Carotenoid availability affects the development of a colour-based mate preference and the sensory bias to which it is genetically linked
Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society
; 272(1577): 2181-2188, Oct. 2005. graf
Article
em En
| MedCarib
| ID: med-17650
Biblioteca responsável:
TT5
Localização: TT5; QH1, R6
ABSTRACT
Regardless of their origins, mate preferences should, in theory, be shaped by their benefits in a mating context. Here we show that the female preference for carotenoid colouration in guppies (Poecilia reticulata) exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, confirming a key prediction of sexual selection theory. Earlier work indicated that this mate preference is genetically linked to, and may be derived from, a sensory bias that occurs in both sexes attraction to orange objects. The original function of this sensory bias is unknown, but it may help guppies find orange-coloured fruits in the rainforest streams of Trinidad. We show that the sensory bias also exhibits a phenotypically plastic response to carotenoid availability, but only in females. The sex-specificity of this reaction norm argues against the hypothesis that it evolved in a foraging context. We infer instead that the sensory bias has been modified as a correlated effect of selection on the mate preference. These results provide a new type of support for the hypothesis that mate preferences for sexual characters evolve in response to the benefits of mate choice--the alternatives being that such preferences evolve entirely in a non-mating context or in response to the costs of mating.
Texto completo:
1
Base de dados:
MedCarib
Assunto principal:
Fenótipo
/
Comportamento Sexual Animal
/
Poecilia
/
Carotenoides
/
Sexualidade
Limite:
Animals
País como assunto:
Caribe ingles
/
Trinidad y tobago
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
2005
Tipo de documento:
Article