Journal articles on the topic 'Female preference'
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1
Tudor, Scarlett, and Molly Morris. "Variation in male mate preference for female size in the swordtail Xiphophorus malinche." Behaviour 146, no. 6 (2009): 727–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853909x446172.
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AbstractMale and female mate preferences have the potential to influence one another, and such interactions could help explain variation in female mate preferences. In Xiphophorus malinche, larger females prefer asymmetrical males while smaller females prefer symmetrical males. We used a two-part preference test to determine if there were differences in mate preferences between symmetrical and asymmetrical males for female size that could influence female mate preference. We found no significant difference between symmetrical and asymmetrical male's preferences. A preference for large female size was detected during the time males directly interacted with females and in standard dichotomous choice tests that followed, as long as the males had been isolated less than 30 days. We did detect variation in male preference for female size depending on male size and the amount of time a male was isolated. These results suggest that variation in male mate preference is not likely to have produced the difference in female preference for symmetry between large and small females, but should be considered where females vary in their preference for male size. In addition, our results suggest that males may shift their preferences from large to small females depending on time since last mating opportunity.
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Jonnalagadda, Satya S., Paula J. Ziegler, and Judy A. Nelson. "Food Preferences, Dieting Behaviors, and Body Image Perceptions of Elite Figure Skaters." International Journal of Sport Nutrition and Exercise Metabolism 14, no. 5 (October 2004): 594–606. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/ijsnem.14.5.594.
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The objectives of this study were to determine food preferences, body image perceptions, dieting behaviors, and nutrient intakes of elite male and female figure skaters. Male (n = 23) and female (n = 26) figure skaters completed a food preference checklist, a questionnaire examining their demographics, dieting behaviors and body image perceptions, and 3-d food records. Male skaters had a higher preference (score ≥ 6) for grains, fruit, meat, dairy, fats, and sweets. Female skaters had higher preference for grains and fruits. Of the female skaters, 30% considered themselves overweight and indicated a preference for a thinner body contour. Both male and female skaters expressed a preference for leaner body contours for members of the opposite gender. Total energy intake, total fat (females) and dietary fiber were below the dietary recommendations. Vitamin E, vitamin D, folate (females), pantothenic acid (females), calcium (females), magnesium, potassium, and phosphorus (females) were less than two-thirds of the dietary recommendations. Macronutrient intake of male skaters was associated with preferences for the grain group, although no association was observed among female skaters. Results suggest that these behaviors and attitudes need to be assessed and addressed among figure skaters, given their impact on dietary intakes and overall well-being.
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Gray, D. A., E. Gabel, T. Blankers, and R. M. Hennig. "Multivariate female preference tests reveal latent perceptual biases." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283, no. 1842 (November 16, 2016): 20161972. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2016.1972.
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The question of why males of many species produce elaborate mating displays has now been largely resolved: females prefer to mate with males that produce such displays. However, the question of why females prefer such displays has been controversial, with an emerging consensus that such displays often provide information to females about the direct fitness benefits that males provide to females and/or the indirect fitness benefits provided to offspring. Alternative explanations, such as production of arbitrarily attractive sons or innate pre-existing female sensory or perceptual bias, have also received support in certain taxa. Here, we describe multivariate female preference functions for male acoustic traits in two chirping species of field crickets with slow pulse rates; our data reveal cryptic female preferences for long trills that have not previously been observed in other chirping species. The trill preferences are evolutionarily pre-existing in the sense that males have not (yet?) exploited them, and they coexist with chirp preferences as alternative stable states within female song preference space. We discuss escape from neuronal adaptation as a possible mechanism underlying such latent preferences.
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Schneeberger, Karin, Michael Schulze, Ingo Scheffler, and Barbara A. Caspers. "Evidence of female preference for odor of distant over local males in a bat with female dispersal." Behavioral Ecology 32, no. 4 (April 3, 2021): 657–61. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab003.
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Abstract Geographic variation of sexually selected male traits is common in animals. Female choice also varies geographically and several studies found female preference for local males, which is assumed to lead to local adaptation and, therefore, increases fitness. As females are the nondispersing sex in most mammalian taxa, this preference for local males might be explained by the learning of male characteristics. Studies on the preference of females in female-dispersing species are lacking so far. To find out whether such females would also show preferences for local males, we conducted a study on greater sac-winged bats (Saccopteryx bilineata), a species where females disperse and males stay in their natal colony. Male greater sac-winged bats possess a wing pouch that is filled with odoriferous secretion and fanned toward females during courtship display. In a combination of chemical analysis and behavioral preference tests, we analyzed whether the composition of wing sac secretion varies between two geographically distinct populations (300 km), and whether females show a preference for local or distant male scent. Using gas chromatography, we found significant differences in the composition of the wing sac odors between the two geographically distinct populations. In addition, the behavioral preference experiments revealed that females of both populations preferred the scent of geographically distant males over local males. The wing sac odor might thus be used to guarantee optimal outbreeding when dispersing to a new colony. This is—to our knowledge—the first study on odor preference of females of a species with female-biased dispersal.
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Moehring, Amanda J., and Janette W. Boughman. "Veiled preferences and cryptic female choice could underlie the origin of novel sexual traits." Biology Letters 15, no. 2 (February 2019): 20180878. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2018.0878.
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Males in many species have elaborated sexual traits that females strongly prefer, and these traits often conspicuously differ among species. How novel preferences and traits originate, however, is a challenging evolutionary problem because the initial appearance of only the female preference or only the male trait should reduce the ability to find a suitable mate, which could reduce fitness for individuals possessing those novel alleles. Here, we present a hypothesis for how novel preferences, as well as the novel male traits that females prefer, can originate, be favoured and spread in polyandrous species. Novel preference mutations can arise as ‘veiled preferences’ that are not expressed when the corresponding male trait is not present in the population, allowing preferences to be hidden from selection, and thus persist. In those cases when a male trait is present, veiled preferences provide a selective advantage, and females disproportionately produce offspring from preferred males through either mate choice or cryptic female choice. This tips the fitness advantage for novel males, allowing both preference and trait to spread, and limiting selection against them in the absence of the corresponding trait or preference.
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Cotton, Samuel, David W. Rogers, Jennifer Small, Andrew Pomiankowski, and Kevin Fowler. "Variation in preference for a male ornament is positively associated with female eyespan in the stalk-eyed fly Diasemopsis meigenii." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 273, no. 1591 (February 8, 2006): 1287–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2005.3449.
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There is currently much interest in mate preferences for sexual ornaments. However, few studies have focused on individual variation in mate preference despite its importance for the rate and direction of sexual selection. Females of the sexually dimorphic stalk-eyed fly, Diasemopsis meigenii , exhibit an unambiguous rejection response towards unattractive males bearing small ornaments. We investigated individual mate preferences using repeated sequential sampling of female rejection or acceptance responses to a wide range of male ornament phenotypes. We found significant variation in the strength of individual preference. In addition, preference was positively associated with female eyespan, a condition-dependent trait putatively linked to visual acuity.
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Díaz, Eliecer R., and Martin Thiel. "Female rock shrimp prefer dominant males." Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 83, no. 5 (September 19, 2003): 941–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315403008105h.
