Quality Of Potential Mates Research Articles

The Mate Screening Motive: How Women Use Luxury Consumption to Signal to Men

Abstract Previous research has found that for men, activating a mating motive increases luxury consumption as a way to attract a romantic partner. However, little is known about the role of luxury consumption in women’s romantic endeavors. The present research conceptualizes a mate screening motive, which explains how women use luxury consumption to romantically signal to men. Six studies and two follow-ups conducted in controlled and field settings show that the mate screening motive boosts women’s consumption of luxury goods as a way to signal their mating standards to men and thereby deter undesirable pursuers. The effect is diminished when mate screening is less necessary such as when external screening tools are available (e.g., screening filters on dating websites), the quality of potential mates is high, and the focus is on selecting a desirable partner rather than deterring undesirable pursuers. The findings have important implications for understanding how consumers use products and brands in romantic relationships and for designing marketing strategies and communication for luxury brands, commercial dating services, and dating apps. Our findings also provide insights for consumers on how to use brands and products as effective communication devices in romantic endeavors.

Assessment of physical strength from gait: data from the Maasai of Tanzania.

In industrialized societies, male gait provides information about physical strength. Male physical strength may be used by men and women to assess the fighting ability of rivals and the quality of potential mates, respectively. Women more than men discriminate between strong and weak walkers when assessing gait attractiveness. We presented videos of British men's gait-pre-categorized into strong and weak walkers-to male and female members ( n = 100) of the traditional Maasai in northern Tanzania in Africa. Maasai men and women judged the gaits of physically strong men less attractive than those of weak men and judged strong walkers to be weaker than weak walkers. These findings counter results from industrialized societies where participants accurately assessed strength from gait, thus arguing against a universal perception of physical strength from gait information.

Females’ sequential mating decisions depend on both the quality of the courting male and the quality of the potential mates in a blood-sucking bug

This study investigates whether female sequential decisions on accepting or rejecting a courting male are based exclusively on the quality of the male present or are affected by the quality of potential mates. We used blood-sucking bugs Rhodnius prolixus as experimental subjects as females’ exhibit stereotyped discrimination behavior towards undesirable males, which allows sequential testing of a female’s preference for each male. We expect higher levels of female rejection when the benefit of finding a better quality male overrides the cost of rejecting a mating opportunity. Male quality was manipulated through changes in the feeding regime prior to the experiment because in this species nutritional condition affects males’ reproductive success. Females were simultaneously exposed to both a focal male currently available and a background male potentially available. The quality of each focal and background male could be either low or high and all the possible combinations were tested for each pair (low/high, high/low, high/high, low/low). We found that female rejection behavior depends not only on the quality of the focal male but also on the quality of the background male. This behavioral flexibility may allow females to maximize the benefits of their mating decisions. Using an experimental approach, we study how females of a blood-sucking bug assess male quality and decide whether to accept or reject a mating opportunity in a sequential choice paradigm. Male quality (high/low) and male availability (current/potential) were manipulated. We show that female rejection depends on both the quality of the current and potential mates. Female rejection increases when better quality males are potentially available. This behavioral flexibility may allow females to maximize the benefits of mating decisions.

Blown by the wind: the ecology of male courtship display behavior in orchid bees.

Many insects rely on chemical signals to transmit precise information on the location, identity, and quality of potential mates. Chemical signals are often broadcasted at sites with physical properties that maximize signal propagation and signal transmission. Male neotropical orchid bees (Euglossini) perch and display on vertical branches and tree trunks in the forest to expose volatile blends (perfumes) that they previously collected from their environment. Previous studies have shown that the chemical composition of perfume blends is highly differentiated even between closely related species. However, variation in behavioral components of perfume exposure and male display remain poorly understood. We conducted a four-year study on orchid bee display sites (8 species) in pacific Costa Rica, using field observations along with chemical analysis and cage experiments to assess display niche partitioning among sympatric species. We evaluated the influence of physical factors (terrain, wind, light) on the distribution of perch sites and on display behavior, and tested a prediction of the sex pheromone-analogue hypothesis, i.e., that displaying males have above-average quantities or qualities of acquired perfumes. Males of different species displayed in the same general area and sometimes in close proximity to each other, but partitioned the display niche by selecting different perch diameters, display heights, and by displaying at different times of the day. Most perch sites were located inside the forest on elevated ground, especially along ridges, where stronger winds may help disperse perfume signals. Furthermore, the angular position of displaying males on perches was narrowly determined by wind direction, with males being positioned on the downwind side of the perch, where they would be most conspicuous to conspecifics approaching on an odor trail. Although our results generally support the hypothesis that perfumes serve as pheromone analogues, we did not find differences in the perfume composition of males caught at display perches and males captured at chemical baits. This suggests that, while chemical communication is an integral part of orchid bee display, male display activity is not determined by the history of, and success in, volatile acquisition.

