Abstract
AbstractMale mate preferences have been demonstrated across a range of species, including the Malaysian stalk-eyed fly, Teleopsis dalmanni. This species is subject to sex-ratio (SR), an X-linked male meiotic driver, which causes the dysfunction of Y-sperm and the production of all-female broods. While there has been work considering female avoidance of meiotic drive males, the mating decisions of drive-bearing males have not been considered previously. Drive males may be less able to bear the cost of choice as SR is associated with a low-frequency inversion that causes reduced organismal fitness. Drive males may also experience weaker selection for preference maintenance if they are avoided by females. Using binary choice trials, across two experiments, we confirmed male preference for large (fecund) females but found no evidence that the strength of male preference differs between drive and standard males. We showed that large eyespan males displayed strong preference for large females, whereas small eyespan males showed no preference. Taken together, these results suggest that, even though meiotic drive is associated with lower genetic quality, it does not directly interfere with male mate preference among available females. However, as drive males tend to have smaller eyespan (albeit only ~5% on average), this will to a minor extent weaken their strength of preference.
Highlights
Despite a historical narrative of indiscriminate males attempting to mate with choosy females (Bateman 1948), male mate preference is a widespread phenomenon (Bonduriansky 2001; Edward and Chapman 2011)
There was no male preference for large females, in large part reflecting the reduced sample size
Male mate preferences have been observed across a range of species, even where initially unexpected, for example, in polygynous species that lack paternal care or other forms of direct male investment in offspring or mating partners (Edward and Chapman 2011)
Summary
Despite a historical narrative of indiscriminate males attempting to mate with choosy females (Bateman 1948), male mate preference is a widespread phenomenon (Bonduriansky 2001; Edward and Chapman 2011). It has even been observed in diverse lekking species, where males only provide sperm, including flies (Shelly et al 2012), birds (Saether et al 2001), and fish (Werner and Lotem 2003). Sperm production is costly (Dewsbury 1982) and limits the mating
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