Search results for "Mating"

Behavioural adaptations of argulid parasites (Crustacea: Branchiura) to major challenges in their life cycle.

2015

Fish lice (Argulus spp.) are obligate ectoparasites, which contrary to most aquatic parasites, retain the ability to swim freely throughout the whole of their life. In fish farms, they can quickly increase in numbers and without effective control cause argulosis, which results in the reduced growth and survival of their fish hosts. The morphology of Argulus spp, including their sensory organs, is suitable for both parasitism and free-swimming. By spending a considerable amount of time away from their host, these parasites risk being excessively dispersed, which could endanger mating success. Here we present a review of recent studies on the behaviour of Argulus spp, especially the aggregati…

Age-dependent inbreeding risk and offspring fitness costs in female black grouse

2011

Dispersal is an important mechanism used to avoid inbreeding. However, dispersal may only be effective for part of an individual's lifespan since, post-dispersal individuals that breed over multiple reproductive events may risk mating with kin of the philopatric sex as they age. We tested this hypothesis in black grouse Tetrao tetrix , and show that yearling females never mated with close relatives whereas older females did. However, matings were not with direct kin suggesting that short-distance dispersal to sites containing kin and subsequent overlap of reproductive lifespans between males and females were causing this pattern. Chick mass was lower when kinship was high, suggesting impor…

Atypical functioning of female genitalia explains monandry in a butterfly

2021

Monandrous species are rare in nature, especially in animals where males transfer nutrients to females in the ejaculate. The proximate mechanisms responsible for monandry are poorly studied. In butterflies and moths, the male transfers a nutritious spermatophore into the corpus bursae (CB) of the female. The CB is a multifunctional organ that digests the spermatophore and has partial control of the post-mating sexual receptivity of the female. The spermatophore distends the CB and the post-mating sexual receptivity of the female is inversely proportional to the degree of distension. The CB of many butterfly species has a muscular sheath whose contractions mechanically contribute to digest t…

Female reactions to male absence after pairing in the pied flycatcher

1994

Mating with an already mated pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) male is costly for a female. Two hypotheses explain why some females still mate with already mated males. The deception hypothesis suggests that some females mate with already mated males since it is difficult to assess perfectly the mating status of a male with separate territories (polyterritoriality). The search cost hypothesis states that females are aware of male mating status but the costs of searching for an unmated male exceed costs associated with the status of secondary female. One potential cue that could disclose a male's mating status is the existence of brief visits to the primary territory by polyterritorial ma…

Effects of gender inequality and wealth inequality on within-sex mating competition under hypergyny

2022

Resources are often central to the formation and persistence of human consortships, and to the evolutionary fitness consequences of those consortships. As a result, the distribution of resources within a society should influence the number and quality of mating opportunities an individual of given status/wealth experiences. In particular, in a wide variety of societies, both contemporary and historic, women have been shown to prefer mates of higher rather than lower status and wealth, a pattern known as ‘hypergyny’. Such status-dependent within-sex competition is influenced not only by the preferences individuals express but also by the distribution of resources within and between sexes. Em…

Interactions between oxidative stress and attractiveness to mates and individual mate choice in the beetle Tenebrio molitor

2020

Copying the Mate Choice of Others? Observations On Female Black Grouse

1990

Abstract It has been suggested that the non-random mating often observed in lekking species is a consequence of either male-male competition or active female mate choice. Here we show that the highly skewed mating distributions observed in a black grouse lek in three years were indeed different from random expectations. We suggest that females copying the mate choice of others enhance this skew. Observations in favour of copying are: females pay multiple visits to the lek during several days; females arrive and move in bands which makes it possible to observe the visits to male territories and matings of other females; in the main lek in the study area, males often mated in sequence indica…

Polyandrous females produce sons that are successful at post-copulatory competition.

2014

Some of the genetic benefit hypotheses put forward to explain multiple male mating (polyandry) predict that sons of polyandrous females will have an increased competitive ability under precopulatory or post-copulatory competition via paternally inherited traits, such as attractiveness or fertilization efficiency. Here, we tested these predictions by comparing the competitive ability of sons of experimentally monandrous and polyandrous female bank voles (Myodes glareolus), while controlling for potential material and maternal effects. In female choice experiments, we found no clear preference for sons of either monandrous or polyandrous mothers. Moreover, neither male type was dominant over …

Mate preferences in Argentinean transgender people

2018

Transgender people provide a unique opportunity to examine the effect of biological sex versus gender identity on mating preferences. This study aimed at identifying the mate characteristics that are most and least valued by transgender people and at examining to what extent their biological sex or their gender identity determined their mate preferences. A convenience sample of 134 male‐to‐female (MTF) and 94 female‐to‐male (FTM) individuals from Argentina rated Buss's list of 18 mate attributes. Compared to FTM, MTF individuals placed significantly more emphasis on attractiveness and socioeconomic status, whereas FTM, more than MTF individuals, valued partners with a dependable character. …

Height predicts jealousy differently for men and women

2008

Because male height is associated with attractiveness, dominance, and reproductive success, taller men may be less jealous. And because female height has a curvilinear relationship with health and reproductive success (with average-height females having the advantages), female height may have a curvilinear relationship with jealousy. In Study 1, male height was found to be negatively correlated with self-reported global jealousy, whereas female height was curvilinearly related to jealousy, with average-height women reporting the lowest levels of jealousy. In Study 2, male height was found to be negatively correlated with jealousy in response to socially influential, physically dominant, and…