title: Ontogenetic shifts in male mating preference and morph-specific polyandry in a female colour polymorphic insect.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sexual conflict over mating rates may favour the origin and maintenance of phenotypes with contrasting reproductive strategies. The damselfly Ischnura elegans is characterised by a female colour polymorphism that consists of one androchrome and two gynochrome female morphs. Previous studies have shown that the polymorphism is genetic and to a high extent maintained by negative frequency-dependent mating success that varies temporally and spatially. However, the role of learning in male mating preferences has received little attention. We used molecular markers to investigate differences in polyandry between female morphs. In addition, we experimentally investigated innate male mating preferences and experience-dependent shifts in male mating preferences for female morphs.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Field and molecular data show that androchrome females were less polyandrous than gynochrome females. Interestingly, we found that naïve males showed significantly higher sexual preferences to androchrome than to gynochrome females in experimental trials. In contrast, experienced males showed no preference for androchrome females.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The ontogenetic change in male mate preferences occurs most likely because of learned mate recognition after experience with females, which in this case does not result in a preference for one of the morphs, but rather in the loss of an innate preference for androchrome females.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Ecoloxía e Bioloxía animal, Grupo de Ecoloxía Evolutiva e da Conservación, Universidade de Vigo EUET Forestal, Campus de Pontevedra, Pontevedra 36005, Spain. rguillen@uvigo.es
authors.forename: Rosa Ana
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Sánchez-Guillén
authors.forename: Martijn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hammers
authors.forename: Bengt
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Hansson
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Gossum
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cordero-Rivera
authors.forename: Dalia Ivette
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Galicia Mendoza
authors.forename: Maren
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wellenreuther
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D003116:Color; D005260:Female; D007313:Insecta / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D052586:Mating Preference, Animal; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012098:Reproduction