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Frequency-dependent sexual selection.

P O'Donald1, M E Majerus

  • 1Department of Genetics, University of Cambridge, U.K.

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological Sciences
|July 6, 1988
PubMed
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Female choice in sexual selection creates a rare-male advantage, maintaining genetic diversity. This study compares models of female preference, finding complete and partial preference models fit ladybird data equally well.

Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Behavioral ecology
  • Population genetics

Background:

  • Sexual selection driven by female choice often results in a frequency-dependent advantage for preferred male phenotypes.
  • This 'rare-male advantage' is crucial for maintaining polymorphism, preventing the loss of specific male traits from a population.
  • Female mating preferences can be absolute (complete) or probabilistic (partial), with partial preferences being more ecologically realistic.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To generalize the Charlesworth model of partial female preference to accommodate preferences for multiple male phenotypes.
  • To compare the levels of frequency dependence in the O'Donald and Charlesworth encounter models.
  • To evaluate the fit of complete and partial preference models to empirical data from two-spot ladybird experiments.

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Main Methods:

  • Formulation of complete preference and two encounter models (O'Donald and Charlesworth) in genetical terms, considering dominant and recessive male phenotypes.
  • Derivation of polymorphic equilibria and stability conditions for each of the three models.
  • Fitting the derived models to observed mating frequencies from two-spot ladybird experiments.

Main Results:

  • The complete preference model provided a fit to the experimental data comparable to that of the encounter models.
  • The O'Donald and Charlesworth encounter models exhibited very similar frequency-dependent relationships.
  • Female choosiness influences frequency dependence: less choosy females show greater dependence on male frequency, leading to less frequency-dependent male selection, while more choosy females exhibit more constant preference expression, resulting in greater frequency dependence.

Conclusions:

  • Both complete and partial female preference models adequately explain observed mating patterns in the two-spot ladybird.
  • The degree of female choosiness is a key factor determining the strength of frequency dependence in sexual selection.
  • The study provides a unified framework for analyzing different models of female choice and their impact on maintaining genetic variation.