"A taste for the beautiful": Latent aesthetic mate preferences for white crests in two species of Australian grassfinches
"A taste for the beautiful": Latent aesthetic mate preferences for white crests in two species of Australian grassfinches
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DOI：
10.1086/286209
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发表时间：
1998-12-01
影响因子：
2.9
通讯作者：
Symanski, R
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Burley, NT;Symanski, R
达尔文首先假设，雄性动物鲜艳的颜色和精致的表情是为了回应雌性动物“审美”的择偶偏好而进化的。根据这种推理，潜在的代价高昂的男性第二性征的进化可能不是为了回应为了展示活力而进行的选择，而是为了回应女性潜在的、非功能性的偏好。最近关于这一现象的比较证据是模棱两可的。在这里，我们提出的实验证据表明，两个鸟类物种的血统没有冠的物种有配偶偏好的异性同种穿着人工白色冠。已经研究过的其他颜色的波峰不是优选的。偏好白色波峰没有减少在最长的实验间隔（12周）。这些结果是额外的强有力的证据，高度结构化的审美择偶偏好雌雀。性别差异的表达偏好，以及广泛发生的面部表情在鸟类，表明偏好的“结构”是受中枢神经系统。我们假设，审美偏好是一个强大的力量在性选择性状的早期进化，和“指标”性状的演变从最初的审美偏好的性状。
Darwin first hypothesized that bright colors and elaborate ornamentation of male animals evolved in response to the "aesthetic" mate preferences of females. By this reasoning, potentially costly male secondary sexual traits may evolve not in response to selection for demonstration of vigor but, rather, in response to latent, nonfunctional preferences by females. Recent comparative evidence for this phenomenon is equivocal. Here we present experimental evidence that two avian species from a lineage devoid of crested species have mate preferences for opposite-sex conspecifics wearing artificial white crests. Other colors of crests that have been studied are not preferred. Preferences for white crests did not diminish over the longest experimental interval (12 wk). These results are additional powerful evidence for highly structured aesthetic mate preferences in estrildine finches. Sex differences in the expression of preferences, and the widespread occurrence of facial ornamentation in birds, suggest that the preference "structure" is influenced by the central nervous system. We hypothesize that aesthetic preferences are a potent force in the early evolution of sexually selected traits, and that "indicator" traits evolve secondarily from traits initially favored by aesthetic preferences.