Courtship Context Research Articles

Circulating Hormones and Dominance Status Predict Female Behavior during Courtship in a Lekking Species.

Female competitive behaviors during courtship can have substantial fitness consequences, yet we know little about the physiological and social mechanisms underlying these behaviors-particularly for females of polygynous lek mating species. We explored the hormonal and social drivers of female intersexual and intrasexual behavior during courtship by males in a captive population of Indian peafowl. We investigated whether (1) female non-stress induced circulating estradiol (E2) and corticosterone (CORT) levels or (2) female dominance status in a dyad predicts female solicitation behavior. We also tested whether female circulating E2 and CORT predict dominant females' aggressive behaviors toward subordinate females in the courtship context. Our findings demonstrate that females with higher levels of circulating E2 as well as higher levels of circulating CORT solicit more courtships from males. Dominant females also solicit more courtships from males than subordinate females. Female intrasexual aggressive behaviors during courtship, however, were not associated with circulating levels of E2 or CORT. Overall, we conclude that circulating steroid hormones in conjunction with social dominance might play a role in mediating female behaviors associated with competition for mates. Experimental manipulation and measures of hormonal flexibility throughout the breeding season in relation to competitive and sexual behaviors will be necessary to further examine the link between hormonal mechanisms and female behavior in polygynous lekking systems.

RETRACTION NOTICE: Men’s music ability and attractiveness to women in a real-life courtship context

RETRACTION NOTICE: Men’s music ability and attractiveness to women in a real-life courtship context

Human vocal behavior within competitive and courtship contexts and its relation to mating success

Abstract Beyond the linguistic content of their speech, speakers of both sexes convey diverse biological and psychosocial information through their voices, which are important when assessing potential mates and competitors. However, studies investigating the relationships between mating success and acoustic inter-individual differences are scarce. In this study, we investigated such relationships in both sexes in courtship and competitive interactions—as they correspond to the two different types of sexual selection—using an experimental design based on a simulated dating game. We assessed which type of sexual selection best predicted mating success, here defined as the self-reported number of sexual partners within the past year. Our results show that only acoustic inter-individual differences in the courtship context for both men and women predicted their mating success. Men displaying faster articulation rate and louder voices reported significantly more sexual partners; in contrast, men displaying higher intonation reported a greater negative effect of roughness and breathiness on their mating success. Women who displayed relatively less breathy voices and shorter speech duration reported significantly fewer sexual partners. These novel findings are discussed in light of the mate choice context and the relative contribution of both types of sexual selection shaping acoustic features of speech.

The acoustic repertoire of the Atlantic Forest Rocket Frog and its consequences for taxonomy and conservation (Allobates, Aromobatidae).

The use of acoustic signals is a common characteristic of most anuran species to mediate intraspecific communication. Besides many social purposes, one of the main functions of these signals is species recognition. For this reason, this phenotypic trait is normally applied to taxonomy or to construct evolutionary relationship hypotheses. Here the acoustic repertoire of five populations of the genus Allobates from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest are presented for the first time, on a vulnerable to extinction Neotropical taxon. The description of males’ advertisement and aggressive calls and a female call emitted in a courtship context are presented. In addition, the advertisement calls of individuals from distinct geographical regions were compared. Differences in frequency range and note duration may imply in taxonomic rearrangements of these populations, once considered distinct species, and more recently, proposed as a single species, Allobates olfersioides. Calls of the male from the state of Rio de Janeiro do not overlap spectrally with calls of males from northern populations, while the shorter notes emitted by males from Alagoas also distinguishes this population from the remaining southern populations. Therefore, it is likely that at least two of the junior synonyms should be revalidated. Similarities among male advertisement and female calls are generally reported in other anuran species; these calls may have evolved from a preexisting vocalization common to both sexes. Male aggressive calls were different from both the male advertisement and female calls, since it was composed by a longer and multi-pulsed note. Aggressive and advertisement calls generally have similar dominant frequencies, but they have temporal distinctions. Such patterns were corroborated with the Atlantic Forest Rocket Frogs. These findings may support future research addressing the taxonomy of the group, behavioral evolution, and amphibian conservation.

