Abstract
Recent studies indicate that directional female mate choice and order-dependent female mate choice importantly contribute to non-random mating patterns. In species where females prefer larger sized males, disentangling different hypotheses leading to non-random mating patterns is especially difficult, given that male size usually correlates with behaviours that may lead to non-random mating (e.g. size-dependent emergence from hibernation, male fighting ability). Here we investigate female mate choice and order-dependent female mate choice in the polygynandrous common lizard (Lacerta vivipara). By sequentially presenting males in random order to females, we exclude non-random mating patterns potentially arising due to intra-sexual selection (e.g. male–male competition), trait-dependent encounter probabilities, trait-dependent conspicuousness, or trait-dependent emergence from hibernation. To test for order-dependent female mate choice we investigate whether the previous mating history affects female choice. We show that body size and body condition of the male with which a female mated for the first time were bigger and better, respectively, than the average body size and body condition of the rejected males. There was a negative correlation between body sizes of first and second copulating males. This indicates that female mate choice is dependent on the previous mating history and it shows that the female’s choice criteria are non-static, i.e. non-directional. Our study therefore suggests that context-dependent female mate choice may not only arise due to genotype-environment interactions, but also due to other female mating strategies, i.e. order-dependent mate choice. Thus context-dependent female mate choice might be more frequent than previously thought.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Pedro Aragón, Gabriele Socri, and Borja Milá for helpful comments, Borja Milá and Paul Bloor for improving the English, and Caroline Naquet for field assistance. The work was performed according to the ABS/ASAB guidelines for ethical treatment of animals and in agreement with the Parc National des Cévennes and the French Ministry of Science and Education. The work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CGL2005-01187, CGL2008-01522, and Programa Ramón y Cajal to P. S. F.), the French Ministry of Education and Research, the European Research Training Network ModLife (HPRN-CT-2000-00051), the Federal Office of Education and Science (BBW no. 01.0254 to P. S. F.), and the Swiss National Science Foundation (No. PBBEA-104428 to P. S. F.).
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Communicated by Raoul Van Damme.
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Fitze, P.S., Cote, J. & Clobert, J. Mating order-dependent female mate choice in the polygynandrous common lizard Lacerta vivipara . Oecologia 162, 331–341 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1463-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-009-1463-1