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Evidence of female preference for dominant males during mating is reported for the rock shrimp Rhynchocinetes typus. Two sexually mature males of different ontogenetic stage were tethered at opposite sides of a large tank. Tethering restricted males from actively pursuing the receptive female but allowed females to choose between males. Surprisingly most (10 out of 11) females first approached the subordinate typus male, but after these initial contacts all females chose the dominant robustus male. Following antennal and corporal contacts of variable duration seven (out of 11) females initiated the mating process with the robustus male, while four females did not initiate mating during the 90 min observation period. The fact that all mating females selected the robustus shows strong female preferences for these males. It is suggested that female preference for large and dominant males is common among crustaceans with sexual size-dimorphism.
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Fink, Madelinn, Kendall Klein, Kia Sayers, John Valentino, Claudia Leonardi, Amy Bronstone, Pamela M. Wiseman, and Vinod Dasa. "Objective Data Reveals Gender Preferences for Patients’ Primary Care Physician." Journal of Primary Care & Community Health 11 (January 2020): 215013272096722. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2150132720967221.
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Background and Objectives: Most studies based on self-reported data indicate that female patients more often than males have a same-gender preference for their primary care physician (PCP). Because self-reported preferences may not reflect true preferences, we analyzed objective data to investigate patients’ preferences for PCP gender. Methods: Analyses were performed on 2192 new patients seen within a university-based healthcare system by 13 PCPs (2 male, 11 female) during 2017. New patients were asked about their PCP gender preference when assigned a PCP. We compared the expected prevalence (proportion of males/females in overall patient population) and observed prevalence (gender distribution of patients for each PCP) by PCP gender. A mixed model with PCP as a random effect examined the odds of male and female patients being assigned a same-gender physician. Results: The expected prevalence of new patients was 65% female and 35% male. The observed prevalence (95% confidence interval [CI]) of male patients among male and female PCPs was, respectively, 59.7% (49.0%-69.5%) and 28.0% (24.0%-32.4%), with neither CI containing the expected prevalence of male patients (35%). Similarly, the observed prevalence of female patients among male and female PCPs was, respectively, 40.3% (95% CI 30.5%-51.0%) and 72.0% (95% CI 67.6%-76.0%), with neither CI containing the expected prevalence of female patients (65%). Conclusions: Both male and female patients often preferred to see a same-gender PCP with this preference more pronounced in males. Future research should seek to clarify the relationships between patients’ gender preferences, patient-physician gender concordance/discordance, patient satisfaction, and health outcomes.
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Derix, Ruud R. W. M., and Jan A. R. A. M. Van Hooff. "Male and Female Partner Preferences in a Captive Wolf Pack (Canis Lupus) : Specificity Versus Spread of Sexual Attention." Behaviour 132, no. 1-2 (1995): 127–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853995x00333.
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AbstractStrong pair-bonding is typical for canids. In wolf packs consisting of several adult males and females, sexual interests may clash during the mating season. We expect that not only dominance-subordinance relationships but also partner preferences play a prominent role in the establishment of pair bonds in wolves. The objective of our study is to disentangle male and female components in the establishment of sexual relationships, and, in particular, the influence of partner preferences. A first-approach model suggests that males will attempt to maximize the number of fertilizations, whereas females will be selective in partner choice. We therefore determined behavioural measures of partner preference for each sex; namely 'Following sexually' in males and 'Presenting actively' in females. Matings corresponded more to the male than the female preferences. Males initiated courtship, whereas females influenced pair-bonding more by proceptive behaviour and by the rejection of male courtship. Whereas the dominant males focused more on one preferred female at a time, and might eventually switch and direct their preference to another female, the dominant females, and particularly the alpha female, spread their sexual interests over several males and associate with more than one male at a time. The ultimate reason for this might be that, in this way, a female promotes care-giving towards herself and her offspring by creating a 'paternity illusion' in those males.
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Brennan, Patricia L. R., and Richard O. Prum. "The limits of sexual conflict in the narrow sense: new insights from waterfowl biology." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 367, no. 1600 (August 19, 2012): 2324–38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2011.0284.
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Sexual conflict occurs when the evolutionary interests of the sexes differ and it broadly applies to decisions over mating, fertilization and parental investment. Recently, a narrower view of sexual conflict has emerged in which direct selection on females to avoid male-imposed costs during mating is considered the distinguishing feature of conflict, while indirect selection is considered negligible. In this view, intersexual selection via sensory bias is seen as the most relevant mechanism by which male traits that harm females evolve, with antagonistic coevolution between female preferences and male manipulation following. Under this narrower framework, female preference and resistance have been synonymized because both result in a mating bias, and similarly male display and coercion are not distinguished. Our recent work on genital evolution in waterfowl has highlighted problems with this approach. In waterfowl, preference and resistance are distinct components of female phenotype, and display and coercion are independent male strategies. Female preference for male displays result in mate choice, while forced copulations by unpreferred males result in resistance to prevent these males from achieving matings and fertilizations. Genital elaborations in female waterfowl appear to function in reinforcing female preference to maintain the indirect benefits of choice rather than to reduce the direct costs of coercive mating. We propose a return to a broader view of conflict where indirect selection and intrasexual selection are considered important in the evolution of conflict.
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Ferkin, Michael H., and Joshua O. Seamon. "Odor preference and social behavior in meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus: seasonal differences." Canadian Journal of Zoology 65, no. 12 (December 1, 1987): 2931–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z87-445.
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Olfactory cues play a major role in inter- and intra-sexual agonistic behavior for Microtus pennsylvanicus. We show that seasonal changes in odor preference and behavioral interactions coincide with varying patterns of social organization. Odor preference trials were conducted in a Y maze and social behavior was measured in dyadic encounters in a neutral arena. During the breeding season, paired encounters between females contained more agonistic acts than did encounters between males, or those between males and females. Breeding males preferred the odor of females to the odor of conspecific males. In contrast, breeding females preferred their own odor and the odor of males to the odor of other females. The data support female exclusiveness during the breeding season. During the nonbreeding season, paired encounters between females contained fewer agonistic acts than did encounters between males or those between males and females. Nonbreeding females preferred the odor of female conspecifics to their own odor or the odor of male conspecifics. These results are consistent with group nesting and a relaxation of female territoriality during the nonbreeding season. Nonbreeding males did not exhibit a preference for their own odor, the odor of other males, or the odor of female conspecifics. Our results indicate that nonbreeding males are solitary, and overwintering groups are female-biased. Odor preferences may underlie seasonal changes in social organization.
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Ratcliffe, L., P. Boag, S. Shackleton, R. Weisman, and D. Weary. "Sexual Preferences of Female Zebra Finches: Imprinting On Beak Colour." Behaviour 128, no. 1-2 (1994): 15–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853994x00028.
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AbstractSexual preferences of adult zebra finches are influenced by early learning of parental characteristics. We studied how imprinting affects the preference of female zebra finches for male beak colour. The beaks of male and female parents were painted, 2-3 days before hatch and thereafter until the young were fledged, as follows: male red, female orange (R-O group); male orange, female red (O-R group); both male and female red (R-R group); or both male and female orange (O-O group). Females were raised by painted parents until 35 days, then visually isolated from other birds until test at 100 days. In 4-way choice tests using red- and orange-painted stimulus males, females from Groups O-R and R-O chose males with beaks painted the same colour as their father's beak, whereas females from Groups R-R and O-O did not. We conclude that preference for male beak colour was acquired only by females reared by parents with unlike, discriminative, beak colours. The results suggest an associative learning basis for sexual imprinting.
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Gillingham, Mark A. F., David S. Richardson, Hanne Løvlie, Anna Moynihan, Kirsty Worley, and Tom Pizzari. "Cryptic preference for MHC-dissimilar females in male red junglefowl, Gallus gallus." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276, no. 1659 (December 2, 2008): 1083–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1549.
