PLASTICITY AND BEHAVIOR
Mate choice is the gatekeeper of evolutionary change. There is a rich literature amassing that demonstrates how mating preferences and mate choice are influenced by experience (also see Parental Effects), and the extent to which this is adaptive and influences fitness. Plasticity exposes hidden variation (in signals and preferences) to selection. And, whether choosers are 'stringent or permissive' changes the strength and direction of sexual selection and thus diversification. We've contributed some to our collective knowledge about experience-mediated mate choice through experiments with both of our study systems. A particular focus has been on effects of the quality and quantity of available mates and interactions between mate availability and maternal age.
Related publications:
Weigel, E.G., Tinghitella, R.M., & Boughman, J.W. 2015. No evidence for variation in reproductive investment under alternative mate availability regimes. Journal of Fish Biology. 88:508-522.
Tinghitella, R.M., Stehle, C., & Boughman, J.W. 2015. Females sample more males at high nesting densities, but ultimately obtain less attractive mates. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15:200.
Tinghitella, R.M. 2014. Male and female crickets modulate courtship behaviour depending on females’ experience with mate availability. Animal Behaviour. 91: 9-15.
Tinghitella, R.M., Weigel, E.G., Head, M., & Boughman, J.W. 2013. Flexible mate choice when mates are rare and time is short. Ecology and Evolution. 3(9): 2820-2831.
Related publications:
Weigel, E.G., Tinghitella, R.M., & Boughman, J.W. 2015. No evidence for variation in reproductive investment under alternative mate availability regimes. Journal of Fish Biology. 88:508-522.
Tinghitella, R.M., Stehle, C., & Boughman, J.W. 2015. Females sample more males at high nesting densities, but ultimately obtain less attractive mates. BMC Evolutionary Biology. 15:200.
Tinghitella, R.M. 2014. Male and female crickets modulate courtship behaviour depending on females’ experience with mate availability. Animal Behaviour. 91: 9-15.
Tinghitella, R.M., Weigel, E.G., Head, M., & Boughman, J.W. 2013. Flexible mate choice when mates are rare and time is short. Ecology and Evolution. 3(9): 2820-2831.