Meeting Abstract
Female limited polymorphism occurs in multiple species with Batesian mimicry. While frequency dependent selection is often argued as the driving force behind this polymorphism in Batesian mimicry systems, female limited polymorphisms are also found in the absence of Batesian mimicry. In these systems, female limited polymorphism has been shown to be associated with male preference and alternative female mating strategies. It remains unclear whether sexual selection or frequency dependent natural selection drive the maintenance of female limited polymorphisms in systems with Batesian mimicry. Through a series of behavioral assays, we show that female limited polymorphism in the Batesian mimic Papilio polytes is not driven by male preference for female wing pattern, as preference for female wing pattern is not the dominant factor influencing male mate selection. Instead, males weigh female behavior more heavily than female wing pattern when choosing whom to court, and court active females, irrespective of female wing pattern. This preference is independent of the genotype of interacting males or females at the locus responsible for the female wing pattern polymorphism, the gene Doublesex. Male emphasis on female behavior instead of appearance may reduce sexual selection pressures on female morphology, thereby facilitating frequency dependent natural selection due to predation risk and toxic model abundance. This emphasis on behavior over morphology during the mate selection process has the potential to facilitate the maintenance of predation driven morphological polymorphisms across animal taxa.
