Mate choice in communication networks: the role of an audience
Final Report Abstract
The social environment has been proposed to play a crucial role in shaping patterns of sexual selection, e.g., by affecting mate choice decisions. This project investigated socially influenced mate choice in livebearing fishes (Poeciliidae) and mammals. Sperm competition risk (SCR), induced by the presence of a rival male that might copy the choosing male’s mate choice, was found to have tremendous effects on the strength of male mating preferences (so-called audience effects). Comparing an array of species revealed that males of almost all poeciliids investigated, but also a mammal (Gazella arabica), cease expressing mating preferences to prevent rivals from copying their choice and initially approach previously non-preferred females, presumably to lead rivals away from their preferred mate. The strength of those effects on a species level was predicted by overall sexual activity, which in turn ought to be predictive of the level of SCR. Poecilia mexicana males were found to be able to remember the perceived sexual activity of a rival and integrate this information in their own future mate choice behavior so as to respond strategically to the relative competitive ability of rivals. Studies on female mate choice found the female preference for dominant males to be superimposed and reversed by social information, as winners of a fight show temporarily increased sexual harassment. Also, females were shown to prefer males performing homosexual behavior as mating partners, most likely due to a general preference for sexually active males. The results from this project were not only broadly acknowledged by the scientific community (as indicated by a F1000 recommendation and features as “research highlights” in Nature and Science) but also in the public media like Spiegel, BBC, or The New York Times.
Publications
- (2011) Male fish use prior knowledge about rivals to adjust their mate choice. Biology Letters 7:349–351
Bierbach D, Girndt A, Hamfler S, Klein M, Müksch F, Penshorn M, Schwinn M, Zimmer C, Schlupp I, Streit B, Plath M
- (2011) Predator induced changes of female mating preferences: innate and experiential effects. BMC Evolutionary Biology E11:19
Bierbach D, Schulte M, Herrman N, Tobler M, Stadler S, Jung C, Kunkel B, Riesch R, Klaus S, Ziege M, Indy JR, Arias–Rodriguez L, Plath M
- (2011) Sperm competition risk affects male mate choice copying. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 65:1699–1707
Bierbach D, Kronmarck C, Hennige–Schulz C, Stadler S, Plath M
- (2013) Casanovas are liars: behavioral syndromes, sperm competition risk, and the evolution of deceptive male mating behavior in livebearing fishes. F1000 Research 2:75
Bierbach D, Makowicz AM, Schlupp I, Geupel H, Streit B, Plath M
- (2013) Females prefer males with superior fighting abilities but avoid sexually harassing winners when eavesdropping on male fights. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 67:675–683
Bierbach D, Sassmannshausen V, Streit B, Arias–Rodriguez L, Plath M
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-013-1487-8) - (2013) Homosexual behaviour increases male attractiveness to females. Biology Letters E9:20121038
Bierbach D, Jung CT, Hornung S, Streit B, Plath M
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2012.1038)
