Mate choice in communication networks: the role of an audience

传统上，择偶被视为两个人之间的信息交换。最近，研究强调了社会背景在交配决定中的作用，它承认除了预期的接受者之外的个人可以使用公共信息。我之前的研究表明，当观众雄性在选择配偶时观察到墨西哥波西利亚雄性（波西利亚科）表现出较弱的交配偏好表达。这可能是一种避免精子竞争的适应，因为其他雄性可能会分享内在的交配偏好，甚至复制焦点雄性的择偶选择。在这个项目中，我将(a)使用一种比较的方法来检验不同交配制度下的各种瓢虫是否普遍存在受众效应。(b)我将测试男性攻击性和观众效应强度之间的相关性，测试（“分散注意力”）假设，即一个有攻击性的竞争对手只会转移男性的择偶注意力。(c)我将研究个体发生过程中的社会环境（男性对女性的性别比例）是否会影响受众效应的强度，这将在实验方法和现场进行研究。总的来说，这个项目将使人们对自然种群中雄性（和雌性）择偶的力量有重要的新见解。

Traditionally, mate choice is viewed as an exchange of information between just two individuals. More recently, studies have highlighted the role of social context for mating decisions, which acknowledges that individuals other than the intended receiver can use public information. My previous studies have shown that Poecilia mexicana males (Poeciliidae), when observed during mate choice by an audience male, show weaker expression of mating preferences. This may be an adaptation to avoid sperm competition, since other males likely share intrinsic mating preferences, or even copy the focal male’s mate choice. In this project I will (a) use a comparative approach to examine if audience effects are common in various poeciliids with different mating systems. (b) I will test for a correlation between male aggression and the strength of audience effects, testing the (“split-attention”) hypothesis that an aggressive rival would simply divert males from mate choice. (c) I will examine whether the social environment during ontogeny (male- vs. female-biased sex ratios) affects the strength of audience effects, which will be examined in an experimental approach and in the field. Overall, this project will allow important new insights into the strength of male (and female) mate choice in natural populations.