Female choice selects for a viability-based male trait in pheasants
Author
Summary, in English
Recent theory on sexual selection1–4 suggests that females in species without paternal care choose mates by their secondary sexual characters because these indicate genotypic quality which will be transmitted to the offspring. These ideas are not yet empiri-cally supported as data quantifying the relationship between female mate choice and female reproductive success are lacking. Only in one case, in Colias butterflies, has it been demonstrated unequivo-cally that females choose 'good genotypes' as mates5 and there is only one study, on Drosophila, demonstrating that mate choice increases one component of offspring fitness6. Spur length of male pheasants (Phasianus colchicus) correlates with various fitness-related properties7. We here present the first experimental field data showing that female pheasants select mates on the basis of male spur length and that female mate choice correlates with female reproductive success.
Publishing year
1989
Language
English
Pages
166-169
Publication/Series
Nature
Volume
337
Issue
6203
Links
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
Topic
- Biological Sciences
Status
Published
Research group
- Molecular Ecology and Evolution Lab
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 0028-0836