Only females in poor condition display a clear preference and prefer males with an average badge

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Female condition-dependent variation in mate preference may have important evolutionary implications, not only within the same population but also among populations. There are few experiments, however, on how condition and/or genotype influences female mate preferences. The black throat patch of the male house sparrow, <it>Passer domesticus</it>, is an intensively studied plumage trait. It is often referred to as a 'badge of status' and seems to be involved in female mate choice, but differences exist among populations. Between-population variation in mate preference may occur for condition-dependent mate preferences. We tested the hypothesis that female preference may vary with female quality (body condition). Therefore, we measured female preference for badge size using an aviary two-choice test in which females were presented with two males that had different sizes of badges (enlarged or averaged).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Overall we did not find a female preference for enlarged or average badges, but low-quality females spent more time near average badge males. Conversely, high-quality females did not show a clear preference.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Collectively, these results indicate that female preference varies with female quality. Differences in female condition are causes of within-population variation in mating preferences. To our knowledge, our results provide one of the first experimental evidences that variation in preference for a male ornament is associated with female condition. In our study, however, only females of low condition displayed a clear mate preference. Differences observed among populations could be partly explained by differences in female condition.</p

Differences in sexual behaviour of two distant populations of the funnel-web wolf spider Aglaoctenus lagotis

Generally, sexual repertoire within a species is conserved, but frequencies of occurrence of sexual behavioral acts often vary, and wide geographic distributions may favor these variations. Aglaoctenus lagotis is distributed along South America and belongs to Sosippinae, a subfamily of wolf spiders that builds funnel webs. Previous reports, based on different populations, suggested variations in sexual behavior and life cycle. Our objective was to describe and compare the sexual behavior of two populations of A. lagotis: ‘Southern Uruguay’ (SU) and ‘Central Argentina’ (CA). We carried out intrapopulation trials, in the laboratory, with 15 female–male pair matings. The most representative courtship acts in SU were web-stretching, striding-forward and forelegs-elevating, whereas in CA they were alternate-waving, web-stretching and leg-tapping. Juddering, forelegs-elevating and striding-forward were exclusive for SU, while alternate-waving and simultaneous-waving were exclusive for CA. We also found differences in copulatory characteristics such as frequencies of insertions and ejaculations. We documented body-shaking during copulation for the first time. Some sexual acts were exclusive of each population, while the shared ones differed in pattern and frequencies of occurrence. In addition to variations in sexual periods, these differences may favor divergence processes or an exceptional high level of flexibility in the sexual behavior of A. lagotis.Fil: González Pérez, María de la Macarena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Catedra de Diversidad Animal I; Argentina. Instituto de Invest. Biologicas "clemente Estable"; UruguayFil: Peretti, Alfredo Vicente. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Cordoba. Instituto de Diversidad y Ecologia Animal; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cordoba. Facultad de Cs.exactas Fisicas y Naturales. Catedra de Diversidad Animal I; ArgentinaFil: Viera, Carmen. Instituto de Invest. Biologicas "clemente Estable"; Uruguay. Universidad de la Republica; UruguayFil: Costa, Fernando G.. Instituto de Invest. Biologicas "clemente Estable"; Urugua