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An increasing number of studies test the idea that females increase offspring fitness by biasing fertilization in favour of genetically compatible partners; however, few have investigated or controlled for corresponding preferences in males. Here, we experimentally test whether male red junglefowl, Gallus gallus , prefer genetically compatible females, measured by similarity at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), a key gene complex in vertebrate immune function. Theory predicts that because some degree of MHC heterozygosity favours viability, individuals should prefer partners that carry MHC alleles different from their own. While male fowl showed no preference when simultaneously presented with an MHC-similar and an MHC-dissimilar female, they showed a ‘cryptic’ preference, by allocating more sperm to the most MHC-dissimilar of two sequentially presented females. These results provide the first experimental evidence that males might respond to the MHC similarity of a female through differential ejaculate expenditure. By revealing that cryptic male behaviours may bias fertilization success in favour of genetically compatible partners, this study demonstrates the need to experimentally disentangle male and female effects when studying preferences for genetically compatible partners.
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Li, Haixia, Jie Wang, Xu Zhang, Yu Hu, Qinglin Cai, Ying Liu, and Zhen Ma. "Sex Differences in Mate Choice Preference Characteristics of Aequidens rivulatus." Animals 12, no. 9 (May 7, 2022): 1205. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12091205.
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The mating roles of males and females, to a certain extent, are dynamic and variable. Several factors influence the mate choice process. Nonetheless, the main preference features have not yet been fully understood in Aequidens rivulatus. In this study, because of its natural pairing characteristics, A. rivulatus was selected to explore the mate choice preferences of different sexes. Specifically, male and female behavioral performances were described and quantified through a “no-choice paradigm” during mate choice. A total of 12 behavioral performances were defined in male mate choice (experiment 1), whereas 14 behavioral performances were defined in female mate choice (experiment 2). According to the obtained results, unselected females did not display any proactive behaviors in experiment 1, whereas unselected males exhibited proactive behaviors in experiment 2, including quivering, nipping, tail beating, swimming up and down, and aggression. It was also found that both male and female individuals tend to express dislike rather than like. Those behaviors with higher frequencies (e.g., quivering) often mean less energy expenditure, thus easier repeatability. Moreover, principal component analysis (PCA) was employed to extract and identify mate choice preference features. Preliminary results indicated that male preferences for a mate were mainly associated with body size, behavioral intention, and appearance, whereas the intensity of female preferences was in the order of body size, appearance, and behavioral intention. In addition, sex hormone levels were associated with mate choices.
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Schlupp, Ingo, Michael Ryan, and Meike Waschulewski. "FEMALE PREFERENCES FOR NATURALLY-OCCURRING NOVEL MALE TRAITS." Behaviour 136, no. 4 (1999): 519–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853999501450.
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AbstractWe report two independent cases of female preferences for novel male traits in two species of poeciliid fish, Poecilia latipinna and Poecilia mexicana. In both cases the preference predates the occurrence of the trait, lending strong support to the pre-existing bias hypotheses. This support is independent of the assumptions associated with phylogenetic inference. Unlike the two sexual species, the unisexual hybrid P. formosa had no detectable preference for the novel male traits.
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Grace, Jaime L., and Kerry L. Shaw. "Incipient sexual isolation in Laupala cerasina: Females discriminate population-level divergence in acoustic characters." Current Zoology 58, no. 3 (June 1, 2012): 416–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/58.3.416.
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Abstract Sexual selection by female choice can shape the evolution of male traits within populations, since the most attractive males experience an increase in fitness through elevated mating success. Speciation by sexual selection occurs when evolution in traits and preferences within populations causes differentiation among populations, such that females in alternative populations prefer sexual signals of their own population relative to others. Differentiated traits and preferences thereby play an active role in limiting gene flow between divergent populations. The effectiveness of differentiated preferences in maintaining differentiated male signals against the homogenizing effects of gene flow across populations will be limited by both the degree to which females can discriminate against non-local males, and the breeding values of traits and preferences. Populations of the Hawaiian cricket Laupala cerasina have diverged in pulse rate, a sexually selected male signal, and female acoustic preference for pulse rate. Gene flow between neighboring populations may be reduced if migrants from sexually diverged populations experience reduced mating success. We show that females discriminate among divergent songs characteristic of neighboring populations, that differences among populations in song and preference breed true in a common environment, and that mean preferences for each population closely match the mean pulse rates. Divergence in preference was observed only between populations that also differed in song. Along with a striking ability to discriminate slight differences in song, correlated evolution of song and preference within populations could be a mechanism that promotes assortative mating among populations, thereby reducing gene flow, and leading to speciation in Laupala.
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Chastain, Rebecca, and Daniel Taub. "Evolved human male preferences for female body shape." WikiJournal of Science 4, no. 1 (2021): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.15347/wjs/2021.001.
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Female body shape has an apparent influence on mate value as perceived by males. Some researchers have suggested that human male mate preference has evolved to universally favor a specific body shape which can be quantified with a particular value for Waist-Hip Ratio and/or Body Mass Index. Other research has presented evidence that populations of males exhibit differentiated preferences for female body shape. The research literature largely supports the hypothesis that male mate preference for female body shape is variable and dependent upon local resource availability. These conclusions provide insight into the evolutionary processes that have acted to produce adaptive flexibility in human male mate preferences in accordance with the environment.
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Kim, Tae Won, John H. Christy, Stefan Dennenmoser, and Jae C. Choe. "The strength of a female mate preference increases with predation risk." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 276, no. 1657 (November 18, 2008): 775–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2008.1070.
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When females search for mates and their perceived risk of predation increases, they less often express preferences for males that use conspicuous courtship signals, relaxing sexual selection on production of these signals. Here, we report an apparent exception to this general pattern. Courting male fiddler crabs Uca beebei sometimes build pillars of mud at the openings to their burrows in which crabs mate. Females visit several males before they choose a mate by staying and breeding in their burrows, and they preferentially visit males with pillars. Previous studies suggested that this preference is based on a visual orientation behaviour that may reduce females' risk of predation while searching for a mate. We tested this idea by determining whether the female preference for males with pillars increases with perceived predation risk. We attracted avian predators to where crabs were courting and measured the rates that sexually receptive females visited courting males with and without mud pillars. Under elevated risk, females continued to search for mates and they showed a stronger relative preference for males with pillars. Thus, when predation risk is high, females may continue to express preferences that are under natural selection because they help females avoid predation, strengthening sexual selection for use of the preferred signal.
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Prokop, Pavol. "Male preference for female pubic hair: an evolutionary view." Anthropologischer Anzeiger 73, no. 2 (June 1, 2016): 169–75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1127/anthranz/2016/0583.
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Okuyama, Teruhiro, Saori Yokoi, Hideki Abe, Yasuko Isoe, Yuji Suehiro, Haruka Imada, Minoru Tanaka, et al. "A Neural Mechanism Underlying Mating Preferences for Familiar Individuals in Medaka Fish." Science 343, no. 6166 (January 2, 2014): 91–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1244724.
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Social familiarity affects mating preference among various vertebrates. Here, we show that visual contact of a potential mating partner before mating (visual familiarization) enhances female preference for the familiarized male, but not for an unfamiliarized male, in medaka fish. Terminal-nerve gonadotropin-releasing hormone 3 (TN-GnRH3) neurons, an extrahypothalamic neuromodulatory system, function as a gate for activating mating preferences based on familiarity. Basal levels of TN-GnRH3 neuronal activity suppress female receptivity for any male (default mode). Visual familiarization facilitates TN-GnRH3 neuron activity (preference mode), which correlates with female preference for the familiarized male. GnRH3 peptides, which are synthesized specifically in TN-GnRH3 neurons, are required for the mode-switching via self-facilitation. Our study demonstrates the central neural mechanisms underlying the regulation of medaka female mating preference based on visual social familiarity.
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Clayton, Nicky, and Hans-Joachim Bischof. "Stabilization of Sexual Preferences By Sexual Experience in Male Zebra Finches Taeniopygia Guttata Castanotis." Behaviour 118, no. 1-2 (1991): 144–54. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853991x00256.
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AbstractMale zebra finches, Taeniopygia guttata castanotis, were normally-raised by zebra finches or were cross-fostered to Bengalese finch, Lonchura striata, foster-parents until 40 days of age. Following isolation until day 100, half the birds in each group were housed with a zebra finch female for seven days, isolated for three days and then housed with a Bengalese finch female for seven days. The other birds were exposed to females in the reverse order. Subsequent double-choice tests showed that all the normally-raised birds preferred zebra finch females whereas the preferences of cross-fostered males depended on the order of exposure to the two females: those exposed first to a Bengalese finch female preferred Bengalese finch females whereas of those exposed first to a zebra finch female, some preferred zebra finches, some preferred Bengalese finches and some showed no marked preference for either female. In order to examine the question of why the latter group showed such marked individual variation in their sexual preferences, a further group of males were cross-fostered to Bengalese finches and exposed to a zebra finch female and then to a Bengalese finch female and their behaviours were observed from day 21 until day 40 and for the two, seven-day periods with the females. The results show that, when comparing brothers within clutches, the one that begs and is fed more by by its foster-parents develops a stronger preference for Bengalese finch females and that the more song phrases a male directs to the zebra finch female during the first seven-day period, the stronger the sexual preference for zebra finch females in the double-choice tests. Hence, our results confirm and extend those of IMMELMANN et al. (1991) and KRUIJT & MEEUWISSEN (1991) that sexual imprinting may be a two step process. As a first step, information about the parents is learnt during a sensitive period early in life. In a second step, this information has to be tested for its validity for the selection of a sexual partner during first courtship encounters. It is this second step where the previously stored information is stabilized in memory. Giving conflicting information during the first and the second step, one can show that interactions between the young male and its parents as well as with its first sexual partner influence the final preference it shows in subsequent double choice tests.
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Munro, Kurtis R., Nancy J. Flood, Ann E. McKellar, and Matthew W. Reudink. "Female mate preference varies with age and environmental conditions." Behaviour 151, no. 14 (2014): 2059–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003231.
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Sexual selection and mate choice are dynamic processes that can be influenced by a variety of environmental and social factors, which have been well studied in a range of taxa. However, in humans, the environmental factors that influence regional variation in preference for mate attributes remain poorly understood. In addition, underlying variation based on individual age may strongly influence mate preferences. In this study, we examined written descriptions of preferred mates from the online dating profiles of 1111 women from 26 cities across Canada. We grouped the words describing preferred mates into four categories: resource holding potential, physical attractiveness, activities and interests, and emotional appeal. We then asked whether variation in environmental (sex ratio, population size and population density), economic (population income) and individual factors (age) predicted variation in the relative importance of these four categories of female mate preference. Sex ratio was the best predictor of preference for the physical attractiveness and the activities and interests of potential mates, with women in male-biased cities placing more emphasis on physical attractiveness and less emphasis on activities and interests. Age was the best predictor of preference for resource holding potential, with younger individuals placing more emphasis on this trait. No factors were strong predictors of variation in preference for emotional appeal, perhaps because this trait was highly valued in all populations. This work supports a growing body of literature demonstrating that mate choice and mate preferences are often dynamic and can be influenced by individual and environmental variation.
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Morris, Molly R., Oscar Rios-Cardenas, and M. Scarlett Tudor. "Larger swordtail females prefer asymmetrical males." Biology Letters 2, no. 1 (September 6, 2005): 8–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2005.0387.
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Many organisms, including humans, find symmetry more attractive than asymmetry. Is this bias towards symmetry simply a by-product of their detection system? We examined female preference for symmetry of the pigment pattern vertical bars in the swordtail fishes Xiphophorus cortezi and Xiphophorus malinche . We found a relationship between preference for symmetry and female size, with larger and thus older females spending significantly more time with the asymmetrical video animation as compared to the symmetrical video animation. The preference for asymmetry we report demonstrates that even if females can detect symmetrical males better, this does not preclude subsequent selection on females to prefer symmetrical or asymmetrical males. In addition, because the preference was correlated with female size, past studies may have missed preference for either asymmetry and/or symmetry by not examining the relationship between female preference and size/age or by measuring a limited size/age distribution of females. In both of the species of swordtail fishes examined, a high proportion of males are asymmetrical by more than one bar. We suggest that female preference may be maintaining fluctuating asymmetries in these fishes.
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Kondo, Yasuhiko, and Himeka Hayashi. "Neural and Hormonal Basis of Opposite-Sex Preference by Chemosensory Signals." International Journal of Molecular Sciences 22, no. 15 (August 2, 2021): 8311. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijms22158311.
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In mammalian reproduction, sexually active males seek female conspecifics, while estrous females try to approach males. This sex-specific response tendency is called sexual preference. In small rodents, sexual preference cues are mainly chemosensory signals, including pheromones. In this article, we review the physiological mechanisms involved in sexual preference for opposite-sex chemosensory signals in well-studied laboratory rodents, mice, rats, and hamsters of both sexes, especially an overview of peripheral sensory receptors, and hormonal and central regulation. In the hormonal regulation section, we discuss potential rodent brain bisexuality, as it includes neural substrates controlling both masculine and feminine sexual preferences, i.e., masculine preference for female odors and the opposite. In the central regulation section, we show the substantial circuit regulating sexual preference and also the influence of sexual experience that innate attractants activate in the brain reward system to establish the learned attractant. Finally, we review the regulation of sexual preference by neuropeptides, oxytocin, vasopressin, and kisspeptin. Through this review, we clarified the contradictions and deficiencies in our current knowledge on the neuroendocrine regulation of sexual preference and sought to present problems requiring further study.
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Geary Boal, Jean. "Female Choice of Males in Cuttlefish (Mollusca: Cephalopoda)." Behaviour 134, no. 13-14 (1997): 975–88. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853997x00340.
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AbstractIn captivity, male cuttlefish use visual displays to establish size-based dominance hierarchies and larger males obtain most of the copulations. This experiment was performed to determine if females prefer the larger, more dominant males and whether females use male visual displays to evaluate males. Twenty sexually mature, virgin female cuttlefish were given up to six opportunities to approach one of two males out of a pool of ten adult males, or to approach neither. Females did have significant preferences between males, but they were not related to male dominance. Females showed a consistent and significant preference for the more recently mated male. These preferred males were also more likely to mate again, when given the opportunity, than were less-preferred, less-recently mated males. Females also preferred males that showed fewer zebra displays. Viewing male-male interactions did not affect their choices. Results suggest that female preference could be based on chemical cues, while visual displays may function primarily as agonistic signals. Females who mated did so repeatedly before laying eggs, providing opportunity for sperm competition.
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DeVries, A. Courtney, Camron L. Johnson, and C. Sue Carter. "Familiarity and gender influence social preferences in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 75, no. 2 (February 1, 1997): 295–301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z97-037.
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The physiological mechanisms influencing group cohesion and social preferences are largely unstudied in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster). In nature, prairie vole family groups usually consist of an adult male and female breeding pair, one or more litters of their offspring, and occasionally unrelated adults. Pair bonds, defined by heterosexual preferences, develop in male and female prairie voles following cohabitation or mating. However, social preferences between members of the same sex also may be important to the maintenance of communal groups. In the present study we compared the development of social preferences for conspecific strangers of the same sex versus preferences for the opposite sex, and examined the effect of the gonadal status of the stimulus animal on initial social preference. The present study revealed that reproductively naive males, but not females, showed initial preferences for partners of the opposite sex. In both sexes preferences for the opposite sex were not influenced by the presence or absence of gonadal hormones. Heterosexual and same-sex preferences for a familiar individual formed following 24 h of nonsexual cohabitation in both males and females. Male and female same-sex preferences, however, were no longer stable when the stranger in the preference test was of the opposite sex to the experimental animal. The development of same-sex preferences may help to maintain group cohesion, but same-sex preferences formed by cohabitation do not withstand the challenge of an opposite-sex stranger.
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Lewin, R. "Hotshots, hotspots, and female preference." Science 240, no. 4857 (June 3, 1988): 1277–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.3375815.
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Klink, Karin B., and Klaudia Witte. "No pre-existing bias in sailfin molly females, Poecilia latipinna, for a sword in males." Behaviour 142, no. 3 (2005): 283–303. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539053778292.
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The origination of female mate preference is still not well known and may depend on genetic predispositions, social environment and sensory stimuli in the environment. Females of different populations, which live in different environments, may therefore differ in a pre-existing bias for male traits. Previous studies within the genus Xiphophorus and Priapella (Poeciliidae) have indicated that females have a latent preference for a sword in males, even though conspecific males do not express a sword. In a recent study Basolo (2002a) found such a pre-existing bias for artificially sworded males in sailfin molly females from a Louisiana population. To investigate whether Poecilia latipinna females exhibit in general a pre-existing bias for sworded males or whether populations differ in a pre-existing female preference for sworded males, we tested P. latipinna females from a Texas population for a latent preference for sworded males. We tested in video playback experiments whether sailfin molly females P. latipinna have a latent preference for males with an artificial coloured plastic sword on TV monitors. Using video playbacks we first showed in a conditioning experiment that females perceived yellow plastic swords. Females preferred to associate with conspecific males to conspecific females on TV monitors. Females, however, did not exhibit a preference for males with a coloured sword over males with a transparent sword. Our result contradicts results of a previous study showing that sailfin molly females from a different population exhibited a preference for live males with an artificial sword. Pre-existing biases for novel male traits in females may differ between populations within a species. Thus, environmental factors may influence the development of pre-existing biases and might, therefore, drive the evolution of latent preferences in different populations differently.
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Pogány, Ákos, Zita Szurovecz, Ernő Vincze, Zoltán Barta, and Tamás Székely. "Mate preference does not influence reproductive motivation and parental cooperation in female zebra finches." Behaviour 151, no. 12-13 (2014): 1885–901. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003221.
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In socially monogamous species, low availability of sexually active unpaired individuals in the local population may constrain mate choice, resulting in mating with sub-optimal partners. Here we experimentally investigate whether female reproductive behaviour is different when paired with a preferred or a non-preferred male in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). First, we assessed female mating preferences using a four-way choice apparatus, then females were caged together with either their preferred or least-preferred male. Female reproductive motivation, assessed by the propensity of laying eggs within two weeks from pairing and clutch mass, did not differ between the two experimental groups. Females responded to mate removal by either increasing their care, so as to compensate for the lost care of their mate, or by significantly reducing incubation. This bimodal response was not explained by mate preference, nevertheless, we found that females with lower baseline (i.e., pre-manipulation) incubation effort were more likely to cease incubation during mate removal. Taken together, we found no evidence that female reproductive behaviour varies along with mate preference.
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Rowe, Vikki. "Cross-gender influence: The effect of perceived male preference on female body image and self-esteem in a young adult group." Australian Educational and Developmental Psychologist 23, no. 2 (2006): 46–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0816512200028984.
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AbstractThe aim of the present study was to explore the potential relationship between affect related to female perception of male preference for the female thin ideal (“Sensitivity to Male Preference”) and female body image and self-esteem. Ninety-three, heterosexual, female undergraduate students (M = 19.78, SD = 2.66) completed a series of questionnaires which tapped Body Image Dissatisfaction, Body Image Discrepancy, Appearance Schema and Self-Worth. The “Female Perception of Male Preference Questionnaire” (devised specifically for the purpose of the present study) assessed Sensitivity to Male Preference. Results indicated that females who expressed greater negative affect in relation to their perception of male preference for the female thin ideal also showed higher levels of body image dissatisfaction, appearance schema, discrepancy (between their perceived current and ideal figures), and lower levels of self-worth. Findings suggest that female perception of male preference may be an important variable when considering factors that influence female body image and self-esteem, and thus warrant further attention in research.
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Mohd Junaid, Thuwaibah, and Nadia Nur Afiqah Ismail. "Learning Style Preferences Among Degree Students in Academic English Course in UTHM." International Journal of Engineering & Technology 7, no. 3.21 (August 8, 2018): 52. http://dx.doi.org/10.14419/ijet.v7i3.21.17095.
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This study was conducted to identify the major learning style preference among UTHM degree students semester 2 2015/2016 in Academic English classroom as well as to identify the differences between the learning style preferences of male and female students. A total of 150students from eight different faculties comprised of 75 male and 75 female students were involved in this study. The Perceptual Learning Style Preferences Questionnaire (PLSPQ) which was developed by Reid (1987) has been used as the instrument of the study. The findings revealed that the major learning style preference of the students was Kinesthetic learning style. Moreover, the findings also revealed that there were no significance differences at α = 0.05 between the learning styles preference of male and female UTHM degree students’ semester 2 2015/2016 in Academic English classroom.
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Cummings, Molly E. "Looking for sexual selection in the female brain." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 367, no. 1600 (August 19, 2012): 2348–56. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2012.0105.
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Female mate choice behaviour has significant evolutionary consequences, yet its mechanistic origins are not fully understood. Recent studies of female sensory systems have made great strides in identifying internal mechanisms governing female preferences. Only recently, however, have we begun to identify the dynamic genomic response associated with mate choice behaviour. Poeciliids provide a powerful comparative system to examine genomic responses governing mate choice and female preference behaviour, given the great range of mating systems: from female mate choice taxa with ornamental courting males to species lacking male ornamentation and exhibiting only male coercion. Furthermore, they exhibit laboratory-tractable preference responses without sexual contact that are decoupled from reproductive state, allowing investigators to isolate mechanisms in the brain without physiological confounds. Early investigations with poeciliid species ( Xiphophorus nigrensis and Gambusia affinis ) have identified putative candidate genes associated with female preference response and highlight a possible genomic pathway underlying female social interactions with males linked functionally with synaptic plasticity and learning processes. This network is positively correlated with female preference behaviour in the female mate choice species, but appears inhibited in the male coercive species. This behavioural genomics approach provides opportunity to elucidate the fundamental building blocks, and evolutionary dynamics, of sexual selection.
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Jackson, Robert R., Chan Deng, and Fiona R. Cross. "Convergence between a mosquito-eating predator's natural diet and its prey-choice behaviour." Royal Society Open Science 3, no. 12 (December 2016): 160584. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.160584.
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On the basis of 1115 records of Evarcha culicivora feeding in the field, we can characterize this East African jumping spider (Salticidae) as being distinctively stenophagic. We can also, on the basis of laboratory prey-choice experiments, characterize E . culicivora as having a specialized prey-classification system and a hierarchy of innate preferences for various categories of mosquitoes and other arthropods. Prey from the field belonged to 10 arthropod orders, but 94.5% of the prey records were dipterans. Mosquitoes were the dominant prey (80.2% of the records), with the majority (82.9%) of the mosquitoes being females, and thereafter midges were the most common prey (9.2% of the records). Preference profiles that were determined from experiments showed strong convergence with natural diet in some, but not all, instances. In experiments, E . culicivora adults appeared to distinguish between six prey categories and juveniles between seven, with blood-carrying anopheline female mosquitoes being ranked highest in preference. For adults, this was followed by blood-carrying culicine female mosquitoes and then anopheline female mosquitoes not carrying blood, but these two preferences were reversed for juveniles. Moreover, for juveniles, but not for adults, anopheline male mosquitoes seem to be a distinct prey category ranked in preference after blood-carrying culicine females and, for both adults and juveniles, preference for midges is evident when the alternatives are not mosquitoes. These findings illustrate the importance of going beyond simply specifying preferred prey categories when characterizing predators as ‘specialized’ and a need to make clear conceptual distinctions between a predator's natural diet, the prey categories that are relevant to the predator, and the predator's prey-choicebehaviour.
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van der Sluijs, Inke, Ole Seehausen, Tom J. M. Van Dooren, and Jacques J. M. van Alphen. "No evidence for a genetic association between female mating preference and male secondary sexual trait in a Lake Victoria cichlid fish." Current Zoology 56, no. 1 (February 1, 2010): 57–64. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/56.1.57.
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Abstract Sexual selection by female mating preference for male nuptial coloration has been suggested as a driving force in the rapid speciation of Lake Victoria cichlid fish. This process could have been facilitated or accelerated by genetic associations between female preference loci and male coloration loci. Preferences, as well as coloration, are heritable traits and are probably determined by more than one gene. However, little is known about potential genetic associations between these traits. In turbid water, we found a population that is variable in male nuptial coloration from blue to yellow to red. Males at the extreme ends of the phenotype distribution resemble a reproductively isolated species pair in clear water that has diverged into one species with blue-grey males and one species with bright red males. Females of the turbid water population vary in mating preference coinciding with the male phenotype distribution. For the current study, these females were mated to blue males. We measured the coloration of the sires and male offspring. Parents-offspring regression showed that the sires did not affect male offspring coloration, which confirms earlier findings that the blue species breeds true. In contrast, male offspring coloration was determined by the identity of the dams, which suggests that there is heritable variation in male color genes between females. However, we found that mating preferences of the dams were not correlated with male offspring coloration. Thus, there is no evidence for strong genetic linkage between mating preference and the preferred trait in this population.
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Downer-Bartholomew, Benjamin M. B., and F. Helen Rodd. "Female preference for color-enhanced males: a test of the sensory bias model in medaka, a drab fish." Behavioral Ecology 33, no. 1 (November 19, 2021): 252–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/beheco/arab131.
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Abstract Sexual selection research has long focused on the evolution of female mate preferences. Most of the models that have been developed posit that mate preferences evolve in a mating context. In contrast, the sensory bias model proposes that mate choice preferences arise in a non-mating context, as a by-product of natural selection acting on a female’s perceptual system. Recent research has shown that many species of fishes, from across a large clade including poeciliids, goodeids, and medaka, have a bias for long wavelength (LW) colors (yellow, orange, red) in a non-mating context. Even species that do not have LW-colored ornaments, apparently because they have been lost secondarily, retain this latent bias for LW colors. Here, we predicted that female Oryzias latipes (Japanese medaka), a drab species with a latent preference for LW colors, would show a mate choice preference for males with an artificial secondary sexual trait—a colored stripe added to their flank. We confirmed that females were more responsive to red and orange objects in a non-mating context than to other colors. We also showed that females were less resistant towards males with an LW-colored stripe than to those enhanced with a non-LW stripe and that, for many females, responses towards specific LW colors were consistent across these non-mating and mating contexts. Therefore, our results provide support for the sensory bias model by providing a link between a sensory bias in a non-mating context and a mate choice preference in a drab species like medaka.
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Hernandez-Jimenez, Armando, and Oscar Rios-Cardenas. "Condition-dependent female preference for male genitalia length is based on male reproductive tactics." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 284, no. 1868 (December 6, 2017): 20172223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.2223.
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There is extensive morphological variation of male genitalia across animals with internal fertilization, even among closely related species. Most studies attempting to explain this extraordinary diversity have focused on processes that occur post-copula (e.g. sperm competition, cryptic female choice). Only a few studies have focused on the pre-copula process of female preference. In addition, the extent to which this variation could be associated with the use of different reproductive tactics has yet to be explored. Here, we show that female preference for male genitalia length in two livebearing fishes depends on the type of reproductive tactic of the males being evaluated as well as the body condition of the female. In a species where all males coax females to acquire matings (courters), females preferred males with short genitalia. In a species with genetically influenced alternative reproductive tactics (courter males that only court and produce courter sons, sneaker males that use the coercive tactic of sneak chase and produce sneaker sons), female preference depended on an interaction between male tactic and female condition: females in good condition preferred courter males with short genitalia, and sneaker males with long genitalia. Our results suggest that female preference for male traits favourable to their sons may be an important factor contributing to the diversification of male genitalia. Despite the contrasting selection for genitalia length that our female preference tests suggest, we found no significant differences in genitalia length between coaxing (courters) and coercive (sneakers) males. Our study represents a starting point to more clearly understand the role of alternative reproductive tactics and variation in female mate preference in the evolution of male genitalia.
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Bakker, Theo, and Reto Künzler. "Computer Animations as a Tool in the Study of Mating Preferences." Behaviour 135, no. 8 (1998): 1137–59. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853998792913537.
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AbstractThe study of multiple female mating preferences and multiple male signals requires correct and precise measurement of preferences. A review is given of existing preference test paradigms. Non-interactive preference tests using computer animations perfectly fulfil the demands for the study of multiple preferences for visual traits: exclusion of confounding variables, exclusion of variation within and between male pairs, great potential of experimental manipulation of single and combinations of visual traits including behaviour. We give a detailed description for the production of computer animation movies based on commercial software. Finally, we show how computer animations can be properly applied to the testing of mating preferences. In sticklebacks, female mating preferences that were tested in this way agreed with preferences that were measured with other test paradigms.
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Sluijs, Inke van der, Peter D. Dijkstra, Charlotte M. Lindeyer, Bertanne Visser, Alan M. Smith, Ton G. G. Groothuis, Jacques J. M. van Alphen, and Ole Seehausen. "A test of genetic association among male nuptial coloration, female mating preference, and male aggression bias within a polymorphic population of cichlid fish." Current Zoology 59, no. 2 (April 1, 2013): 221–29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/czoolo/59.2.221.
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Abstract Both interand intrasexual selection have been implicated in the origin and maintenance of species-rich taxa with diverse sexual traits. Simultaneous disruptive selection by female mate choice and male-male competition can, in theory, lead to speciation without geographical isolation if both act on the same male trait. Female mate choice can generate discontinuities in gene flow, while male-male competition can generate negative frequency-dependent selection stabilizing the male trait polymorphism. Speciation may be facilitated when mating preference and/or aggression bias are physically linked to the trait they operate on. We tested for genetic associations among female mating preference, male aggression bias and male coloration in the Lake Victoria cichlid Pundamilia. We crossed females from a phenotypically variable population with males from both extreme ends of the phenotype distribution in the same population (blue or red). Male offspring of a red sire were significantly redder than males of a blue sire, indicating that intra-population variation in male coloration is heritable. We tested mating preferences of female offspring and aggression biases of male offspring using binary choice tests. There was no evidence for associations at the family level between female mating preferences and coloration of sires, but dam identity had a significant effect on female mate preference. Sons of the red sire directed significantly more aggression to red than blue males, whereas sons of the blue sire did not show any bias. There was a positive correlation among individuals between male aggression bias and body coloration, possibly due to pleiotropy or physical linkage, which could facilitate the maintenance of color polymorphism.
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Gilburn, André S., and Thomas H. Day. "The inheritance of female mating behaviour in the seaweed fly, Coelopa frigida." Genetical Research 64, no. 1 (August 1994): 19–25. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s001667230003250x.
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SummaryIn order to understand the evolution of female mate preferences it is important to determine whether the genes for the preference and those for the preferred character are linked. It has previously been shown that female preference in the seaweed fly, Coelopa frigida, varies with the αβ inversion system on chromosome I. This inversion system is known to genetically determine, at least in part, the male preferred character, large size. This study was undertaken to determine whether the genes determining mate preferences, as well as those determining female receptivity, co-inherit with the inversion. In the full sibs of animals recently collected from a natural population in Sweden it is shown that high acceptance rate and strong preference for large male size both co-segregate with the α form of the inversion, and that low acceptance rate and a weak preference for large size co-segregate with the β form of the inversion. Both sets of genes appear to be located in or near the αβ inversion. The heterogeneity between crosses suggests the natural population from which the animals were collected was polymorphic for behavioural genes on the β haplotype. Crosses involving animals that had been in laboratory culture for seven generations indicated that variation in female mating behaviour had been lost. Possible reasons for the apparent instability of such behaviour are discussed.
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Slater, Jill A., Heidi L. Lujan, and Stephen E. DiCarlo. "Does gender influence learning style preferences of first-year medical students?" Advances in Physiology Education 31, no. 4 (December 2007): 336–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/advan.00010.2007.
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Students have specific learning style preferences, and these preferences may be different between male and female students. Understanding a student's learning style preference is an important consideration when designing classroom instruction. Therefore, we administered the visual, auditory, reading/writing, kinesthetic (VARK) learning preferences questionnaire to our first-year medical students; 38.8% (97 of 250 students) of the students returned the completed questionnaire. Both male (56.1%) and female (56.7%) students preferred multiple modes of information presentation, and the numbers and types of modality combinations were not significantly different between genders. Although not significantly different, the female student population tended to be more diverse than the male population, encompassing a broader range of sensory modality combinations within their preference profiles. Instructors need to be cognizant of these differences and broaden their range of presentation styles accordingly.
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Secondi, Jean, Carel Ten Cate, and Merijn De Bakker. "FEMALE RESPONSES TO MALE COOS IN THE COLLARED DOVE STREPTOPELIA DECAOCTO." Behaviour 139, no. 10 (2002): 1287–302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853902321104163.
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AbstractBirdsong is one of the main models in sexual selection studies. Most investigations focused on oscines in which male song and female preference learning occur. Yet, some non-oscines are well suited for such studies as well. In Columbidae song learning does not occur. However, like in oscines, song is involved in inter- and intra-sexual interactions. Surprisingly, experimental evidence of female song-based preferences are still largely lacking in this group. We conducted playback tests on wild-caught Streptopelia decaocto females. We tested for the sexual function of song by playing decaocto songs versus songs of an unrelated species. We then investigated female responses to trill. Although they do not produce this trait, males react more strongly to artificially trilled decaocto songs, i.e. to conspecific songs in which a trill from a S. roseogrisea song has been inserted, than to normal decaocto songs. We also tested female responses to S. roseogrisea songs. Females flew more often and with a shorter latency during decaocto songs than during wren songs, suggesting that species recognition occurred, but we found no evidence of preference for trilled decaocto songs. The low activity observed during the experiment might have obscured actual preferences. Nevertheless, females consistently reacted more to normal decaocto songs than to trilled decaocto or roseogrisea songs. This contrasts with the strong responses for trilled decaocto songs and the virtual lack of reaction to S. roseogrisea songs observed in males. Thus, female collared doves, as receivers, may have different characteristics from males and impose constraints on the evolution of song.
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Quinn, Paul C., Joshua Yahr, Abbie Kuhn, Alan M. Slater, and Olivier Pascalis. "Representation of the Gender of Human Faces by Infants: A Preference for Female." Perception 31, no. 9 (September 2002): 1109–21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/p3331.
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Six experiments based on visual preference procedures were conducted to examine gender categorization of female versus male faces by infants aged 3 to 4 months. In experiment 1, infants familiarized with male faces preferred a female face over a novel male face, but infants familiarized with female faces divided their attention between a male face and a novel female face. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these asymmetrical categorization results were likely due to a spontaneous preference for females. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that the preference for females was based on processing of the internal facial features in their upright orientation, and not the result of external hair cues or higher-contrast internal facial features. While experiments 1 through 4 were conducted with infants reared with female primary caregivers, experiment 5 provided evidence that infants reared with male primary caregivers tend to show a spontaneous preference for males. Experiment 6 showed that infants reared with female primary caregivers displayed recognition memory for individual females, but not males. These results suggest that representation of information about human faces by young infants may be influenced by the gender of the primary caregiver.
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Swierk, Lindsey, and Tracy Langkilde. "Size-assortative mating in explosive breeders: a case study of adaptive male mate choice in anurans." Behaviour 158, no. 10 (May 26, 2021): 849–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-bja10098.
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Abstract Exploration of size-assortative mating (SAM) in animals has led to a near consensus that it arises through constraints in choice, such as preference for large females combined with a large male advantage during intrasexual competition. Although such ‘apparent’ SAM is well explored, whether SAM arises because of specific preferences for size-matched mates has been less thoroughly considered. We tested for ‘preference-based’ SAM in an explosively breeding frog (Rana sylvatica), quantifying how male and female sizes affected fertilization and if males preferred size-matched females. We found that size mismatch severely reduced fertilization. Furthermore, males preferred size-matched, not larger, females in mate choice trials. Because males that mated with much larger females fertilized fewer eggs overall than they would have with size-matched females, male preference for size-matched females may be adaptive. Our results expand understanding of the mechanisms underlying SAM, suggesting that multiple mechanisms may simultaneously cause size-assortative mating patterns to emerge.
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Kirchner, J., H. Hackbarth, H. D. Stelzer, and P.-P. Tsai. "Preferences of group-housed female mice regarding structure of softwood bedding." Laboratory Animals 46, no. 2 (April 2012): 95–100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/la.2011.010173.
