Plumage phenotypes and mate preferences in Japanese quail 2. sexual imprinting

Mate selection, with emphasis on early social (sexual imprinting) and subsequent long-term social experience, was studied in a randombred population of Japanese quail consisting of wildtype (W), redhead (R) and Albino (A) plumage colors. Early social experiences involved situations where flocks of the various plumage colors were maintained either separately or intermingled. Initial mate preferences were determined from a series of paired choice-tests between plumage phenotypes. Wildtype and redhead females exhibited no preferences, while albino hens preferred albino males. Preferences exhibited by albino males depended on sexual imprinting; those with no other experience preferred albinos and redheads to wildtypes, whereas those raised with other morphs did not distinguish among phenotypes. Redhead and wildtype males while avoiding albino hens, did not distinguish between redhead and wildtype hens. Combinations of the plumage color-social experience flocks (A&R; A&W; R&W) were housed for long-term observations of mate selection. Albino hens mated only albino males. Redhead and wildtype hens having previous experience with albinos mated more frequently with albino males than those lacking such experience. Redhead and wildtype hens showed no preference between redhead and wildtype males. Albino males did not distinguish among female plumage colors, whereas redhead and wildtype males avoided albino hens, and mated equally with redhead and wildtype hens. In a series of nonsimultaneous choice trials, redhead and wildtype females were mated significantly more than albinos. These results demonstrate the influence of genetic mechanisms, sexual imprinting and subsequent long-term social experiences on the optimization of mate selection.