Female active sampling of male paint on bowers predicts female uncertainty in mate choice

It can be difficult to assess the degree to which a female attends to an individual element of a multicomponent male courtship display. Quantifying behaviours where females actively sample a male display element (such as smelling or tasting a chemical signal) can provide detailed information about differences between females in their sampling behaviour and reliance on that element in making mate choice decisions. Bower ‘paint’ is a unique male sexual display trait found in satin bowerbirds, Ptilonorhynchus violaceus. Male bowerbirds masticate dried hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) needles and apply this paste to the inside walls of their bowers. Female bowerbirds move among bowers of different males until they choose a mate. Recent mate searching experience and other factors appear to affect this process. Females visiting bowers taste the paint when they nip at the painted wall. Why females sample paint is unknown, but there is now strong evidence that female sampling of paint is important in mate selection. We tested the hypothesis that tasting is related to female uncertainty in mate choice. We found that a greater tendency of females to taste paint on bowers was associated with three measures of female mate choice uncertainty: (1) more frequent female visits to bowers, (2) mating with multiple males and (3) switching frequently among visited males. We suggest that high rates of tasting are predictive of female uncertainty in mate choice, perhaps due to some females initially having limited information about the quality of potential mates.

A male pheromone-mediated trade-off between female preferences for genetic compatibility and sexual attractiveness in rats

IntroductionChemosensory signals play a vital role in socio-sexual interactions of rodents. Females rely heavily on chemosensory signals to evaluate genetic similarity and quality of potential mates, but their olfactory preferences for these criteria often conflict in mate choice.ResultsUsing two inbred strains of rats, Brown Norway (BB) and Lewis (LL) and their F1 reciprocal hybrids (BL, BB♀ breed with LL♂; LB, LL♀ breed with BB♀) as genetic models, we found that the chemosensory preferences of BB and LL females between these 4 strains of rats could be predicted on the basis of genetic compatibility benefits, except that LL females exhibited incestuous preferences for male urine odor of LL rats over that of the BB strain and the F1 hybrids. Seven ketone components of major urine volatiles proved to be potential male pheromones and were enriched in LL males compared to BB males or the F1 hybrid males. We hypothesize that these ketones produced an extravagant male trait that attracts LL females, overriding compatibility traits. This conclusion was corroborated by adding three synthetic pheromone analogues, 4-heptanone, 2-heptanone and 9-hydroxy-2-nonanone of these 7 components, which resulted in equalization of the sexual attractiveness of BB male urine and LL male urine. Additionally, in the genetically diverse F2 hybrids (BL♀ breed with BL♂), the pheromones-enriched males could consistently attract the F2 females.ConclusionsWe suggest that the exaggerated male pheromones serve as a “sexual chemical ornament” to attract females, independent of genetic compatibility, whereas genetic dissimilarity could influence the preferences only when male pheromones varied on a small scale.

Public Information Influences Sperm Transfer to Females in Sailfin Molly Males

In animals, including humans, the social environment can serve as a public information network in which individuals can gather public information about the quality of potential mates by observing conspecifics during sexual interactions. The observing individual itself is also a part of this information network. When recognized by the observed conspecifics as an audience, his/her presence could influence the sexual interaction between those individuals, because the observer might be considered as a potential mate or competitor. One of the most challenging questions in sexual selection to date is how the use of public information in the context of mate choice is linked to the fitness of individuals. Here, we could show that public information influences mate-choice behaviour in sailfin molly males, Poecilia latipinna, and influences the amount of sperm males transfer to a female partner. In the presence of an audience male, males spent less time with the previously preferred, larger of two females and significantly more time with the previously non-preferred, smaller female. When males could physically interact with a female and were faced with an audience male, three audience females or no audience, males transferred significantly more sperm to a female partner in the presence of an audience male than with female audience or no audience and spent less time courting his female partner. This is the first study showing that public information use turns into fitness investment, which is the crucial factor to understand the role of public information in the dynamic processes in sexual selection.

