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Adaptive plasticity in mate preference linked to differences in reproductive effort

Nature volume 405, pages 344–347 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

There is abundant evidence for the existence of marked mate preferences in natural populations, but the occurrence of within-population variation in mate preferences has received little attention1,2,3 and is often regarded as nonadaptive deviation from the optimal norm2,3. Here we show experimentally that the preference of female collared flycatchers Ficedula albicollis for male forehead patch size, a sexually selected trait4,5,6, varies with the time of breeding, an environmental factor with strong effects on reproductive success. Contrary to expectations based on time-constrained choice models7,8, only late-breeding females prefer males with a large patch size. The variation in mate preference matches a seasonal change in female reproductive success: long-term data reveal a positive relationship between female reproductive success and male patch size exclusively in late breeders. In addition, female reproductive effort, as assessed by clutch size, appears to be adjusted relative to both timing of breeding and male phenotype. We conclude that not only can mate preferences display adaptive plasticity within populations, but this plasticity can also be linked to differences in reproductive investment.

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Figure 1: Interaction between time of breeding and male appearance (forehead patch size) on reproductive success of female collared flycatchers.
Figure 2: Effect of interaction between experimental manipulation of male forehead patch size and breeding time (early < mean release date after treatment < late) on the speed of mate acquisition, a measure of female preference (mean ± s.e., controlling for year, age, date of release and original patch size).
Figure 3: Interaction between timing of breeding and male appearance (forehead patch size) on clutch size laid by female collared flycatchers.

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Acknowledgements

We thank I. Ahnesjö, D. Irwin, S. Griffith, L. Gustafsson, C. Hemborg, H. Kokko, T. Price, S. Ulfstrand and F. Widemo for their comments on the manuscript. Financial support was obtained from the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stiftelsen Zoologisk Forskning (Uppsala University), the Swedish Foundation for International Cooperation in Research and Higher Education (STINT), the Fulbright Commission (A.Q.) the Swedish Natural Sciences Research Council (B.C.S., T.P.) and a Royal Society University Research Fellowship (B.C.S.).

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  1. Anna Qvarnström & Tomas Pärt

    Present address: Department of Biology 0116, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, California, 92093, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Ecology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18d, Uppsala, SE-752 36, Sweden

    Anna Qvarnström & Ben C. Sheldon

  2. Department of Conservation Biology Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Box 7002, Uppsala, SE-750 07, Sweden

    Tomas Pärt

  3. Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS, UK

    Ben C. Sheldon

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  1. Anna Qvarnström
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Correspondence to Anna Qvarnström.

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Qvarnström, A., Pärt, T. & Sheldon, B. Adaptive plasticity in mate preference linked to differences in reproductive effort. Nature 405, 344–347 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35012605

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