Fitness costs of female choosiness are low in a socially monogamous songbird.

ABSTRACT: Female mate choice is thought to be responsible for the evolution of many extravagant male ornaments and displays, but the costs of being too selective may hinder the evolution of choosiness. Selection against choosiness may be particularly strong in socially monogamous mating systems, because females may end up without a partner and forego reproduction, especially when many females prefer the same few partners (frequency-dependent selection). Here, we quantify the fitness costs of having mating preferences that are difficult to satisfy, by manipulating the availability of preferred males. We capitalize on the recent discovery that female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) prefer males of familiar song dialect. We measured female fitness in captive breeding colonies in which one-third of

SUBMITTER: Forstmeier W 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8568113 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature