Abstract
Sexual imprinting is the learning of a mate preference by direct observation of the phenotype of another member of the population. Sexual imprinting can be paternal, maternal, or oblique if individuals learn to prefer the phenotypes of their fathers, mothers, or other members of the population, respectively. Which phenotypes are learned can affect trait evolution and speciation rates. “Good genes” models of polygynous systems predict that females should evolve to imprint on their fathers, because paternal imprinting helps females to choose mates that will produce offspring that are both viable and sexy. Sexual imprinting by males has been observed in nature, but a theory for the evolution of sexual imprinting by males does not exist. We developed a good genes model to study the conditions under which sexual imprinting by males or by both sexes can evolve and to ask which sexual imprinting strategies maximize the fitness of the choosy sex. We found that when only males imprint, maternal imprinting is the most advantageous strategy. When both sexes imprint, it is most advantageous for both sexes to use paternal imprinting. Previous theory suggests that, in a given population, either males or females but not both will evolve choosiness in mating. We show how environmental change can lead to the evolution of sexual imprinting behavior by both sexes in the same population.
Highlights
Sexual imprinting is a form of learned mate preference for a trait that an individual has observed in its population
We study how sexual imprinting by males and by both sexes evolves, and we identify which sexual imprinting strategies are most likely to evolve under the good genes mechanism
Sexual imprinting by females evolves when the cost of courtship is less than the proportion of males in the adult population (i.e., c < α/(1 + α))
Summary
Sexual imprinting is a form of learned mate preference for a trait that an individual has observed in its population. Sexual imprinting is common and widely distributed in animals. It is found in more than 100 species of birds (ten Cate & Vos, 1999; Verzijden et al, 2012), as well as in insects (Westerman, Hodgins-Davis, Dinwiddie, & Monteiro, 2012), spiders (Hebets, 2003), fishes (Kozak & Boughman, 2009; Kozak, Head, & Boughman, 2011; Verzijden et al, 2008), and mammals (Kendrick et al, 1998), possibly including humans (Marcinkowska & Rantala, 2012; Rantala & Marcinkowska, 2011). Sexual imprinting can create barriers to gene flow, allowing reproductive isolation to emerge between populations (Bateson, 1978; Dukas, 2006; Gilman & Kozak, 2015; Grant & Grant, 1996; Laland, 1994a; ten Cate & Bateson, 1988, 1989; Verzijden et al, 2005; Verzijden et al, 2012)
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