Messages conveyed by assorted facets of the dewlap, in both sexes of Anolis sagrei

Dewlaps of Anolis lizards are complex multicomponent signaling devices that have been intensively studied. Yet, the functions and multiple messages conveyed by the dewlap remain largely unknown. Here, we assess some aspects of sexual identity, individual quality, and social status that may be signaled by the dewlap in both sexes of Anolis sagrei. In addition, we investigate whether diverse facets of dewlap signaling provide additive information (redundant message hypothesis) or highlight different characteristics of the sender (multiple-message hypothesis). To do so, components of dewlap design (area, color, and pattern ratio) and use (dewlap extension frequency during intersexual context) were quantified and investigated for relationships with sexual identity (sex), individual quality (performance and health state measurements), and social status (mirror-motivated aggression). First, we found that body size together with relative dewlap area and color act as redundant messages in the advertisement of sexual identity. Second, we found that dewlap coloration in the center and edge region signals aspects of individual quality, specifically health state, but only in males. The dewlap center and edge acts primarily as redundant signals, at least for body condition and immune response. However, different color components irrespective of dewlap region convey nonredundant information about aspects of health state in males, supporting the multiple-message hypothesis. Surprisingly, dewlap use in A. sagrei males conveyed no information about the tested quality measurements nor about mirror-motivated aggression. Neither dewlap design nor use in females was related to any of these parameters. In contrast to males, correlations between components of dewlap design and use during intersexual interactions were found for females, suggesting important signaling functions of the female dewlap in a courtship context.

Investigating female mate choice for mechanical sounds in the male Greater Sage-Grouse

ABSTRACT Although birds are generally known for their vocally produced songs and calls, some species have evolved alternate means of acoustic communication that do not require the syrinx. While many of these mechanical sounds are used in a courtship context, the importance of among- and within-individual variation in these sounds is almost entirely unknown. We investigated feather-produced sounds in male Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus), which congregate on leks during the spring breeding season and perform elaborate displays to attract females. Despite decades of research on the vocal components of the display, the frequency-modulated and mechanically generated “swish” sounds remain poorly studied. We used 2 years of acoustic data to evaluate the relationship between the time and frequency characteristics of the swish display and male mating success. Although characteristics of the swish sounds showed individual-specific patterns of variation, neither univariate nor multivariate analyses r...

Avian olfactory displays: a hypothesis for the function of bill-wiping in a social context

Bill-wiping, or the scraping by a bird of its bill along a substrate, has been observed in social contexts and cited as an irrelevant displacement activity. However, several behaviors once categorized as displacement behaviors have since been shown to serve adaptive functions. Here, we hypothesize that bill-wiping may function in social interactions by releasing odors from the waxy residue of preen oil on the bill. We assessed behavioral context associated with bill-wiping by comparing the frequency of bill-wiping by free-living male songbirds when presented with a caged male or female conspecific paired with playback; males bill-wiped significantly more often in response in a courtship context and in a mate-guarding context than in a territorial context. Bill-wiping frequency correlated with courtship behaviors, such as tail spreading and singing short-range songs, but not with aggressive behaviors. We also noted attributes of individuals that engaged in bill-wiping during courtship and found that younger, smaller males performed this behavior more frequently than older, larger males. Finally, we conducted a captive Y-maze experiment to test whether dried preen oil residue would be more detectable if it were manipulated (scratched to potentially release odor) or unmanipulated. Preliminary evidence suggests that males could be more responsive to manipulated preen oil, though stronger tests are needed. Taken together, our results suggest a functional hypothesis: bill-wiping during courtship may be an olfactory display that releases odor that may be detected by potential mates and rivals. We conclude by suggesting ways in which future work can test the olfactory display hypothesis.

Art as an Indicator of Male Fitness: Does Prenatal Testosterone Influence Artistic Ability?

