Meeting Abstract

82.4  Thursday, Jan. 7  Unraveling the complexities of variation in female mate preference for vertical bars ROBINSON, D. M.*; MORRIS, M. R.; Ohio University; Ohio University dr647706@ohio.edu

Female preferences differ not only in response to changes in the environment, but also due to differences across females in the nature of these responses. Comparative, multivariate studies of wild-caught adult females can assess the potential for reaction norms to produce variation in female mate preference as they can elucidate how different female phenotypes respond to environmental differences. We used a multivariate analysis to examine variation in female preferences for vertical bars across five populations of Xiphophorus cortezi that vary in the frequency of males with bars. We tested female preferences for barred versus barless males using video animations of males as stimuli. All candidate models for variation in female preference included two aspects of the female’s phenotype (bar state and size) as well as population. Based on knowledge about the genetics of vertical bars, the aggressive behavior of barred and barless males, as well as differences across populations, we hypothesize that both aspects of a female’s phenotype (bar state and size) influences how they respond to more aggressive barless males, and at least for barred females, this depends on having had experience with both barred and barless males. These results suggest that to study the evolution of female preference for vertical bars one needs to consider the behavior as different reaction norms for barred and barless females.