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Mate choice and the evolutionary stability of a fixed threshold in a sequential search strategy
Raymond Cheng1, Steven M Seubert2, Daniel D Wiegmann3
1Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA 23529, United States.
Computational and Structural Biotechnology Journal
|September 12, 2014
Summary
This study explores mate choice strategies, finding that an environmentally canalized threshold can be evolutionarily stable. This genetic threshold may be optimal over long timescales compared to unlearned thresholds.
Area of Science:
- Evolutionary Biology
- Behavioral Ecology
- Game Theory
Background:
- The sequential search strategy models mate selection, using a threshold for evaluating potential mates.
- Optimal thresholds are influenced by variation in mate attributes due to environmental changes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine conditions for the evolutionary stability of an environmentally canalized threshold in mate choice.
- To identify when a genetically determined threshold is evolutionarily superior to unlearned thresholds.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of cross-generational perturbations in male phenotype distributions.
- Derivation of conditions for evolutionary stability of a canalized threshold.
Main Results:
- Conditions are identified for the evolutionary stability of an environmentally canalized mate choice threshold.
- A genetically determined threshold can be evolutionarily optimal over long timescales.
Conclusions:
- Environmental canalization can lead to evolutionarily stable mate choice thresholds.
- The study suggests a potential learning algorithm for threshold adaptation.
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