In his groundbreaking research, Geoffrey Miller (1999) suggests that artistic and creative displays are male-predominant behaviors and can be considered to be the result of an evolutionary advantage. The outcomes of several surveys conducted on jazz and rock musicians, contemporary painters, English writers (Miller, 1999), and scientists (Kanazawa, 2000) seem to be consistent with the Millerian hypothesis, showing a predominance of men carrying out these activities, with an output peak corresponding to the most fertile male period and a progressive decline in late maturity. One way to evaluate the sex-related hypothesis of artistic and cultural displays, considered as sexual indicators of male fitness, is to focus on sexually dimorphic traits. One of them, within our species, is the 2nd to 4th digit length (2D:4D), which is a marker for prenatal testosterone levels. This study combines the Millerian theories on sexual dimorphism in cultural displays with the digit ratio, using it as an indicator of androgen exposure in utero. If androgenic levels are positively correlated with artistic exhibition, both female and male artists should show low 2D:4D ratios. In this experiment we tested the association between 2D:4D and artistic ability by comparing the digit ratios of 50 artists (25 men and 25 women) to the digit ratios of 50 non-artists (25 men and 25 women). Both male and female artists had significantly lower 2D:4D ratios (indicating high testosterone) than male and female controls. These results support the hypothesis that art may represent a sexually selected, typically masculine behavior that advertises the carrier's good genes within a courtship context.

Accurately Detecting Flirting

This article reports two studies on the accuracy of flirting detection. In Study 1, 52 pairs ( n = 104) of opposite-sex heterosexual strangers interacted for 10 to 12 minutes, then self-reported flirting and perceived partner flirting. The results indicated that interactions where flirting did not occur were more accurately perceived than interactions where flirting occurred. In Study 2, twenty-six 1-minute video clips drawn from Study 1 were randomly assigned to one of eight experimental conditions that varied flirting base rate and the traditional sexual script. Participant observers ( n = 261) attempted to determine if flirting occurred. The results indicated that base rate affected accuracy; flirting was more accurately detected in clips where flirting did not occur than in clips where flirting occurred. Study 2 also indicated that female targets’ flirting was more accurately judged than male targets’ flirting. Findings are discussed in relation to theory and courtship context.

Male cognitive performance declines in the absence of sexual selection

Sexual selection is responsible for the evolution of male ornaments and armaments, but its role in the evolution of cognition--the ability to process, retain and use information--is largely unexplored. Because successful courtship is likely to involve processing information in complex, competitive sexual environments, we hypothesized that sexual selection contributes to the evolution and maintenance of cognitive abilities in males. To test this, we removed mate choice and mate competition from experimental populations of Drosophila melanogaster by enforcing monogamy for over 100 generations. Males evolved under monogamy became less proficient than polygamous control males at relatively complex cognitive tasks. When faced with one receptive and several unreceptive females, polygamous males quickly focused on receptive females, whereas monogamous males continued to direct substantial courtship effort towards unreceptive females. As a result, monogamous males were less successful in this complex setting, despite being as quick to mate as their polygamous counterparts with only one receptive female. This diminished ability to use past information was not limited to the courtship context: monogamous males (but not females) also showed reduced aversive olfactory learning ability. Our results provide direct experimental evidence that the intensity of sexual selection is an important factor in the evolution of male cognitive ability.

RETRACTED: Men’s music ability and attractiveness to women in a real-life courtship context

This experiment tested the assumption that music plays a role in sexual selection. Three hundred young women were solicited in the street for their phone number by a young male confederate who held either a guitar case or a sports bag in his hands or had no bag at all. Results showed that holding a guitar case was associated with greater compliance to the request, thus suggesting that musical practice is associated with sexual selection.

Systematic cognitive biases in courtship context: women's commitment–skepticism as a life-history strategy?

According to error management theory (EMT) [Haselton M.G., & Buss D.M. (2000). Error management theory: a new perspective on biases in cross-sex mind reading. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 78, 81–91], evolved psychological mechanisms can lead to systematic cognitive errors whenever costs of false-positive and false-negative decisions have been asymmetrical over evolutionary history. In a courtship context, sex differences in reading commitment intent in a potential partner seem to be a result of these psychological mechanisms. EMT predicts a bias in women toward underperception of men's commitment intentions. Haselton and Buss found evidence for a commitment–skepticism bias in studies testing young women. These findings have not been replicated yet in the published literature. The present two studies compared postmenopausal women with fertile women in a German sample, extending EMT with a life-history perspective. According to the original commitment–skepticism hypothesis, women err on the side of underestimating prospective mates' commitment to avoid the high costs of pregnancy without support. We hypothesize that for postmenopausal women the costs of errors would be more equal or possibly reversed, such that these women face greater costs of missed opportunities with investing partners who could assist them in caring for extant offspring and grand offspring than from falsely assuming that a partner was committed. Therefore, we hypothesize that commitment–skepticism will not occur in postmenopausal women. Confirming our predictions, whereas we replicated the commitment–skepticism in the younger sample, postmenopausal women did not show a bias toward underinferring men's commitment intentions.

