title: Female mate preferences for male body size and shape promote sexual isolation in threespine sticklebacks.
abstract: Female mate preferences for ecologically relevant traits may enhance natural selection, leading to rapid divergence. They may also forge a link between mate choice within species and sexual isolation between species. Here, we examine female mate preference for two ecologically important traits: body size and body shape. We measured female preferences within and between species of benthic, limnetic, and anadromous threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus species complex). We found that mate preferences differed between species and between contexts (i.e., within vs. between species). Within species, anadromous females preferred males that were deep bodied for their size, benthic females preferred larger males (as measured by centroid size), and limnetic females preferred males that were more limnetic shaped. In heterospecific mating trials between benthics and limnetics, limnetic females continued to prefer males that were more limnetic like in shape when presented with benthic males. Benthic females showed no preferences for size when presented with limnetic males. These results show that females use ecologically relevant traits to select mates in all three species and that female preference has diverged between species. These results suggest that sexual selection may act in concert with natural selection on stickleback size and shape. Further, our results suggest that female preferences may track adaptation to local environments and contribute to sexual isolation between benthic and limnetic sticklebacks.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecology and Conservation, School of Biosciences, University of Exeter Cornwall Campus, Penryn, TR10 9EZ, UK.
authors.forename: Megan L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Head
authors.forename: Genevieve M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Kozak
authors.forename: Janette W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Boughman
keywords: Magic traits; Species recognition; mate choice; reproductive isolation; sexual selection; speciation; threespine stickleback
references.citation: Evolution. 2011 May;65(5):1489-500
references.pmid: 21521198
references.citation: Behav Ecol Sociobiol. 2011 Mar;65(3):461-480
references.pmid: 21423338
references.citation: Evolution. 1998 Feb;52(1):200-208
references.pmid: 28568163
references.citation: Evolution. 2012 Apr;66(4):1226-39
references.pmid: 22486700
references.citation: Evolution. 1996 Dec;50(6):2429-2434
references.pmid: 28565682
references.citation: Biol Lett. 2009 Aug 23;5(4):517-20
references.pmid: 19474072
references.citation: Evolution. 2005 Feb;59(2):361-73
references.pmid: 15807421
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Jun 21;411(6840):944-8
references.pmid: 11418857
references.citation: Evolution. 2012 May;66(5):1525-42
references.pmid: 22519788
references.citation: Evolution. 1998 Oct;52(5):1293-1303
references.pmid: 28565388
references.citation: Evolution. 2004 May;58(5):913-24
references.pmid: 15212372
references.citation: Ecol Lett. 2011 Jun;14(6):591-602
references.pmid: 21375683
references.citation: J Evol Biol. 2009 Apr;22(4):762-9
references.pmid: 19320795
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Jul 7;274(1618):1591-6
references.pmid: 17439854
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2011 Aug;26(8):389-97
references.pmid: 21592615
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2000 Dec 7;267(1460):2375-84
references.pmid: 11133026
references.citation: Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2009 Jun 16;106 Suppl 1:9955-62
references.pmid: 19528639
references.citation: Am Nat. 2008 Dec;172(6):806-17
references.pmid: 18950276
references.citation: Nature. 2004 May 20;429(6989):294-8
references.pmid: 15152252
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2007 Jul 22;274(1619):1709-14
references.pmid: 17504742
references.citation: Science. 2009 Dec 18;326(5960):1704-7
references.pmid: 19965377
references.citation: J Evol Biol. 2013 Jan;26(1):130-40
references.pmid: 23194003
references.citation: Nature. 2001 May 17;411(6835):302-5
references.pmid: 11357131
references.citation: Integr Comp Biol. 2010 Dec;50(6):1057-66
references.pmid: 21082067
references.citation: Nature. 2001 Jan 11;409(6817):185-8
references.pmid: 11196640
references.citation: Mol Ecol. 2006 Feb;15(2):343-55
references.pmid: 16448405
references.citation: Evolution. 2010 Jun;64(6):1607-21
references.pmid: 20624182
references.citation: Evolution. 2007 Feb;61(2):440-54
references.pmid: 17348953
references.citation: J Evol Biol. 2006 Nov;19(6):1803-12
references.pmid: 17040377
references.citation: Am Nat. 1992 Jul;140(1):85-108
references.pmid: 19426066
references.citation: Biol J Linn Soc Lond. 2012 Mar 1;105(3):573-583
references.pmid: 22611287
references.citation: Evolution. 2012 Oct;66(10):3277-86
references.pmid: 23025615
references.citation: Integr Comp Biol. 2010 Dec;50(6):1067-80
references.pmid: 21558260
references.citation: Evolution. 1998 Feb;52(1):209-218
references.pmid: 28568156
references.citation: Evolution. 2013 May;67(5):1477-84
references.pmid: 23617922
references.citation: Oecologia. 1992 Dec;92(3):354-361
references.pmid: 28312601
references.citation: Trends Ecol Evol. 2006 Jun;21(6):296-302
references.pmid: 16769428
references.citation: Evolution. 1999 Jun;53(3):866-873
references.pmid: 28565618
references.citation: Evolution. 2008 Jan;62(1):76-85
references.pmid: 18005154
references.citation: Evolution. 1991 Sep;45(6):1431-1442
references.pmid: 28563835
references.citation: Evolution. 2012 May;66(5):1430-46
references.pmid: 22519782
references.citation: Naturwissenschaften. 2001 Oct;88(10):401-15
references.pmid: 11729807
references.citation: Proc Biol Sci. 2011 Sep 7;278(1718):2604-10
references.pmid: 21270044
references.citation: Evolution. 1996 Dec;50(6):2125-2140
references.pmid: 28565675
references.citation: Genetics. 2008 Feb;178(2):1037-48
references.pmid: 18245356
references.citation: J Theor Biol. 1975 Sep;53(1):205-14
references.pmid: 1195756
references.citation: Evolution. 2009 Feb;63(2):353-65
references.pmid: 19154359
references.citation: Evolution. 2002 Feb;56(2):322-9
references.pmid: 11926500