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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

8.3K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
8.3K
Natural Selection and Mating Preferences01:06

Natural Selection and Mating Preferences

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The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
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Types of Selection01:46

Types of Selection

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Natural selection influences the frequencies of particular alleles and phenotypes within populations in several different ways. Primarily, natural selection can be directional, stabilizing, or disruptive. Directional selection favors one extreme trait and shifts the population towards that phenotype while selecting against individuals displaying alternate traits. Stabilizing selection favors an intermediate trait with a narrow range of variation. Deviation from the optimal phenotype towards an...
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Frequency-dependent Selection01:21

Frequency-dependent Selection

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When the fitness of a trait is influenced by how common it is (i.e., its frequency) relative to different traits within a population, this is referred to as frequency-dependent selection. Frequency-dependent selection may occur between species or within a single species. This type of selection can either be positive—with more common phenotypes having higher fitness—or negative, with rarer phenotypes conferring increased fitness.
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Testing a Claim about Population Proportion01:24

Testing a Claim about Population Proportion

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A complete procedure for testing a claim about a population proportion is provided here.
There are two methods of testing a claim about a population proportion: (1) Using the sample proportion from the data where a binomial distribution is approximated to the normal distribution and (2) Using the binomial probabilities calculated from the data.
The first method uses normal distribution as an approximation to the binomial distribution. The requirements are as follows: sample size is large...
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Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

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Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Apr 29, 2026

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila
09:34

Assessing Differences in Sperm Competitive Ability in Drosophila

Published on: August 22, 2013

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Sequential male mate choice under sperm competition risk.

Steven A Ramm1, Paula Stockley1

  • 1Mammalian Behaviour and Evolution Group , Institute of Integrative Biology , University of Liverpool , Leahurst Campus , Chester High Road , Neston CH64 7TE , UK.

Behavioral Ecology : Official Journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology
|May 14, 2014
PubMed
Summary

Male house mice strategically adjust mating effort based on sperm competition risk. They reduce mating when payoffs are low but increase investment if they do mate, showing adaptive sperm allocation.

Keywords:
copulatory behaviormate choicemating effortsex rolessexual conflictsexual selectionsperm allocationsperm competition.

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Observation and Quantification of Mating Behavior in the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
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Area of Science:

  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Animal Behavior

Background:

  • Sexual selection theory often assumes male mating eagerness.
  • However, males may exercise sexual restraint due to limited sperm supplies under promiscuous mating.
  • Strategic sperm allocation is crucial for male reproductive success.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate dynamic plasticity in male mating effort in response to varying sperm competition risk.
  • To determine how male house mice tailor mating investment based on potential reproductive payoffs.
  • To identify the primary mechanisms of adaptive sperm allocation under sperm competition.

Main Methods:

  • Observational study of male house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) encountering females sequentially.
  • Experimental manipulation of sperm competition risk and potential reproductive payoffs.
  • Analysis of mating propensity, sperm numbers per ejaculate, and ejaculation frequency.

Main Results:

  • Male mice significantly reduced mating effort when sperm competition was certain and reproductive payoffs were low.
  • Males dramatically increased mating investment when choosing to mate under high-risk, low-payoff conditions.
  • Mating propensity, not ejaculate characteristics, was the primary mechanism for adaptive sperm allocation.
  • Males showed higher mating propensity in simulated extra-territorial copulations with high future competition and rewards.

Conclusions:

  • Male house mice exhibit dynamic plasticity in mating effort, adjusting investment based on perceived sperm competition risk and reproductive rewards.
  • Differential mating propensity is a key strategy for adaptive sperm allocation in sequential mating encounters.
  • Strategic sperm allocation under sperm competition risk may be a widespread but underappreciated mechanism in animal reproduction.