10.5061/DRYAD.67876
Verzijden, Machteld N.
Aarhus University
Lund University
Svensson, Erik I.
Lund University
Data from: Interspecific interactions and learning variability jointly
drive geographic differences in mate preferences
Dryad
dataset
2016
geographic variation
damselfly
Calopteryx splendens
2010-2012
2016-06-08T15:51:27Z
2016-06-08T15:51:27Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1111/evo.12982
29415 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
Co-occurrence of closely related species can cause behavioral interference
in mating and increase hybridization risk. Theoretically, this could lead
to the evolution of more species-specific mate preferences and sexual
signaling traits. Alternatively, females can learn to reject
heterospecific males, to avoid male sexual interference from closely
related species. Such learned mate discrimination could also affect
conspecific mate preferences if females generalize from between species
differences to prefer more species-specific mating signals. Female
damselflies of the banded demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) learn to
reject heterospecific males of the beautiful demoiselle (C. virgo) through
direct premating interactions. These two species co-occur in a geographic
mosaic of sympatric and microallopatric populations. Whereas C. virgo
males have fully melanized wings, male C. splendens wings are partly
melanized. We show that C. splendens females in sympatry with C. virgo
prefer smaller male wing patches in conspecific males after learning to
reject heterospecific males. In contrast, allopatric C. splendens females
with experimentally induced experience with C. virgo males did not
discriminate against larger male wing patches. Wing patch size might
indicate conspecific male quality in allopatry. Co-occurrence with C.
virgo therefore causes females to prefer conspecific male traits that are
more species specific, contributing to population divergence and
geographic variation in female mate preferences.
Female preferences all treatmentsFemale preference scores for each wing
patch size.Female_preferences_all_treatments.csvBehaviour during
experimental exposuresThe behaviour of both females and males during the
exposure treatments
Sweden