van Lieshout, Kathryn B. McNamara
Summary: This study explores the effects of immune system activation on antennal morphology and pheromone attractiveness in the gumleaf skeletonizer moth. The results show that immune-challenged males have a lower density of antennal sensilla, while the pheromone of immune-challenged females is less attractive to males. Additionally, immune challenge affects female investment into ovary development and there is a trade-off between male antennal length and testes size.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Sergio Nolazco, Kaspar Delhey, Shinichi Nakagawa, Anne Peters
Summary: This article examines the ornament traits and adaptive signals in birds. The study finds that although female ornaments are often less elaborate than male ornaments, both sexes show similar associations between ornaments and indicators of health and reproductive success.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Katsuya Kiyose, Masako Katsuki, Yu Suzaki, Kensuke Okada
Summary: Females in the beetle Gnatocerus cornutus tend to choose attractive males for mating to produce offspring of higher quality, but there is no direct effect of remating on female fitness. Females may increase their fitness indirectly by producing attractive sons through remating with attractive males and biasing fertilization towards their sperm.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Eleanor Bath, Daisy Buzzoni, Toby Ralph, Stuart Wigby, Irem Sepil
Summary: Mating affects female behavior and physiology across a wide range of taxa, often induced by components of male ejaculate. Variation in male condition can lead to differences in the strength of responses males can stimulate in females, affecting fitness outcomes for both sexes.
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Olivia E. Anastasio, Chelsea S. Sinclair, Alison Pischedda
Summary: Cryptic male mate choice refers to the differential allocation of resources by males to females during or after copulation. In the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, males mate longer and allocate more resources to larger females compared to smaller females. However, it is unclear if this increased investment in larger females has any impact on the males' subsequent matings.
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
Erika Fernlund Isaksson, Charel Reuland, Ariel F. Kahrl, Alessandro Devigili, John L. Fitzpatrick
Summary: This study examines the effects of resource restriction on pre- and post-copulatory traits in male pygmy halfbeaks. The results show that resource restriction leads to reduced body size, beak size, courtship behavior, and testes size, but unexpectedly, the restricted-diet group had a larger area of red color on the beak and fins after the diet treatment.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
William David Weber, Heidi S. S. Fisher
Summary: When females mate with multiple partners, both male and female reproductive traits evolve in response to post-copulatory sexual selection.
JOURNAL OF EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Lauren M. Harrison, Michael D. Jennions
Summary: In many species, females prefer to mate with socially dominant males, but fewer studies have tested whether males prefer dominant females. A study on mosquitofish showed that males preferentially mate with dominant females when sexes freely interact. This study replicated the previous findings and found that males also prefer to mate with dominant females in free interactions, but not in two-choice trials where females cannot interact. The study discusses whether greater access to males is a benefit of female social dominance or a byproduct of other benefits.
EVOLUTIONARY ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Patrick W. Kelly, David W. Pfennig, Karin S. Pfennig
Summary: The debate on whether sexual selection promotes adaptive evolution in variable environments continues. This study found that male sexual signals can predict offspring plasticity, potentially aiding in adaptive evolution in response to changing selective pressures.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Sara E. E. Lipshutz, Samuel J. J. Torneo, Kimberly A. A. Rosvall
Summary: Sexual selection drives trait variation, and male competition for mating opportunities is linked to sperm size. The influence of female-female competition and male-male competition on sperm morphology is not well understood. We examined two species with socially polyandrous mating systems, finding that the species with greater polyandry had longer midpieces and tails in their sperm, as well as lower intraejaculate variation in tail length. These results suggest that female-female competition may shape male-male competition by selecting for longer and less variable sperm traits.
AMERICAN NATURALIST
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Goncalo Andre, Renee C. Firman, Leigh W. Simmons
Summary: Studies show that female house mice release prolactin early after copulation, which is dependent on the shape of the baculum and male sexual behavior. This suggests a mechanism of sexual selection acting on the mammalian baculum.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