Quantity matters: male sex pheromone signals mate quality in the parasitic wasp Nasonia vitripennis

Sexual selection theory asserts that females are well adapted to sense signals indicating the quality of potential mates. One crucial male quality parameter is functional fertility (i.e. the success of ejaculates in fertilizing eggs). The phenotype-linked fertility hypothesis (PLFH) predicts that functional fertility of males is reflected by phenotypic traits that influence female mate choice. Here, we show for Nasonia vitripennis, a parasitic wasp with haplodiploid sex determination and female-biased sex ratios, that females use olfactory cues to discriminate against sperm-limited males. We found sperm limitation in newly emerged and multiply mated males (seven or more previous matings) as indicated by a higher proportion of sons in the offspring fathered by these males. Sperm limitation correlated with clearly reduced pheromone titres. In behavioural bioassays, females oriented towards higher doses of the synthetic pheromone and were attracted more often to scent marks of males with a full sperm load than to those of sperm-limited males. Our data support the PLFH and suggest that N. vitripennis females are able to decrease the risk of getting constrained to produce suboptimal offspring sex ratios by orienting towards gradients of the male sex pheromone.

Plumage coloration predicts paternity and polygyny in the American redstart

Many animals display multiple signals that can be used by conspecifics to gather information about the condition or quality of potential mates or competitors. Different signals can indicate different aspects of individual quality or function in spatially or temporally separated periods. However, for long-distance migratory birds, it is unclear if signals, such as plumage traits, function in different phases of the annual cycle. We investigated the potential role of carotenoid-based tail and flank plumage, and bib size, in relation to extrapair paternity and polygyny in the American redstart, Setophaga ruticilla. This work complements our previous research suggesting tail feather brightness acts as a status signal, mediating territory acquisition during the nonbreeding season in Jamaica. Here, we show that tail feather brightness also serves as an important signal during the breeding season. Specifically, our results indicate that polygyny, a behaviour highly dependent on obtaining and defending multiple territories, is significantly predicted by tail brightness. Interestingly, flank redness best predicted whether individuals secured paternity at their nest and the proportion of within-pair offspring sired. We suggest that by expanding the study of plumage function in long-distance migrants to events occurring throughout the annual cycle, we gain a critical perspective on the function and evolution of ornamental traits.

Dynamic female preference for multiple signals in Rhinogobius brunneus

Many species base their choice of mates on multiple signals which provide them with different kinds of information. Choosers may assess the signals together to evaluate the overall quality of potential mates, but individuals often pay attention to different signals in different contexts. In Rhinogobius brunneus, a fish displaying exclusive male parental care, females generally prefer males showing larger first dorsal fins (FDF) and more active courtship displays as mates. Females choosing a mate usually initially assess the FDF and later utilize courtship for the final decision. In our experiments, females with different hunger states used different signals when selecting mates. Females in both hunger states preferred males with larger FDF in the first stage. In the second stage, well-fed females showed highly repeatable choice, whereas poorly fed females responded only to variation in the courtship activity of males. The males preferred by poorly fed females exhibited significantly higher offspring survival than nonpreferred males. Under conditions of food shortage, males allocate more energy to future reproduction at the expense of the present brood, and females may prioritize signals predictive of offspring survivorship over signals reflecting other aspects in male quality to minimize the losses in direct benefits. We conclude that R. brunneus females may employ information from both signals but dynamically adjust their prioritization of each signal to current conditions to ensure the choice that is currently most adaptive.

Individual Odor Recognition in Birds: An Endogenous Olfactory Signature on Petrels’ Feathers?

A growing body of evidence indicates that odors are used in individual, sexual, and species recognition in vertebrates, and may be reliable signals of quality and compatibility. Petrels are seabirds that exhibit an acute sense of smell. During the breeding period, many species of petrels live in dense colonies on small oceanic islands and form pairs that use individual underground burrows. Mates alternate between parental duties and foraging trips at sea. Returning from the ocean at night (to avoid bird predators), petrels must find their nest burrow. Antarctic prions, Pachyptila desolata, are thought to identify their nest by recognizing their partner's odor, suggesting the existence of an individual odor signature. We used gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to analyze extracts obtained from the feathers of 13 birds. The chemical profile of a single bird was more similar to itself, from year to year, than to that of any other bird. The profile contained up to a hundred volatile lipids, but the odor signature may be based on the presence or absence of a few specific compounds. Our results show that the odor signature in Antarctic prions is probably endogenous, suggesting that in some species of petrels it may broadcast compatibility and quality of potential mates.

