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Related Concept Videos

Mate Choice01:20

Mate Choice

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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.
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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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Fixed Action Patterns01:06

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A fixed action pattern (FAP) is a specific, hard-wired sequence of behaviors that occurs in response to an external stimulus, called a sign stimulus. The behavior is “fixed” because it is essentially unchangeable—proceeding similarly across individuals of a species every time it occurs.
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Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective01:23

Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective

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In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
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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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Background and Environment Affect Phenotype02:27

Background and Environment Affect Phenotype

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Although the genetic makeup of an organism plays a major role in determining the phenotype, there are also several environmental factors, such as temperature, oxygen availability, presence of mutagens, that can alter an organism’s phenotype.
An example of how genetic background affects phenotype can be seen in horses. The Extension gene in horses is responsible for their coat color. A wild-type gene (EE) produces black pigment in the coat, while a mutant gene (ee) produces red pigment. A...
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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Dec 10, 2025

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

Published on: December 25, 2016

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Plastic male mating behavior evolves in response to the competitive environment.

Alice A Dore1, Wayne G Rostant1, Amanda Bretman2

  • 1School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich Research Park, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom.

Evolution; International Journal of Organic Evolution
|August 27, 2020
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) evolved longer mating durations and altered courtship behaviors when exposed to high male competition. This reproductive plasticity was maintained across different diets, showing rapid evolutionary adaptation.

Keywords:
Courtshipexperimental evolutionmating durationsex ratiosexual selection

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Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster
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Measuring and Altering Mating Drive in Male Drosophila melanogaster

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Area of Science:

  • Evolutionary biology
  • Animal behavior
  • Reproductive strategies

Background:

  • Male reproductive phenotypes are influenced by social and sexual environments.
  • Phenotypic plasticity allows for lifetime adaptation in response to environmental cues.
  • Male Drosophila melanogaster exhibit extended mating duration after exposure to rivals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate how sociosexual environment and resource availability shape reproductive investment and plasticity.
  • To examine evolutionary responses in male mating behavior under varying levels of male-male competition and diet quality.

Main Methods:

  • Experimental evolution of Drosophila melanogaster lines under three fixed sex ratios (high, medium, low competition).
  • Lines were maintained on either rich or poor adult diets.
  • Assessed changes in mating duration, courtship delivery, and mating latency in response to rival exposure.

Main Results:

  • Males evolved in high-competition environments showed overall longer mating durations.
  • These males exhibited novel plastic responses, including reduced courtship, altered delivery, and longer mating latencies after rival exposure.
  • Plasticity in mating duration was maintained across all lines, indicating low costs.
  • Dietary resources did not consistently affect evolutionary responses.

Conclusions:

  • Fixed behavioral changes and new reproductive behaviors can evolve rapidly in response to male competition.
  • Sociosexual environment is a significant driver of male reproductive trait evolution and plasticity.
  • Resource availability had minimal impact on the observed evolutionary trajectories.