Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Plasticity In Female Mate Choosiness: A Result Of Variation In Perceived Predation Risk And The Interaction Of Female Age And Male Density, Ashley Atwell
School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
In many species, female mate choices can be a strong source of sexual selection. Females often prefer a certain male phenotype, and this can be due to benefits females gain from mating with preferred males. However, such benefits can sometimes be outweighed by the cost of searching for a preferred male. These costs and benefits often change concomitantly with changes in environmental (e.g., predator abundance and conspecific density) and internal factors (e.g., female age). Thus, female mate choosiness (the degree to which preferences for certain males are expressed) should often be plastic. Plasticity in female mate choosiness may be complicated …