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对交配决策的作用，这承认除了预期的接收者之外的个人可以使用公共信息。我以前的研究表明，Poecilia mexicana男性（Poeciliidae），在择偶过程中观察到的观众男性，表现出较弱的交配偏好的表达。这可能是为了避免精子竞争的一种适应，因为其他雄性可能有着共同的内在交配偏好，甚至复制了焦点雄性的配偶选择。在这个项目中，我将（a）使用比较的方法来检查观众效应是否在具有不同交配系统的各种poecilids中普遍存在。(b)我将测试男性的侵略性和观众效应的强度之间的相关性，测试（“注意力分散”）假设，即一个积极的竞争对手只会转移男性的配偶选择。(c)我将研究个体发育过程中的社会环境（男性与女性偏见的性别比例）是否会影响观众效应的强度，这将在实验方法和实地考察。总的来说，这个项目将允许重要的新见解的力量，男性（和女性）的配偶选择在自然种群。

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.