Male mate preference as an agent of fecundity selection in a polymorphic salamander
| Autor: | Carl D. Anthony, Cari-Ann M. Hickerson, Matthew S. Lattanzio, Kortney E. Jaworski |
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| Rok vydání: | 2018 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Avian clutch size education.field_of_study Ecology biology 05 social sciences Population Assortative mating Zoology Fecundity 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Mate choice biology.animal Fecundity selection Salamander 0501 psychology and cognitive sciences 050102 behavioral science & comparative psychology Mating education Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Nature and Landscape Conservation |
| Zdroj: | Ecology and Evolution. 8:8750-8760 |
| ISSN: | 2045-7758 |
| DOI: | 10.1002/ece3.4298 |
| Popis: | Color polymorphisms are associated with variation in other traits which may affect individual fitness, and these color-trait associations are expected to contribute to nonrandom mating in polymorphic species. The red-backed salamander (Plethodon cinereus) exhibits a polymorphism in dorsal pattern: striped and unstriped, and previous studies have suggested that they may mate nonrandomly. However, the mechanism(s) contributing to this behavior remain unclear. Here we consider the role that male preference may have in driving mating behavior in P. cinereus. We limit our focus to striped individuals because this morph is most likely to be choosy given their dominant, aggressive behavioral profiles relative to unstriped males. Specifically, we evaluated (a) whether striped males preferentially associate with females with respect to her dorsum color, size, and body condition and (b) if so, whether female traits are evaluated via visual or chemical cues. We also considered whether the frequency of another male social behavior, nose taps, was associated with mate preferences. We found that striped male P. cinereus nose tapped more often to preferred females. However, males only assessed potential mates via chemical cues, preferring larger females overall. Reproductive phenology data on a sample of gravid females drawn from the same population indicated that the color morphs do not differ in reproductive traits, but larger females have greater fecundity. Given our findings, we conclude that female P. cinereus are under fecundity selection, mediated by male preference. In this manner, male mating behavior contributes to observations of nonrandom mate associations in this population of P. cinereus. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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