A novel method for estimating the strength of positive mating preference by similarity in the wild.

ABSTRACT: Mating preference can be a driver of sexual selection and assortative mating and is, therefore, a key element in evolutionary dynamics. Positive mating preference by similarity is the tendency for the choosy individual to select a mate which possesses a similar variant of a trait. Such preference can be modelled using Gaussian-like mathematical functions that describe the strength of preference, but such functions cannot be applied to empirical data collected from the field. As a result, traditionally, mating preference is indirectly estimated by the degree of assortative mating (using Pearson's correlation coefficient, r) in wild captured mating pairs. Unfortunately, r and similar coefficients are often biased due to the fact that different variants of a given trait are nonr

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Meirama M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5415541 | biostudies-literature | 2017 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature