Striped mouse

Striped mouse

Striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) on the cover of the August edition of Behaviour

Striped mouse (Rhabdomys pumilio) on the cover of the August edition of Behaviour
My photo and the accompanying paper (see List of publications) were published in this issue.

Friday, September 27, 2013

Summary: Madden & Whiteside (2013)

Females of many species show individual differences in their choice of mate, which has subsequent effects on fitness. These choices are shaped by early life experiences. Madden & Whiteside (2013) studies how adult sexual behaviour of pheasants Phasianus colchicus is influenced by the sex ratio of the clutch at rearing. When females are raised in equal sex ratio clutches, they showed a strong discrimination between males of different attractiveness, while females raised in female-biased clutches did not discriminate between males. These females also showed highly skewed mating success, with most achieving no copulations and relatively few gaining the most. Madden & Whiteside (2013) suggest that the early life environment could influence variation in female mate choice, which could ultimately maintain male trait variation that is otherwise under strong direction selection.

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