Meeting Abstract
Animals should prefer mates with better problem-solving ability, but it is unclear (1) how a male can advertise his problem-solving ability, and (2) whether a female’s problem-solving ability affects her preference. Many sexual signals are unlearned and thus unlikely to reflect cognitive or personality traits that also impact problem-solving ability. One exception is bird song, which is learned by both males and females. We tested two hypotheses involving problem-solving ability and mate choice: (1) male song is an honest signal of problem-solving ability, and (2) problem-solving ability affects female mate preference. One group of male and female zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) was housed together and given a novel foraging task, and another group of females was housed separately. Males were divided into Solvers and Non-Solvers and their song was recorded. Female preference for Solver vs. Non-Solver song was assayed using a two-choice operant conditioning set-up. In the first experiment, we tested preference in females not housed with males and found a group-level preference for Solver song that was unexplained by song complexity. In a second experiment we tested preference in females who were housed with the males. We found no group-level preference for Solver song, but saw evidence of assortative mating between heavier females and Solver males. Also, females that solved the task in fewer trials showed stronger preferences for conspecific over heterospecific song in the training portion of the preference assay. Together these results indicate that male song may signal problem-solving ability in the zebra finch and that female problem-solving ability and mass affect different aspects of mate choice.