Courtship and mating behavior of the wolf spider Schizocosa bilineata (Araneae: Lycosidae)

Of all the wolf spiders (Araneae: Lycosidae), the genus Schizocosa Chamberlin 1904 is probably the most widely studied, and has become an established model in studies of behavior, sexual selection, and speciation. Much of the work to date involves the complex, often multimodal courtship behaviors and secondary sexual traits used by males to elicit receptivity from potential mates. Schizocosa bilineata (Emerton 1885) is one of those species where males possess decorative tufts of bristles on the forelegs that likely play a role in sexual selection, but little is known of male courtship behavior or its role in mate choice. In the present study, we provide the first description of visual and seismic behaviors performed by males in response to female silk and chemical cues, and examine male-female behavioral interactions in live mating trials. Males clearly recognized and responded to female chemical cues by displaying several species-specific visual signaling behaviors accompanied by seismic signals from stridulation. As these behaviors rarely occurred in the absence of female cues, we suggest they function primarily in a courtship context. In live mating trials, females typically responded to male courtship with visual receptivity behaviors, which were seen prior to mounting and copulation. While both visual and seismic signals of males are clearly implicated in courtship and mate choice, future work will be necessary to fully understand the interaction between modalities in this species. The description of behavior provided here should help resolve the relationship between male ornamentation and courtship behavior in the genus Schizocosa.

The effect of a woman's incidental tactile contact on men's later behavior

Previous research has indicated that a light tactile contact is associated with a positive response towards the person who is touching. The effect of touch on courtship was investigated in this experiment, which was conducted in a field setting. A female confederate either slightly touched or did not touch a man in a bar when asking him for some help. It was found that men who were touched showed more interest toward the female confederate than when no touch occurred. It was also found that touch was associated with stronger courtship intentions by men. The importance of women's nonverbal patterns in the courtship context and the trend of men to misinterpret women's intent are proposed to explain these results.

Mimicry and seduction: An evaluation in a courtship context

Recent studies have found that mimicking the verbal and nonverbal behavior of strangers enhances their liking of the individual who mimicked them. An experiment was carried out in two bars during six sessions of speed dating for which young women confederates volunteered to mimic or not some verbal expressions and nonverbal behaviors of a man for 5 minutes. Data revealed that the men evaluated the dating interaction more positively when the woman mimicked them, and that mimicry was associated with a higher evaluation score of the relation and the sexual attractiveness of the woman. Mimicry appears to influence perceptions of physical attributes in addition to personal and social attributes.

Social Modulation of Sequence and Syllable Variability in Adult Birdsong

Birdsong is a learned motor skill that is performed with a high degree of stereotypy in adult birds. Nevertheless, even in species where song "crystallizes" in a form that remains stable over time, there is residual variability. Such variability in well-learned skills is often construed as uncontrolled and irrelevant biological "noise." However, studies in the zebra finch indicate that variability in one song feature--the structure of individual syllables--is actively regulated and may serve a function. When male zebra finches sing alone (undirected song), variability in syllable structure is elevated relative to when they sing to females in a courtship context (female-directed song). This elevated variability is actively introduced to premotor structures controlling syllable production by a forebrain-basal ganglia circuit. Here we test whether social modulation of song variability extends to syllable sequencing, a hierarchically distinct feature of song organization controlled by separate neural substrates from syllable structure. We use Bengalese finches as a model species because, unlike zebra finches, they typically retain substantial moment-by-moment variability in the sequencing of syllables in crystallized adult song. We first show social modulation of previously studied song features, including syllable structure and song tempo. We then demonstrate that variability in syllable sequencing is rapidly modulated by social context with greater variability present in undirected song. These data indicate that the nervous system exerts active control over variability at multiple levels of song organization and support the hypothesis that such variability in otherwise stable adult song serves a function.

