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The coevolution of sexual imprinting by males and females
Gómez-Llano, Miguel Angel Navarro-López, Eva María Gilman, Robert Tucker
Gómez-Llano, Miguel Angel
Navarro-López, Eva María
Gilman, Robert Tucker
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2016-09-14
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Abstract
Sexual imprinting is the learning of a mate preference by direct observation of the phenotype of another member of the population. Sexual imprinting can be paternal, maternal, or oblique if individuals learn to prefer the phenotypes of their fathers, mothers, or other members of the population, respectively. Which phenotypes are learned can affect trait evolution and speciation rates. “Good genes” models of polygynous systems predict that females should evolve to imprint on their fathers, because paternal imprinting helps females to choose mates that will produce offspring that are both viable and sexy. Sexual imprinting by males has been observed in nature, but a theory for the evolution of sexual imprinting by males does not exist. We developed a good genes model to study the conditions under which sexual imprinting by males or by both sexes can evolve and to ask which sexual imprinting strategies maximize the fitness of the choosy sex. We found that when only males imprint, maternal imprinting is the most advantageous strategy. When both sexes imprint, it is most advantageous for both sexes to use paternal imprinting. Previous theory suggests that, in a given population, either males or females but not both will evolve choosiness in mating. We show how environmental change can lead to the evolution of sexual imprinting behavior by both sexes in the same population.
Citation
Gómez‐Llano, M.A., Navarro‐López, E.M. and Gilman, R.T. (2016) The coevolution of sexual imprinting by males and females. Ecology and Evolution, 6(19), pp. 7113-7125.
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Journal article
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en
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© 2016 The Authors. Published by Wiley. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence.
The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2409
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2045-7758
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Natural Environment Research Council, (Grant/Award Number: “NE/K500859/1”).