Summary: Hourigan & Reese (1987)

The Hawaiian archipelago is an extremely isolated island group. Hourigan & Reese (1987) noted that the Hawaiian fish fauna is derived from, and has close affinities with, the Indo-west Pacific fauna. However, while it has many endemic species (30% of inshore fishes), there is low species diversity (depauperate). There is local adaptation, but no species radiation. These trends may have been caused by: (1) geographic isolation and current patterns; (2) life history characteristics, particularly dispersal ability, of the fishes; and (3) the extent of adaptive differentiation. Hourigan & Reese (1987) suggested that the isolation of Hawaii is due to its location with respect to unfavourable pacific current patterns, which in turn, determines the marine faunal source.

Summary: Skelhorn (2011)

Noxious prey may use conspicuous colour patterns to advertise their defences (chemical or physical) to predators (aposematic colouring) and predators may show unlearned biases against these warning colours. Predators may use additional signals (.e.g sounds and odours) to determine attack rate and may decreases attack rates when the risk of ingestion toxic prey is perceived to be high. If a cue reliably signals prey defense, this should incite biases by predators against warningly coloured food. Skelhorn (2011) tested whether observation of a conspecific's distaste response to a bitter-tasting solution (e.g. beak wiping, head shaking) caused chicks (Gallus gallus) to bias their foraging decisions away from warningly colour prey. Chicks that observed a distaste reaction attacked fewer red and yellow crumbs, and more green crumbs. Observing a disgust response caused observers to bias their foraging preferences away from warningly coloured food. Skelhorn (2011) suggests that a predator's social system may be important in the evolution of prey defences.

Summary: Li & Zhang (2010)

In 1964, Hamilton suggested that kin recognition might be important for mediating the evolution of altruistic behaviour. Li & Zhang (2010) investigated amicable and agonistic social behaviours in Brandt's voles (Lasiopodomys brandti) to determine the mechanism of parent-offspring recognition (prior association / familiarity vs. phenotypic matching). Familiarity involves identification of kin by prior association with them, while phenotypic matching involves identification of kin based on shared family characteristics. Li & Zhang (2010) first examined whether parents could distinguish own from alien offspring, and found that both males and females showed more agonistic behaviour to alien young, indicating discrimination of young. They then used a cross fostering paradigm to investigate the underlying recognition mechanism. They found that parents are more amicable to familiar offspring and more agonistic to unfamiliar offspring (both accounts regardless of relation). Their results suggest that the most likely recognition mechanism in Brandt's voles is familiarity.

Summary: Edvardsson & Arnqvist (2000)

To stimulate females, males may engage in courtship behaviours during and after copulation. When females impose biases on postmating paternity success, thereby varying male reproductive success, these behaviours may evolve by cryptic female choice. Edvardsson & Arnqvist (2000) maniuplated female perception of male courtship behaviour in the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum by male tarsal ablation (males could still perform courtship behaviour but could not stimulate females) and quantified male copulatory behaviour to determine whether females cause positive relationships between male copulatory courtship behaviour and relative fertilization success. They found that leg manipulation did not impair male vigour or number of sperm transferred. However, they did find a positive relationship between intensity of courtship and relative fertilization success: manipulated males had lower fertilization success. Female perception of male courtship behaviour, rather than actual male behaviour, governs sperm competition, showing that females impose biases on postmating paternity success and that copulatory courtship is under sexual selection (typically concerned with precopulatory processes and variance in male mating success) by cryptic female choice.