Leader preference in Neoconocephalus ensiger katydids: a female preference for a nonheritable male trait
Abstract
Female preferences for males producing their calls just ahead of their neighbours, leader preferences, are common in acoustically communicating insects and anurans. While these preferences have been well studied, their evolutionary origins remain unclear. We tested whether females gain a fitness benefit by mating with leading males inNeoconocephalus ensigerkatydids. We mated leading and following males with random females and measured the number and quality ofF1, the number ofF2and the heritability of the preferred male trait. We found that females mating with leaders and followers did not differ in the number ofF1orF2offspring. Females mating with leading males had offspring that were in better condition than those mating with following males suggesting a benefit in the form of higher quality offspring. We found no evidence that the male trait, the production of leading calls, was heritable. This suggests that there is no genetic correlate for the production of leading calls and that the fitness benefit gained by females must be a direct benefit, potentially mediated by seminal proteins. The presence of benefits indicates that leader preference is adaptive inN. ensiger, which may explain the evolutionary origin of leader preference; further tests are required to determine whether fitness benefits can explain the phylogenetic distribution of leader preference inNeoconocephalus. The absence of heritability will prevent leader preference from becoming coupled with or exaggerating the male trait and prevent females from gaining a ‘sexy‐sons’ benefit, weakening the overall selection for leader preference.
Faculty Members
- M. A. Murphy - Division of Biological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia MO USABiological Sciences Salisbury University Salisbury MD USA
- J. Schul - Division of Biological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia MO USA
- H. C. Gerhardt - Division of Biological Sciences University of Missouri Columbia MO USA
Themes
- Fitness benefits in mating
- Female mating preferences
- Adaptive significance of traits
- Evolutionary biology
- Heritability of traits
Categories
- Agricultural sciences and natural resources
- Ecology
- Ecology and evolutionary biology
- Plant sciences
- Biological and biomedical sciences
- Genetics and genomics
- Genetics, general
- Animal sciences
- Agricultural, animal, plant, and veterinary sciences nec
- Ecology, evolutionary biology, and epidemiology
- Evolutionary biology
- Molecular genetics
- Agricultural, animal, plant, and veterinary sciences