Learning rules for optimal selection in a varying environment: mate choice revisited

The quality of a chosen partner can be one of the most significant factors affecting an animal’s long-term reproductive success. We investigate optimal mate choice rules in an environment where there is both local variation in the quality of potential mates within each local mating pool and spatial (or temporal) variation in the average quality of the pools themselves. In such a situation, a robust rule that works well across a variety of environments will confer a significant reproductive advantage. We formulate a full Bayesian model for updating information in such a varying environment and derive the form of the rule that maximizes expected reward in a spatially varying environment. We compare the theoretical performance of our optimal learning rule against both fixed threshold rules and simpler near-optimal learning rules and show that learning is most advantageous when both the local and environmental variances are large. We consider how optimal simple learning rules might evolve and compare their evolution with that of fixed threshold rules using genetic algorithms as minimal models of the relevant genetics. Our analysis points up the variety of ways in which a near-optimal rule can be expressed. Finally, we describe how our results extend to the case of temporally varying environments. Key words: Bayesian model, evolution of learning rules, genetic algorithm, sequential search, sexual selection, spatially varying environment. [Behav Ecol]

Length of index and ring fingers differentially influence sexual attractiveness of men’s and women’s hands

Humans show intra- and intersexual variation in second (2D) relative to fourth (4D) finger length, men having smaller 2D:4D ratio, possibly because of differential exposure to sex hormones during fetal life. The relations between 2D:4D and phenotypic traits including fitness components reported by several studies may originate from the organizational effects that sex hormones have on diverse organs and their concomitant effect on 2D:4D. Evolutionary theory posits that sexual preferences are adaptations whereby choosy individuals obtain direct or genetic indirect benefits by choosing a particular mate. Since sex hormones influence both fitness and 2D:4D, hand sexual attractiveness should depend on 2D:4D, a hypothesis tested only in one correlational study so far. We first presented hand computer images to undergraduates and found that opposite-sex hands with long 2D and 4D were considered more sexually attractive. When we experimentally manipulated hand images by increasing or decreasing 2D and/or 4D length, women preferred opposite-sex hands that had been masculinized by elongating 4D, whereas men avoided masculinized opposite-sex right hands with shortened 2D. Hence, consensus exists about which hands are attractive among different opposite-sex judges. Finger length may signal desirable sex hormone-dependent traits or genetic quality of potential mates. Psychological mechanisms mediating hand attractiveness judgments may thus reflect adaptations functioning to provide direct or indirect benefits to choosy individuals. Because the genetic mechanisms that link digit development to sex hormones may be mediated by Hox genes which are conserved in vertebrates, present results have broad implications for sexual selection studies also in nonhuman taxa.

Seasonal Variation in Mate Choice of Photinus ignitus Fireflies

AbstractMate choice by either sex may vary with changes in the associated costs and benefits, determined by factors such as the availability of potential mates and variation in mate quality. We examined seasonal variation in operational sex ratio, courtship behavior, spermatophore mass, egg count, and the relationship between morphological traits and mating success in Photinus ignitus fireflies to determine if mate choice in either sex varied with the availability and relative reproductive investment of fertilizable females and sexually active males. Successfully mating males had larger lanterns than unsuccessful males when the operational sex ratio was male‐biased. In addition, female responsiveness to male signals increased as the number of courting males decreased, and male spermatophore mass decreased with body size across the mating season. Successfully mating females had larger body mass than unsuccessful females. Female body mass predicted egg count and female rejection by males increased as the season progressed and female size decreased. These results suggest that both male and female P. ignitus exhibit mate choice, and that such choice is influenced by seasonal variation in the abundance and quality of potential mates.

Fighting Fish and Biting Wasps

ANIMAL COMMUNICATION Animal signaling is usually studied in terms of just two parties—sender and receiver. Doutrelant et al. show that the nature of one-to-one communication can be altered by the presence of an onlooker. Male Siamese fighting fish, Betta splendens , display vigorously to each other, and their displays often are witnessed by other individuals—“eavesdropping” males or females who may glean information about the quality of potential mates or competitors. The displays are unchanged in the presence of an eavesdropping male, but in the presence of females the displays become less overtly aggressive (biting) and more showy (tail beating and prolonged gill cover erection). The effect of an audience might explain why conspicuous signals are ingredients in both intersexual and intrasexual communication, their proportions reflecting a tradeoff between the two functions. Communication with a quite different function is found in social insect colonies, where much of the interaction between individual nestmates concerns benefits to the colony, such as exchange of information and division of labor. O'Donnell documents the curious behavior of the wasp Polybia occidentalis , whereby the workers engage in “social biting.” Biting of one worker by one or more others, sometimes lasting for up to 10 minutes, has the effect of encouraging the bitten to leave the nest on foraging excursions. — AMS Behav. Ecol. 12 , 283; 353 (2001).

