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Component loadings from a PCA with different variables used to measure female Hasarius adnasoni preference for males
Source publication
Female mate choice is a widespread and well-recognized phenomenon. Nevertheless, individual variation in female preference has not yet received the same attention, although such preferences can have important effects on evolutionary dynamics. Here we assess and compare population-and individual-level female preferences for male ornaments and size i...
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Context 1
... preference variables (e.g. number of attacks towards males, number of copulations, etc.) and offspring feeding performance variables along with eggsac number (to control for any early versus late brood effects) were reduced by PCA analysis (Tables 1e3). The number of principal components we used in our analyses was based on the percentage of total variance explained and consideration of the biological significance of the PCs. ...Context 2
... second component loaded heavily only on unreceptive behaviours. Together, both components explained 86% of the total variance (Table 1). Since the first component did not explain a large percentage of variance, and the second only loaded on unreceptive behaviours, we used the first principal component as a measure of female acceptance and the raw values of unreceptive behaviours as a measure of female rejection. ...Similar publications
Birds perform some of the most elaborate inter‐sexual displays in the animal kingdom but while these are typically associated with the pre‐copulation stage of sexual interactions, the males of some species also display following copulation. Here we report that immediately after dismounting from females, male Superb Lyrebirds Menura novaehollandiae...
Citations
... Here I model future evolutionary paths of a species by adding realistic parameters in the model, and ask if sexual selection is facilitating or hindering speciation. The parameters were adjusted according to data obtained from the jumping spider Hasarius adansoni since vast information about this species' sexual selection is available 22,23 . I show that, when considering realistic parameters in the models, the evolutionary tendency might be different from what some more general theoretical models may predict. ...
... Previews experiments I conducted with the species produced data about the species reproduction. Castilho et al. 23 showed that H. adansoni has individual variation in mate preference (as defined by Jennions and Petrie 24 , the preference is open ended), with some females preferring large males, while others prefer small males. Such variation dictates mating probability (some females are more likely to mate with small males, while others are more likely to mate with large males) and does not depend on female size (there is no assortative mating). ...
... In the preference loci, − 1 codes for a higher preference for small males, while 1 codes for a higher preference for large males. Other allelles combinations would generate intermediate preference functions (females that do not highly prefer either large or small males, see Fig. 2 in Castilho et al. 23 ). I ran the same analysis with L = 5 (5-genes model), and with L = 10 (10-genes model). ...
Sexual selection has long been thought to promote speciation, but this possibility still remains a topic of controversy. Many theoretical models have been developed to understand the relationship between sexual selection and speciation, but such relationship seems complex and sexual selection has also been argued to prevent speciation in many scenarios. Here, I model for the first time the tendency of speciation due to sexual selection using realistic model parameters input collected from an existing species, the jumping spider Hasarius adansoni. I show that, even though the species has substantial female variance in preference (the model typically thought to link sexual selection to speciation), when realistic parameters are input in the model, it predicts directional selection, rather than disruptive selection. I propose that including realistic parameters in speciation models is a new tool that will help us understand how common sexual selection helps or hinders speciation in the real world.
... It is possible that other processes, aside from the handicap model, are at work. In a recent study, we showed that body size is important for female preference (although specifically which category of male size is preferred may vary among females: Castilho et al., 2020). Given that white patch size is related to body size (Castilho et al., 2018; this study), we argue that patch size, with its conspicuousness during courtship, could also be important to mate choice/preference in some contexts. ...
The handicap hypothesis predicts that more elaborate males attract more predators, but are also better able to escape attacks. Thus, a unit increase in trait elaboration has a lower cost for a high-quality male (i.e., differential cost). Although widely accepted, the handicap hypothesis has seldom been appropriately tested, especially concerning the differential cost assumption. Here, we tested this assumption using the jumping spider Hasarius adansoni. The courtship display of male H. adansoni involves bright white patches that contrast with their dark-coloured body. In experimental trials, we measured male escape capacity following a simulated predatory attack. Measurements of escape capacity were correlated to the size of white patches. Contrary to expectations, spiders with larger white patches did not exhibit better escape capacity. We conclude that this trait does not function as a handicap. It is possible that other sexual selection processes are at work.