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Bedding influences various parameters in the housing of laboratory mice, such as health, physiology and behaviour (often considered as being integral parts of welfare). Notwithstanding existent studies about bedding preferences of individually tested mice, data about group-housed mice are still lacking. The aim of this study was to find out the structure preference for softwood bedding of group-housed mice. One hundred and eight 8-week-old female mice (C57BL6/JOlaHsd and BALB/cOlaHsd) were housed in groups of three and were given one-week free access to two different bedding structures at a time. In three test combinations, softwood shaving bedding was tested versus softwood chip bedding products of three different particle sizes (fine/medium/coarse-grained). The preference test was performed in a DoubleCage system composed of two Makrolon type IIL cages, connected by a perspex tunnel. This validated system was able to detect the crossings of each individual animal with correct crossing time and direction. On the basis of these data, dwelling times on the particular bedding structures were statistically analysed as a parameter for bedding preferences. In all three test combinations, a highly significant shaving preference was detected. On average, mice spent 70% of their dwelling time on the shavings. This preference was more explicit during the light period and in C57BL/6J mice. The relative ranking of the bedding structures was: shavings≫coarse-grained chips>medium chips = fine chips. By means of these results, a shaving structure as bedding can be recommended for laboratory mice, whereas fine chip structures should be avoided.
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Wehrwein, Erica A., Heidi L. Lujan, and Stephen E. DiCarlo. "Gender differences in learning style preferences among undergraduate physiology students." Advances in Physiology Education 31, no. 2 (June 2007): 153–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1152/advan.00060.2006.
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Students have individual learning style preferences including visual (V; learning from graphs, charts, and flow diagrams), auditory (A; learning from speech), read-write (R; learning from reading and writing), and kinesthetic (K; learning from touch, hearing, smell, taste, and sight). These preferences can be assessed using the VARK questionnaire. We administered the VARK questionnaire to undergraduate physiology majors enrolled in a capstone physiology laboratory at Michigan State University; 48 of the 86 students (55.8%) who returned the completed questionnaire voluntarily offered gender information. The responses were tallied and assessed for gender difference in learning style preference; 54.2% of females and only 12.5% of males preferred a single mode of information presentation. Among the female students, 4.2% of the students preferred V, 0% of the students preferred A, 16.7% of the students preferred printed words (R), and 33.3% of the students preferred using all their senses (K). In contrast, male students were evenly distributed in preference, with 4.2% of the students preferring A, R, or K, respectively, while 0% of the students preferred V. Furthermore, 45.8% of female and 87.5% of male respondents preferred multiple modes [female: 2 modes (12.5%), 3 modes (12.5%), and 4 modes (20.8%); males: 2 modes (16.7%), 3 modes (12.5%), and 4 modes (58.3%)] of presentation. In summary, a majority of male students preferred multimodal instruction, specifically, four modes (VARK), whereas a majority of female students preferred single-mode instruction with a preference toward K. Thus, male and female students have significantly different learning styles. It is the responsibility of the instructor to address this diversity of learning styles and develop appropriate learning approaches.
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Bakker, Theo C. M. "Genetic Variation in Female Mating Preference." Netherlands Journal of Zoology 40, no. 4 (1989): 617–42. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156854290x00136.
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Foote, Chris J. "Female mate preference in Pacific salmon." Animal Behaviour 38, no. 4 (October 1989): 721–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/s0003-3472(89)80022-3.
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Hancock, Ellen A., Kevin J. Hancock, Nandhika Wijay, and Danielle Andry. "Does Surgeon Gender Matter for Aesthetic Patients?" Aesthetic Surgery Journal 41, no. 9 (April 22, 2021): NP1237—NP1241. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/asj/sjab201.
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Abstract Background Plastic surgery patients have expectations for an ideal practice to visit. However, patients’ preferences regarding their plastic surgeon are still being described. Objectives The aim of this study was to investigate if elective cosmetic plastic surgery patients exhibit gender preference in their plastic surgeon when making online inquiries. Methods A retrospective, single-practice review of all online inquiries for elective plastic surgery and nonsurgical injectable treatment from June 2019 to June 2020 was performed. The study was based on a private practice located in Houston, TX. The practice surgeons were a married couple, 1 female and 1 male, with identical training, age, and post-residency experience. Patients submitted an online inquiry for their procedure of interest and surgeon preference via the practice website. Results The private practice received 873 online inquiries during the year-long study period. The majority of patients were female, 855 (97.9%), and the remaining 18 (2.1%) were male. Of the female patients, 476 (55.7%) preferred a female surgeon and 138 (16.1%) preferred a male surgeon; 241 (28.2%) female patients expressed no surgeon preference. Regardless of surgeon preference, the majority of procedures inquired about were breast and body contouring. Conclusions This cohort of female patients prefers the female surgeon for breast procedures or multiple procedures involving the breast, and the male surgeon for injectable procedures and facial procedures. There is no preference for the male or female surgeon for body procedures. Female plastic surgery patients may be influenced by surgeon gender in choosing their surgeon, depending on their surgery of interest.
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Lass-Hennemann, Johanna, Christian E. Deuter, Linn K. Kuehl, André Schulz, Terry D. Blumenthal, and Hartmut Schachinger. "Effects of stress on human mating preferences: stressed individuals prefer dissimilar mates." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 277, no. 1691 (March 10, 2010): 2175–83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.0258.
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Although humans usually prefer mates that resemble themselves, mating preferences can vary with context. Stress has been shown to alter mating preferences in animals, but the effects of stress on human mating preferences are unknown. Here, we investigated whether stress alters men's preference for self-resembling mates. Participants first underwent a cold-pressor test (stress induction) or a control procedure. Then, participants viewed either neutral pictures or pictures of erotic female nudes whose facial characteristics were computer-modified to resemble either the participant or another participant, or were not modified, while startle eyeblink responses were elicited by noise probes. Erotic pictures were rated as being pleasant, and reduced startle magnitude compared with neutral pictures. In the control group, startle magnitude was smaller during foreground presentation of photographs of self-resembling female nudes compared with other-resembling female nudes and non-manipulated female nudes, indicating a higher approach motivation to self-resembling mates. In the stress group, startle magnitude was larger during foreground presentation of self-resembling female nudes compared with other-resembling female nudes and non-manipulated female nudes, indicating a higher approach motivation to dissimilar mates. Our findings show that stress affects human mating preferences: unstressed individuals showed the expected preference for similar mates, but stressed individuals seem to prefer dissimilar mates.
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Ma, Daina, Dean P. Smith, Zhichao Zheng, and Pawel Michalak. "Sensory Components of Behavioral Isolation Between Zimbabwe and Cosmopolitan Drosophila Melanogaster." Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution 56, no. 2 (May 6, 2010): 197–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1560/ijee.56.2.197.
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Successful reproduction requires males and females from the same species to recognize and prefer each other over individuals of other species. Mate recognition is mediated through the sensory systems, and one way speciation can occur is through behavioral isolation via sensory cues.Drosophila melanogasterfemales from central Africa (the "Zimbabwe" morph) prefer to mate with Zimbabwe males over males from otherDrosophilastrains ("Cosmopolitan" strains). Cosmopolitan females typically show little or no preference towards Cosmopolitan males. We hypothesize that alterations in one or more cues detected by the sensory system underlie the mating preferences of Zimbabwe females. Here, we investigate the relative contributions of three sensory factors (olfaction, vision, and hearing) to female mating preference using a number of Zimbabwe strains. Our findings suggest that auditory and visual cues are the most critical to this mate choice preference phenomenon. These results elucidate plausible mechanisms underlying incipient speciation inDrosophila.