The influence of potential reproductive rate and variation in mate quality on male and female choosiness in the sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus

Recent models of choosiness in mate choice have identified two particularly important factors: the potential reproductive rate (PRR) of the choosing sex relative to that of the chosen sex, and the variation in quality of potential mates. This experimental study tested how these factors affected choosiness in male and female sand gobies, Pomatoschistus minutus. We manipulated relative PRR by means of water temperature, and mate quality by means of body length. The choosing male or female was offered a choice between two mates with either a small or a large difference in body length representing a small or a large variation in mate quality. Choosiness was measured as (1) preference for the larger mate, and (2) as whether or not spawning occurred with the smaller mate, while the larger mate was visible but screened off. We found that females preferred large males, and that their level of choosiness was affected by variation in male quality, but not by their own relative PRR. Males, on the other hand, seemed unselective in all treatments and were in general more likely than females to spawn with their provided partner. This suggests that in the sand goby, variation in male mate quality has a greater influence than relative PRR on facultative changes in female choosiness. However, a general difference in PRR between males and females may be one important factor explaining the observed sex difference in choosiness.

Female choice and manipulations of forceps size and symmetry in the earwigForficula auriculariaL.

The size and asymmetry of male secondary sexual traits are believed to convey reliable information to females concerning the quality of potential mates. Experimental manipulations of male sexual traits provide a powerful approach to the study of preference evolution. Nevertheless, the majority of studies rely on correlational evidence for selection acting on secondary sexual traits. Here we report that in three of four populations of the European earwig,Forficula auricularia, females mated sooner with males with longer forceps although there was no female preference based on forceps asymmetry. We isolated the potentially confounding influences of forceps length and asymmetry by independently manipulating each trait. Manipulations of forceps length confirmed that females preferred males with longer forceps. However, manipulations of asymmetry revealed that although females pay attention to forceps condition, they show no preferences based on asymmetry. No relationships were found between the length and asymmetry of forceps in field populations, and there were no differences in condition between symmetrical and asymmetrical males. Our results are consistent with the notion that female choice has contributed to the sexual dimorphism in earwig forceps. However, they refute the notion that fluctuating asymmetry plays a role in sexual selection.

Bilateral symmetry as an indicator of male quality in red-winged blackbirds: associations with measures of health, viability, and parental effort

Recent evidence suggests that in many animal taxa, males characterized by low levels of bilateral asymmetry realize a mating advantage. The mechanisms responsible are poorly understood, but there is much interest in the possibility that symmetry reflects aspects of underlying individual quality and that females use symmetry as a criterion for mate selection. We used data assembled from a 5-year field study of red-winged blackbirds (Agelaixu phoeniceus) to explore the possibility that symmetry provides females with information regarding the quality of potential mates. Asymmetry measures made on a variety of paired characters, whether considered alone or in combination, were generally unrelated to the nutritional status (i.e., body condition) of individual males. Similarly, we found no differences in asymmetry levels exhibited by males infected and those uninfected with avian hematozoa. Composite (i.e., multicharacter) asymmetry was related to infestation by two broad classes of ectoparasites (hematophagous mites and ischnoceran lice), but these relationships were weak and opposite to those expected under the male quality hypothesis. Direct assessment of male viability based on annual return to the breeding grounds generally did not support the prediction that symmetrical males have higher survival prospects, nor was symmetry predictive of male nest defense, the primary form of paternal care in our study population. Collectively, these results are inconsistent with the proposal that symmetry reflects high mate quality, which in turn suggests that, in red-winged blackbirds, the potential for female choice based on this aspect of morphology is probably weak or nonexistent.

Courtship in frogs

Vertebrate vocalization came into existence for the first time in frogs. Acoustic signals produced by the frogs have well-defined physical characteristics and a clear biological meaning. The signals are meant to attract and assess the sex, species identity and genetic quality of potential mates. Acoustic communication plays a central role in the courtship behaviour of frogs.

Mate choice as an information gathering process under time constraint: implications for behaviour and signal design

Abstract. Time is an important component of the cost of mate choice. The time available for mate assessment varies across and within populations and species of birds, and other taxa. If mate choice is a result of information gathering about the quality of potential mates, then selection should act to maximize the information gathering of choosers within the prevailing time constraints. A model of mate choice under time constraint is presented and the implications of this for the evolution of sexual ornamentation, displays and mate-change behaviour are discussed. When time for mate assessment is extremely brief information has to be obtained on the quality of prospective mates using cues that are virtually instantly assessable. When this time constraint is relaxed choice can be made on characters assessable over longer periods. Different kinds of characters vary in the information they contain and the time it takes to assess that information. Simple fixed characters are easily (cheaply) and quickly assessable, while complex fixed or facultative characters take longer to assess. When time is constrained mate quality can be improved via extra-pair copulations, while in the longer term mate-switching and divorce are possible. A set of predictions concerning the relationships between assessment time, mate choice behaviour and sexual ornamentation are presented in the light of the above arguments.