Mate-choice copying: A fitness-enhancing behavior that evolves by indirect selection.

Area of Science:

• Evolutionary biology
• Behavioral ecology
• Population genetics

Background:

• Mate-choice copying (MCC) is a form of social learning where individuals copy the mating preferences of others.
• The evolution of MCC is influenced by the interplay between cultural transmission and genetic factors, particularly female preferences and male traits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the conditions under which mate-choice copying (MCC) evolves via horizontal cultural transmission.
• To examine the role of coevolution between female innate preferences and male viability traits in the evolution of MCC.
• To determine if MCC can be an adaptive behavior that increases population fitness.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a spatially explicit, individual-based simulation model.
• Simulated the spread of an allele for MCC under different scenarios of female preference and male trait evolution.
• Analyzed the conditions favoring or hindering MCC evolution and its impact on population fitness.

Main Results:

• MCC evolution is unlikely when female innate preferences coevolve with male viability traits.
• MCC can evolve indirectly through genetic hitchhiking when a polymorphism for innate preference is maintained in the population.
• The copying allele can hitchhike on a male trait, even if the allele itself is neutral or mildly deleterious.

Conclusions:

• The coevolution of preferences and traits can constrain the evolution of mate-choice copying.
• Indirect selection through genetic hitchhiking provides a potential pathway for MCC evolution.
• Mate-choice copying can be adaptive, increasing population fitness even when the genetic basis for copying is not directly beneficial.