Meeting Abstract
Variation in female state can potentially induce variation in female preferences, affecting the direction and strength of selection on male secondary sexual traits. In short-lived species with limited breeding opportunities, mating status (i.e., virgin or mated) seems likely to govern female preference components like responsiveness (motivation to mate) and choosiness (amount of discrimination). We explored the effect of variation in female mating status on responsiveness and choosiness in the sand cricket (Gryllus firmus) in two-choice trials for live male stimuli. We quantified responsiveness as the total number of visits made to both males, and choosiness as the presence or absence of a greater relative preference (higher relative number of visits) to the male with the longer call duration. We found that unmated females were more responsive overall than unmated females, but mated females were choosier about whom they visited, making more visits to the longer calling male. Thus, in this species there appears to be an interaction between mating status and preference such that unmated females might relax, and mated females might strengthen, the amount of selection on male traits.
