Abstract
In species where males have several ornaments for mate attraction, each ornament may coevolve with a different female preference. Alternatively, multiple ornaments may be sexually selected for because they stimulate the same, single, female preference. In the latter case, measures of preferences for different ornaments are essentially measures of the same phenotypic character and, thus, will be strongly pleiotropic, whereas no such expectation exists for multiple preferences. We selected directly up and down on two visual ornaments, orange and black coloration, in male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in order to impose indirect selection on the female preference or preferences for these ornaments. Preferences for the two colors responded in a pattern similar to the response of the ornaments themselves. That female preferences for orange and for black in this guppy population are able to respond to selection more or less independently, suggests that they are probably two different characters in an evolutionary sense. Each of these preferences appears to be genetically correlated with the respective ornament.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.