Differences in context and function of two distinct waving displays in the fiddler crab, Uca perplexa (Decapoda: Ocypodidae)

To respond appropriately to communication signals, animals must have the ability to decipher signal meaning. At a basic level, interpreting the difference between territorial and courtship signals can be vital for the survival and reproduction of social animals. Male and female fiddler crabs communicate with claw-waving displays, but the function of these waves remains uncertain. Species differ in the context in which they wave: Some wave during courtship, some during territorial defence and some during both. In this paper, we provide evidence that males of an Australian species of fiddler crab, Uca perplexa, use two different types of claw waving display, lateral and vertical. Lateral waves are employed solely in a courtship context, whilst vertical waves are employed during courtship as well as territorial interactions. Using video recordings, we show that lateral waves were produced spontaneously (broadcast), and their frequency increased only in the presence of female wanderers. Vertical waves were not broadcast but were elicited by male wanderers during agonistic interactions and female wanderers during close range courtship. Male resident U. perplexa were able to discriminate the sex of wandering crabs on the mudflat at distances of 32 cm. During all resident–wanderer interactions, residents attempted to maintain a position directly between the wanderer and the home burrow and orient themselves to face females and to present the major claw towards males. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of the multiple use of waving displays in a fiddler crab species.

Courtship compliance: The effect of touch on women's behavior

Previous research has shown that light tactile contact increases compliance to a wide variety of requests. However, the effect of touch on compliance to a courtship request has never been studied. In this paper, three experiments were conducted in a courtship context. In the first experiment, a young male confederate in a nightclub asked young women to dance with him during the period when slow songs were played. When formulating his request, the confederate touched (or not) the young woman on her forearm for 1 or 2 seconds. In the second experiment, a 20‐year‐old confederate approached a young woman in the street and asked her for her phone number. The request was again accompanied by a light touch (or not) on the young woman's forearm. In both experiments, it was found that touch increased compliance to the man's request. A replication of the second experiment accompanied with a survey administered to the female showed that high score of dominance was associated with tactile contact. The link between touch and the dominant position of the male was used to explain these results theoretically.

Courtship song in Drosophila melanogaster: a differential effect on male–female locomotor activity

The courtship song of male Drosophila melanogaster Meigen, 1830 is involved in species recognition and sexual stimulation. This signal is usually addressed to the female to reduce her locomotor activity, thereby facilitating copulation. However, no accurate quantification of her locomotion has been made. To examine the effect of courtship song on locomotor behaviour of both sexes, we used a video-tracking system that allowed for the quantification of two indicators of activity level: distance moved and movement duration. First, we showed that the broadcast of the courtship song alone produced no effect on female locomotion. Females reduced their locomotor activity only when acoustical stimulation was placed in a natural courtship context (i.e., in the presence of a male). This suggests that the sum of visual, tactile, acoustic, and chemical stimuli provided by the male may act together to trigger female receptivity. Second, our playback experiments showed a strong stimulating effect of courtship song (particularly of the pulse component) on the locomotor activity of isolated males, suggesting that this signal probably plays a role in male stimulation. Courtship song has an opposite effect on male/female locomotor activity in D. melanogaster.

Compensated sex: a practice at the heart of young Mexican women's vulnerabilities (STI/HIV/AIDS)

To discuss the risks for Mexican young women who engage in sexual relations in exchange for social or economic benefits, also known as compensated sex (CS), with the objective of exploring its possible public health implications. This is a qualitative study conducted in youths 15 to 25 years of age in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, between September 2001 and December 2002. The theoretical framework included sociology of knowledge, post-structuralism, and gender studies. Research methods consisted of six focal groups and eight interviews with young subjects identified or self-declared as having practiced CS. To conceal their CS practices as a way to obtain social or economic benefits, young girls disguise it as "courtship" and subject themselves to rules and behaviors that restrain them in terms of condom use and expose them to sexually transmitted infections (STI). Although CS itself may not necessarily constitute a risky practice, the courtship context in which young women tend to develop these practices exposes them to a greater risk of STIs.